Francis praises humility of 13-century pontiff who resigned

By ANDREA ROSA and FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

L’AQUILA, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis has praised the humility of a 13th-century pontiff who resigned, during a visit to a quake-ravaged Italian mountain town. Francis used the pilgrimage to L’Aquila in the Apennine mountains to also praise the emphasis on forgiveness that Pope Celestine V had during his few months in the papacy.  In 2009, an earthquake ravaged L’Aquila and killed 305 people. The town’s basilica hosts the tomb of Celestine, who resigned in 1294 to live a hermit’s life. Celestine initiated a late-summer ritual stressing forgiveness for sins. Francis noted that inmates from local prisons were among those in a crowd greeting him.