What Happened on This Day in History?
In 230 AD, Pope Pontian was elected as the eighteenth pope of the Catholic Church, but his papacy ended when Roman Emperor Maximinus Thrax had him exiled to work in the brutal silver mines of Sardinia - a sentence so harsh it was considered a death sentence. Pontian became the first pope in history to officially resign his office, reportedly doing so to ensure the Church could elect a functioning leader.
Why It's Strange
The idea of a pope formally resigning so he could go die more efficiently in a Roman slave mine is one of the most grimly bizarre administrative decisions in the entire history of the papacy.
