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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1903)
K-j'k 'n - 'V i . 1 1 The Commoner. JDLI 24, lOOlv 5 .1 O POPE LEO XIII IS DEAD !! Wll Bsllevt 4 brMnv l 1m taa OrsaUit Pim In I Ulster "a" Was UalvcrsaHy Retarded Oae ef th Bast Thlakar la the WerltTa HUUry Shm latersst lag Facta as to tlli History, Tef etar with the Dstalfs as te the fletkods Csaploed In Cheeda s 5ncceer. Pope Leo XIII. was taken ill July 4. On the evening of that day a number of cardinals were summoned to the Vatican, For several days the apope lingered between life and death, showing a most remarkable vitality, and the attention of the world has been fixed upon the proceedings at ills bedside. At 4:04 p. m., Monday, July 20, the pope passed cway. nl 1 For a quarter of a century Pope Leo XIII. has been the head of the Roman Catholic church. He jwas regarded by many as ono of the greatest popes and universally ho was understood to be one of tho ablest and most conscientious of public men. The enormous demands made upon him by his church were not sufficient to prevent him from participating In an intelligent consideration of the world's proceedings and many were surprised that he had an Intimate acquaintance with me merits and the history of all great controversies throughout the worldj Among the many descrip tions of Pope Leo none is more interesting and instructive than that which appeared in tho Louisville Courier-Journal. In this it is said: "As a scholar, tho pope ranked among the first men of his day. In all departments of learn ing his efficiency was remarkable. As a poet he was recognized to possess genius, and a number of his compositions were of the highest order. "Personally the late pontiff was tall and slender, and his hair was snow white. His face Had the kindliest of expressions, and his smile was ready when there was anything amusing said. He possessed a keen wit, tempered, by his charit able wish not to wound the feelings of others. His manner was high-bred and finished, and he" possessed a most charming courtesy, which placed all who saw him at their ease. He delighted to chat on literary topics and to the last found pleas ure in reading the great authors of antiquity. His experience in life had been so vast that his re- marks were full of a quiet wisdom. Ho, impressed every one who met him. His personal habits were simple to a degree, for he lived the life of an ascetic His industry and power for work were extraordinary, and the labor he daily went through while pope was enough to exhaust a much younger and stronger man." Reverting to the history of Pope Leo, tho Courier-Journal writer says: "Joachim Vincent Raphael Lodovico Pecci was born March 2, 1810, at Carpineto. Ho was sent to the Jesuit college at Viterbo in 1818, where ho remained till 1825, when he entered the Collegio Xtomano, just restored by Pope Leo XII. Two years later he was matriculated as a divinity stu dent at the Gregorian university. In 1832 he won the degree of doctor of theology and entered tho College of Noble Ecclesiastics, where those who design to servo the pontifical government diplomatically or administratively are trained. In 183? he was made subdeacon, then deacon, then priest In 1838 he was made delegate, or gov pernor, of the province of Benevento. In 1841 ho was appointed governor of Spoleto. In 1843 ho was made apostolic nuncio, or papal ambassador, to Belgium and titular archbishop of Damietta. In 1845 he was made bishop of Perugia, where lie arrived in 1846. In 1854 he was made a car dinal. In 1877 he was appointed camerllngo. In 1878 he was chosen pope to succeed Pius IX., de ceased." The methods of choosing a successor to Leo are described in a most interesting way by the Courier-"Journal writer. This writer says: "The selection of the sovereign pontiff is a most important event, both for the church and the secular world. Catholicism teaches that Christ Himself chose the first pope, St Peter, but left no record in the scriptures as to how the succeeding popes should be elected. From this it follows that the supreme pontiff, the, vicar of Christ, has the power of determining the method of election of his successors. It is a much mooted question whether the pope has the divine right to appoint his own successor or not How ever, under the present system he has not The present method was established bv Pope Plus IX. "Ten days after the' death of Pius IX., which occurred on February 7, 1878, Cardinal Pecci was elected pope by the cardinals and took the title of Leo XIII. "The next conclave will follow the death of Leo XIIL, and Me tendencies that will dispute for the pre-eminence in that conclave are these: First, either no deviation from the policy of Leo XIIL, a conciliatory one; or, second, a gradual change; third, tho assertion of tho claim for tho restoration of temporal power in Italy, togother with a disinclination to sacrifice all else to this one point, as has been done by Leo XIIL "As an extreme concession tho new pope might carry on tho contest on legal grounds, encouraging Italian Catholics to tako a moro activo part in political elections. Thero is some fear In higher Italian Catholic circles that Italy may become a republic "It is almost unnecessary to say that tho next pope will bo an Italian. "Tho sacred collego of cardinals Is composed at present of sixty-seven members, tho canonical number being soventy. Twenty-two resldo at Rome Only thirty of tho sixty-seven belong to nationalities outside x)f Italy. As to nationality they stand: Italians, thirty-seven; French, eight; Austro-Hungarlans, soven; Spaniards, five; Ger mans, two; Prussian-Pole, one; Irish, two; Eng lish, one; Portuguese, one; Belgian, ono; Ameri can, one; Australian, one. - "Well informed sources in Rome ellminato all of the thirty-seven Italian cardinals except four and possibly five as impossible for election to tho papacy. "The four cardinals who are considered to bo 'papabill' and out of which number It Is confi dently expected there Is ono upon whom tho pap acy will fall, are as follows: GIroIamo GottI, Sera fino Vannutelli, Domenlco Svampa and Gulseppo Sarto. Cardinal Rampolla, tho secretary of state to Pope Leo XIIL, is considered by some a pos sibility. Cardinal Rampolla's position hag nat urally made him some enemies. His influence in certain quarters, however, is very great and it is notat all unlikely that he will select tho candi date and quietly throw all of his strength toward electing him when the conclave meets. Thus ho would be retained as secretary of state under the new pope if his candidate succeeded. "The Vatican, the residence of the pope, Is ono of tho most interesting buildings in the world. "He who Is elected pope retires to tho Vati can, a custom inaugurated by Pius IX. In fact, Pius was living in his palace at the time of the Italian occupation of Rome, in 1870. "In the course of the day, as it became clear that the capture of the city was imminent, the pope retired to tho Vatican, never to leave it again. His successor, Leo XIIL, who was elected in tho Vatican, has continued the traditions of Plus IX., and since his election in 1878 has not gone outside of tho Vatican. This 'Imprisonment' is purely voluntary and is meant as a dignified protest against what, from the Vatican stand point, can only be regarded as a usurpation; a seizure by violence of the possessions of the church. "As a rule, the conclave of cardinals is held in the palace where the late pope has died. On the death of Pius IX., owing to the circumstance of the Italian occupation of Rome, it was pro posed and at first even voted to hold the conclave abroad. Malta, Spain, the Tyrol, France and even England, were suggested. None of these coun tries, however, made any offer or guarantee, and in the second congregation (preliminary of tho cardinals to arrange for the conclave) the motion was rescinded by a large majority. It is now clearly understood that tho Italian government will undertake to guarantee the orderly procedure of tho conclave, so that a proposal to adjourn to a foreign country is not again likely. "Tho conclave proper, I. e., the cardinals In their elective capacity, only assemble after tho funeral of the deceased pope. This is an elaborate affair, lasting several dayseleven days' In the case of Pius IX. and accompanied with much ceremonial. "On the death of the pope, the cardinal sam erldngo approaches the bedside and taps tho de ceased three times on the head with a silver mal let, calling him by his Christian name; Thus tho present pope would be addressed, not as Leo, but as Gloacchlno. Naturally receiving no an swer the samerlengo turns to the court dnd for mally announces 'II TJapa e veraraente morto' (the pope Is really dead). "The cardinal vicar then causes placards to be affixed to the doors of the Roman basilicas and churches, announcing the death of the pope and ordering all church bells to be tolled for an hour and solemn obsequies to be celebrated. On tho second day the body of the pope is embalmed. The next day it is vested in full pontificals red robe, pallium, cloth-of-gold mltor, red allppcrfl and whlto gloves. "Thoro are various traditional perquisites by which various articles of tho dead pope's clothing, bed clothing, etc., go to different members of tho Vatican household. On tho evonlng of the third day the corpse Is carried In procession Into St Peter's, escorted by tho clergy of tho basil len, tho bishops and cardinals, the cignltarlcs of tho Vati can, the physicians and others. "It la placed on a bier oufilclontly Incllnod to permit the face to bo seen, and deposited In the chapel of the sacramont, with tho 'Ips of the slip pers just projecting through the bars of the closed gate, that they may bo kissed by tho faithful. Tho body remains hero until tho day of tho funoral, watched day and night by a guard of honor. Moanwhllo tho 'fisherman's ring Is broken. "In tho Slstlno chapel a largo catafalque Is erected, with an empty coffin, bearing the name and arms of the dead pope. For three successive days a funeral mads Is said by a cardinal In tho presence of tho tntiro sacred college, whllo three other cardinals glvo absolution. "On tho day of tho funeral the corpse In blessed and sprinkled with holy wator anil tho cardinals and clergy kiss tho feet The procession than makes tho cntlro circle of tLo basilica, end ing In the choir chapel. Here the body is placed in a coffin and covered with a drapery of red silk, the face with a white silk veil. "In tho coffin are also placed a parchment, sealed up In a metallic tube, and containing tho name, ngo and biography of tho dead pope, also three purses, containing tho various coins and medals in gold, silver and copper which have been struck during his rolgn. "Tho coffin Is then Inclosed within two others and, amid tne cost solemn funeral services, de posited In the temporary tomb, where each dead pope Is placed until his permanent tomb is built Plus IX. was finally burled in the basilica of San Lorenzo. "All this time tho Vatican and, In fact, the general direction of church affairs, has been in charge of the cardinal samerlengo. On tho day after tho funeral tho cardinals go .into conclave, tho bishop of Ostla, as dean of the sacred college, presiding. Each cardinal may tako with him his own 'conclavist also four doctors, a surgeon and a pharmacist arc elected and cooks, barber and other servants appointed. "Tho Vatican Is now definitely closed to tho outside world, even food and supplies being passed in through small openings in the wall. Those within swear on the gospels to maintain absolute secrecy as to what takes place. Tho cardinals draw lots for their quarters In tho Vatican. A bull of Gregory XV. established that there shall be two ballots a day until a pope is elected. The last conclave was held in the Sistine chapel, where each cardinal had before him a table with writ ing material and a list of the sacred college. "On the central table of tho 'scrutatori were two urns, one for tho votes, tho ether for check ing off tho number of those voting. At the end of each ballot tho votes are gathered and burnt with straw. To bo elected a candidate must ob tain a two-thirds majority of the votes cast "When a pope is at length elected (the last conclave balloted four times), the other cardinals descend from their seats and make obeisance, in sign that their sovereignty is over. "Tho new pope is then taken to an adjoining room, where there aso three sets of pontifical vestments, to fit a large, a medium size or a small man. In changing, it is the custom for the new pope to take off Ms cardinal's hat and place It on the head of tho prelate who assists In robing him. Leo XHL omitted to do this, thus bitterly dis appointing Mgr. Lasagni, who had confidently ex pected to bo made a cardinal. "When the pope has been robed the dean of the cardinal deacon proceeds to a balcony over looking the square and announces the election to the public: "Nuntlo vobls gaullum magnum. Habemus papam reverendlsslmum ed emlnentls slmum cardlnalem.' Here follows the name of tho cardinal elected and the title he has taken as pope. "After this rnnouncement It was customary for the new pope to appear on the balcony and give his benediction to the populace. Leo XIIL, however, pleaded fatigue, and only later blessed from an interior balcony the people inside St Peter'a." Wsl r,i 'liMtet