The Late Pope.

Manawatu Herald, 30 July 1903, Page 2

The Late Pope.

BURIAL SERVICES. St. Peter’s was cleared at noon, when the lying-in-state of the late Pope Leo concluded. The interment commenced at 7 o’clock and finished at a quarter to 9. Two thousand persons were invited to the ceremony, ' The Cardinals will celebrate funeral services from Tuesday to Friday. AN IMPRESSIVE* CEREMONY. Capitularies escorted the body oil the late Pope. Noble Guards followed, and papal dignitaries and prelates bore the body to the choir chapel, where the Cardinals occupied stalls on either side of the bier, diplomatists and members of the nobility filling the galleries. After chanting prayers,■'absolution was pronounced. ho face was covered with a white silk veil. The body, enveloped with a red silk pall,"* was placed in a cypress coffin, with three purses containing coins and medals equal in number to the years of the deceased’s pontificate, and also a panegyric on parchment. The officers commanding the Swiss Guards and Papal Gendarmes kissed the .feet before piaffing the lid on the coffin, which was sealed and encased in a leaden casket, and finally enclosed in an elm coffin, and deposited in a sarcophagus outside the choir chapel until the permanent tomb is ready. The whole scene was most solemn and touching, and many persons went. Bells toiled throughout the service. It is estimated that 850,000 persons witnessed the lying-in-state.