THE DAILY LIFE OF PIUS IX.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 90, 16 January 1875, Page 14

THE DAILY LIFE OF PIUS IX.

A. correspondent of the ' Francais ' gives a fresh account of the daily life of the venerable Pontiff, which assumes new interest with his increasing age : — ' Winter and summer, in spite of his eighty-two years, Pius IX. nses at naif-past five, and dresses himself without any assistance. He generally wakes of himself. After some prayers he goes up to one of his private chapels, where the Holy Sacrament is always preserved, and which contains some inestimable relics ; among others a fragment of the crib, and a large piece of the true Cross, the veil of St. Veronica, a considerable portion of the skull of St. John the Baptist, and some of the teeth of St. Peter. He then prepares for his Mass, which he says at half -past seven, in a smaller and less decorated chapel. Those persons who have obtained permission at the audiences of the previous day assist at this Mass, and receive the Holy Communion from his hand. The Pope celebrates Mass with the profoundest recollection, and with a piety ■which not unfrequently reveals itself in tears. He then attends another Mass, said by one of Ms chaplains, after wMch he gives his benediction to the priest and Ms assistants and retires. It is then about three-quarters past eight. The breakfast is brought in, wMch consists of broth and a cup of cafe noir. Cardinal Antonelli afterwards has a conference with Ms Holiness, excepting on the Tuesdays and Fridays, when Ms place is taken by Mgr. Marino Marini. Towards ten o'clock the Holy Father receives Ms letters and papers, wMch are, it is needless to say, always of very considerable number. The Pope glances over the ' Osservatore Romano' and the ' Voce della Verita,' but never, I regret (says the correspondent of the 'Francais') to inform my confreres at Paris, does he examine the French journals, which arrive in large nuin"bere, and of wMch, save in very exceptional cases, he does not even unfasten the band ! After tMs the private audiences commence. The ceremonial is well known. Men are dressed in black coats ■with wMte cravats, and have neither hat nor gloves. They make three genuflections on entering, and then kneel at the feet of the Holy Father, who raises them up. The Pope is seated, the visitor standing or kneeling. Cardinals and princes alone have the right io a taiouret in the presence of the Pope. These audiences form the most laborious and most fatiguing portion of the daily life of the Sovereign Pontiff. The Secretary's department is literally inundated with applications, which, during the travelling season especially, amotvnt to an incredible number. Therefore, by the order of his physician, the Pope, during these last few years, has been accustomed, about eleven o'clock, to take a little broth, in order to keep up his strength, followed by a glass of Bordeaux, wMch is sent to Mm by the Sisters of St. Joseph from a vine kept especially for his use. Formerly Pius IX. never took anything gtronger than the common wMte Anne. It was only on the approach of his eightieth year that he consented to take half a glass of Bors©aux or Capri,

"At the audiences in tlie Pope's apartments only men are received. Directly one visit is terminated, his Holiness rings a little hand-bell, -which is placed upon his table, and another person is introduced by the prelate in attendance. " Towards twelve o'clock or half -past, the Holy Father leaves his room and proceeds to take a walk in the garden or in the library, or sometimes in the halls and galleries. On his way he meets families, deputations, and persons admitted to public audiences. He blesses and indulgences the rosaries, medals, and crosses with which visitors are in general amply provided. He exchanges a few words with each person, he istens to their demands, and often he addresses a little discourse to them. At half -past one the Holy Father returns from his promenade. He dismisses his attendants, and again goes up to his little chapel, where he remains until two o'clock in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Then comes the hour of dinner. This repast' ,-t is invariably composed ,of a potage and of some poultry, which is f served upon a large plate, together with some broth and vegetables.' (This is more in accordance with the English than with the foreign custom.) The Pope rarely touches poultry or broth. He takes some-of the vegetables, a little Roman /ritfwre, and some fruit. The train-bearer and private secretary of his Holiness, Mgr. Cinni, assists at the repasts. In summer the dinner is followed by a siesta of a quarter of an hour. The rosary and the recital of the office in the Breviary, which the Pope says daily with as much strictness as any country cure, occupies his time until four o'clock, when he takes a second walk in the winter in Loges de Raphael, and in the summer in the gardens 6f the Vatican. Some of the ieaux-espritx have amused themselves at the idea of this • prisoner,' whom, say they, every one surrounds with respect, and no one prevents from going out. It is not the less true, however, that Pius IX. is morally as closely imprisoned as if the gates of the Vatican were all bolted fast. It would be impossible for him to go beyond the palace without at once exciting by his presence manifestations of the most opposite kind. The insults and revilings of the Liberal Press would be called forth by the transports of the faithful, as a proof of- which -we may recall the scenes of the 24th of May last, when the crowd thought that they perceived the Sovereign Pontiff at the windows of the Vatican. " The Pope's favorite walk in the gardens is one carpeted with flowers and bordered with magnificent orange trees. He likes to rest upon an iron seat at the further end, under the shade of a weeping -willow, near a fountain which is called the Fountain of Zitella, while through the railings of the neighboring poultry-yard he throws crumbs of bread and cake to some little pigeons, whose plumage is as white as his own habit. In the very hot weather Pius IX prefers a neighboring walk, equally scented by the perfume of the orange trees, but far more shady, and at the end of which is a miniature fac simile of the Grotto of Lourdes, with the statue of the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes the Holy Father pursues his walk between the hedge-rows and among the groves ornamented with statues and -with cascades, but he never descends into the parterre, notwithstanding the care with which a zealous gardener has designed in gigantic characters in box the armorial bearings of the Pope, with the words, Pio Nono, Pontifice massimo. " Leaning on a stick, and slightly bending forward, Pius IX. still walks "bravely, and often he . only sits down (as he observes with a smile) in order to give a little rest to the weary limbs of the old cardinals who have some difficulty in following him. His Holiness then returns to the house and remains with the persons of his household until the hour of the Angelus, which he always says aloud, followed by a De Profundis. "Then the private audiences begin again, and last until supper-time. The Pope takes his third meal about nine o'clock, immediately before retiring for the night. This repast is even more simple than the preceding ones,- for it is only composed of some broth with two plainly boiled potatoes, seasoned with a little salt, followed by some fruit. I do not know (adds the correspon1 dent of the ' Francais ') if many princes, or even if many private ! individuals would be well contented with such a bill of fare. The ! Holy Father i-etires at ten, o'clock without the assistance of a valet • de chamlre> and* often at this time the servant of the week, who sleeps in an adjoining room, often hears the venerable Pontiff ! chanting in a low voice to himself the canticles of the Church. It 1 is well known that Pius IX. has a , beautiful voice, powerful, 5 sonorous, and flexible. , " The Pope's bed is the bed of a collegian, being of iron, with- [ out any curtains, with the smallest piece of carpet by the bedside. It is in this very humble retreat that Pius IX. enjoys the repose [ which he has so laboriously earned. His Holiness sleeps with thA t quiet peaceful repose of an infant. The health which he enjoys i» really extraordinary for his age. Once a week his physician andvi j Ms surgeon pay him a visit, to fulfil the duties of their position. * The Pope, with a smile, suffers them to feel his pulse, and when 3 they have quite decided that he is without fever, Pius IX. dismisses p the doctors with good-humored affability, and with some of those f. kindly pleasantries for which he is so remarkable. i " Trials of every kind have passed over the head of the venerf able Pontiff without overcoming him, or without in any way j diminishing that supernatural serenity which is like a visible i aureola on his brow. The bark of Peter is accustomed to the c tempest ; she floats over it as if it were her native element. Visis tors to the admirable library of the Vatican may see there in a a glass case a little cross of gold, which was found at the bottom of :, an antique urn that had been inteiTed at San Lorenzo. This cross t formerly belonged to Pius IX., who presented it to the library after £ having written with his own hand upon the card on which it is h fixed these characteristic words, which sum up all his life, and > which form, a fitting conclusion to this chronicle, ' Crux erf vita mea, M.QVS wmica Übi,' "