A RECORD OF LEO'S LIFE AND WORK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 30, 23 July 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

A RECORD OF LEO'S LIFE AND WORK.

Pope I>o XIII has boon placed upon his deathrbed, if not coilmed mil nmiiA, a time and olt by imaginative caJilenien l'.ut the did has t oitie at last to the Kie,\ and \ enerable old J'ontill ol tli i ee-and-nni<4\ \rais When we saw him last Octobu he was Hail and 111 1 anspa i ent, but his 03 c was still the e\ c of the ea^lt> ot his nati\o \olscian Hills, ins \ouewas S l 1 oii£ and \ ibi ant 1 o a deMice that set the heaieis a-inat \ ellmg as it i.im; through the lon» art hod \tiults ol tho Sala delle Caite (Jeotfiafichc, and his {>ie;it mind was as Jiosh atul un'cn and \irile as it w..s w lien he ascended the papal tin one li\e-and-twent\ \eais at^o On j\londa\, the liih mst the daiH papers i)iiblished hi id but poitentous messages of laintitiß-lits and ad\ nanne pneumonia A sei ions ronibmation, this, t or on( > u (io has passed so far on the i oad to c-entonananisni. For many days ho stoutly wrestled with death, displm ing throughout' a marvellous vitality— e\ en rallying so far that, by a striking effort of will-powor and enduiance, the pallid and wasted nonagenarian rose from his death-bed, attended to weighty

idlTaiis of the Uimersal Chinch, and dictated a Latin ode to the JUolhei ol the J (nil and Sa\ lor .Hut he knew, and Ihe world knew, that death was to pie\ail \nd henie the incsMHi 1 was not unexpected tliat came to hand on r luesda\ that Ihe soul oi leo \III , one of the nieatest ol tho long line ol Konian l'ontifls hud passed <i\\a\ lOlsewheie we h.u c summed up the eh.i i<u t erist n/s of his lonu, and lemaiUable caieer as I'upe Heie we tako up t lie lole ol (htotmlrt and reioid, as hi iel!,\ as may he, the mam lads ot his lite and woik Mis name w ius \ ince.ii/o '(lioiinhino J'ecci lie v.is hoi n a( (\irninet<j, in tlie Papal States, on Match Li I H I ( I— and was thus, M lot tho lime heing, ,i subject ol the first \.q)«)leon, who ■ loidod it in Jiome m that >cai. Jle was the I Son of Count Ludovico Pecci ■ and his wife Anna Prosper! The Pecci family date I far back into the middle ages They have been the H lords of Carpmeto and its green \ alkvys and rocky hills

ever since the sixteenth century. On his mother's side, the late Pope claimed descent from the celebrated Cola di Rienzi, ' the last of the Roman tribunes.' In 1817, his father, Colonel Count Pecci brought his seven-year old boy to Koine. When eight years o,ld he was sent to the Jesuit college at Viterbo, where he remained six years, afterwards removing to Kome where he completed his studies, gaining the ■ highest honors in philosophy, mathematical science, and chemistry. His father, being himself a soldier, wished him to adopt a military career, but his mother, who seems to have had some presentiment of her son's future greatness, wished him to join the ranks of the priesthoo.d, silencing her husband's p.notests by assuring him that Cxioacchino Would One Day be Pope Gioacchino was one of the poets that are born so. He probably ' lisped in numbers,' for we are told that at eJeven years of age he commemorated his first communion by a sonnet in Latin verse. Years and cares weighed heavily on him since those days, but lie ever, till his farthest old age— and even on his death-bed — cultivated the Muses, at one time trying to charm away pain by the aid of poetry, and with a fair measure of success too, for he says ' pain, when charmed by verse, seemed half allayed ' ; at another time writing exquisite poems on such up-to-date subjects as photography and electricity, using Latin, the language of the ancients and of the schools, as the vehicle to convey his thoughts on modern science After a most brilliant college career he was Ordained Priest in 1837 and appointed one of the Pope's prelates. Almost immediately he attracted notice, being appointed the following year as Papal delegate to the province of BeneAento. Benevento had long been the home of brigands, who flourished there, protected on one hand by a kind of false hero-worship which casts a glamor of romance about evil-doeis of the Robin Hood type, and on the other hand by the liberal distribution of their ill-gotten gains to a decaying nobility and landloid class, who, in return, sheltered them from the officers of the law. Monsignor Pecci saw clearly how matters stood. He knew that he would have to fight not only the brigands, but the more formidable nobles who backed them up, and who threatened to have the delegate recalled to Kome if he showed too much courage and vigor in the crusade. Pecci took prompt and vigorous action against the brigands, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing the district clear of those unwelcome parasites. The following years were years of rapid change for Monsignor Pecci. In 1841 we iind he was recalled .to Kome and sent to Spoleto ; shortly after to Perugia — he was Appointed Archbishop there some years afterwards — and then made Nuncio to Brussels. When he was appointed to Brussels his knowledge of French was of the slenderest kind But those weie not the days of the Empire trains and ' sud-expres-t,es,' and so he improved the many shining hours that it then took to get to the Belgian capital by learning the language of diplomacy. Ten days' detention at JNimes through illness, helped him to still further master the language, so that he was able to express himself coi--reotly and fluently on his arrival in the Belgian capital. Belgium was then the youngest country in Europe. It had all its new problems to face and solve, and its rulers found in the new Nuncio a broad*-minded and sympathetic friend, who watched the early struggles of the iittle nation with deep interest. It must have been pleasing for him to note in after years how that little country has more than realised the sanguine hopes' of its early friends, and stands to-*day amongst the most happy and prosperous nations of the earth, and an affliction of spirit to the over-ardent pulpit orators who try to prove that Catholicism and national decadence are convertible terms. On his recall from Brussels, he journeyed to London, where he was received by the late Queen Victoria ; and it is pleasing to note that the most cordial good-will ever afterwards existed between him and the good Sovereign who preceded him to the grave. On the occasion of her golden jubilee and record reign celebrations, Pope Leo's congratulations and good wishes were conveyed by special envoy ; and on her part the late Queen sent the expression of her compliments and good wishes to him from time to time, and in 1888 presented him with a magnificent set of vestments, for which she received a flowing measure of rough abuse from her ' loyal ' subjects of the Orange order. He arrived in Rome only in time to hear of the death of his kind friend and patron, Pope Gregory XVI., and to know that Cardinal Mastai Ferretti had been raised to the Papal chair, under the title of Pius IX. The new Pope gave him a most cordial welcome, sent him to the See of Perugia, and made him Archbishop in recognition of his valuable services as Nuncio at Brussels. In Perugia, the new archbishop labored with indomitable energy in the promotion of every good work. He established during his two and thirty years there, colleges, schools, hospitals, and all manner of charitable associations. Later on (in 1853) he was made Cardinal, and in 1877 was nominated by ■ Pius IX. to the dignified and commanding office of Cardinal Camerlenffo (that is, Cardinal Chamberlain). It . was in that capacity that on the decease of Pope Paus IX., he was called upon to verify the fact of death, to destroy the Fisherman's Ring (or Papal Great Seal) so as to prevent its further use, to enter upon the administrar tion of the Apostolic Palace (the Vatican), and to make

the arrangements for the Conclave, which ended in his elevation to the Papal throne. A Striking Ceremonial There is a strange and striking ceremonial, by which the Cardinal Chamberlain assures himself, and the Vatican, and the outer world, that the late Pope is actually dead. The examination of the corpse is duly made by medical men and Vatican ollicials in the Cardinal Chamiberlain's presence. When it is completed, the Cardinal, holding m his hand a little silver hammer-, prostrates himself before the bed, calls the dead man three times by his baptismal name, each time touching him lightly on the forehead with the silver* hammer. The silence which follows this appeal by voice and touch is final proof that he who makes no answer to it is beyond its reach, and the Chamberlain announces to the waiting officials that the Pope has ceased to live. Pope Pius did not answer to the sad, unhoping call, and then Cardinal Pecci announced that Pius IX. was dead. Such is the ceremony as' described by one who knows it well. It was in February, 1878, that the Cop' lave of Cardinals assembled to elect the new Pope. The choice, as already stated, fell upon Cardinal Pecci. This was on February 20. He took the name of Leo XIII.-, and his election was announced from the loggia or gallery of St. Peter's to tihe expectant throng in the crowded and magnificent piazza below. His coronation took place on March 3, 1878. His First Acts The very first act of any international interest or importance performed by the new Pope after his enthronement brought him into a certain relationship with the people of Great Britain. On March 4, 1878— one day after his coronation, fifteen days alter his election — he published a Bull re-establishing the Catholic hierarchy in Scotland. This was indeed but carrying on the policy of his predecessor. Pius IX. had re-established the Catholic hierarchy in England, an act which stirred up an extraordinary hurricane of popular passion. Ihere was, indeed, a demonstration and soir,e wild talking on Glasgow Green immediately after the promulgation of 'the Pope's Bull, a copy of which was melodramatically burned in the presence of thousands of spectators. It was, however, a mere patty-pan ebullition and ended there. Scotland as a whole viewed this so-called instance of ' papal aggression ' with commendable goodtemper and common-sense. The new Pope ascended the Papal throne under peculiar conditions'. The temporal power of the Pope passed away when Victor Emanuel occupied Rome in 1870. The gaze of the world was turned towards Rome to see how the new Pope would grapple with the altered conditions. Leo had a special training in the ways of diplomacy, he had met and measured the great ones of the earth, was credited with a keen insight into ways and motives that actuate public men, with a sound judgment and a strong will to execute a well matured policy for the benefit of the Church. In Italy the politicians thought Leo would relinquish the views of Pius IX. with regard to the States of the Church and kiss the hand that had deprived her of the patrimony of Peter and give his blessing to the monarch who had made Rome the seat of an usurper's Government. Jn regard to the Italian Government Leo carried out the policy of Pius IX. He would not recognise the Italian Government any more than he did the brigands of Benevento. His motto, like that of Pius IX., was 'ne eletti rw* elettori ' (neither elected nor electors — Catholics were not to go to the polls) • and he spurned the annual allowance — or bribe — voted him by the Italian Parliament under the Law of Guarantees. When we recollect that this annual grant, if accepted, would now amount, to some £8,000,000 we can form a good idea of what the Pope has sacrificed for a principle. His first encyclical letter was published on April 21. 1878. Its subject was the evils affecting modern society — 'their cause and remedy. It was awaited with keenest interest by the nations. Something defiant was expected. But it was nothing of the kind. It was, instead, a masterly and sweetly reasonable treatment of a difficult and perplexing theme. The rule of the new Pontiff could not well have been more wisely and graciously inaugurated than by this appeal to the understanding and the con~ science of the civilised world. His Personal Appearance We first set eyes upon the deceased Pontiff in 1880. He was then in the full flush of virile, though advanced, manhood — keen-eyed, alert, of active step, and, though only middle-sized and thin and transparently white, he was a commanding and impressive personality — a very king of men. Justin McCarthy, writing of him a few voars ago, said : ' Pope Leo XIII. is a man of singularly graceful and imposing presence. He is generally described as very tall, but his slender form gives him the appearance of being much taller than he really is. He is not a man much above the middle height, but very slight and stately. His face is as bloodless as that of a marble statue. He dresses'in white, and the white of his robes is only of a different tone from the pallor of his face. Even now, despite his advanced vea.rs, the Pope moves with a quick and easy tread, which has no suggestion of creeping old age about it. He enters readily and simply into conversation, and has the nativeborn sympathy which enables him to come at once into a cordial and thorough understanding with his visitors'. It can hardly be necessary to say that he is brought into constant communication with men and women from all parts of the world, and I. have never heard of anyone who did not go away impressed with his geniality

and graciousness. Among the many commanding figures in Europe of our days his is one of the most commanding. 1 have been acquainted with Gladstone, andl ha\e talkjed with Bismaick and with Cardinal Newman, and J can recall to memory the presence of the 1* mperor Nicholas of Kussia, and 1 knew Charhv, Sunnier, the great American orator and abolitionist, and 1 ha\eolten seen and heard the late J'rince C'onsoi t Hut no pictuie has impressed me moie than that oi lope l.co Xlll ' The Falk Laws The first struggle which lope ix-o Xl.il. had lo Lake up was tha>t against Prince Bismarck,, ' The Alan ot Blood and lion ' 'lhat struggle ib famous, ami will long- be famous in the modern history o) the world ;i« the Kulturkampt — in other woids, the struggle about the education of Catholics within the CJerman Empne Pope Leo had to encounter in this struggle the greatest Continental Empire ol our tunes, and the most poweiful statesman Coni mental Europe has Known since the days of the fust Napoleon The war began m the days of Pius IX It was brought to a close at aneailypait of the pontificate of L.co Xlll It ended in the complete surrender of Bismarck and in the tiiumph of the Pope. The snuggle started in this wa> r l he theory oi Frince Bismarck was that the worst enemies cf the (Jeiliian Empire weie to be found in the Papal Court, and he believed (oi [ i olc-sed (o l>e!ie\e) that thi' war

against Prussia had been set up b\ the \atic.ui A study o! the histotv <>l the lime shows th.it in this opinion liisin.i ie Is was a ltoo-et hoi — even ahsunll\ — m t lie wrong. The Second Finpue v.is <i tailmo, .mil it was necessai \ to disttact the ininds ol the pt ople iroiii honic afiairs. I feme the \\,n with I'ihsm.i Soon alter the Kins? of I'vussia had lntn pi in la lined Ceiman l'jnpeioi, llisinarck conceived t lie id a o' netting the education ol the Catholic s- and especially ol the Catholic clorj^v —ol flcniiiim (OtnpleteU undei lln (oiitiol ol t lie Slate 'I he Catholic Stales which the wai against l''i,imc had brought into the (Jeiinati union weic weak, and would not count toi much in a st inutile against the \atn an Jt seoine<l. therefore, to "I'lsmaiek th.it t lie tune was opportune to s( lengthen the new Finpne against the dreadod influence ot the Pope and his Comt 'I hero was 111spiiod m tlie (Jeinian N<itional I'ailianient a soil ol ci usade against the educational liilluenco ol Ihe Catholic Chin (h 'Imp idea was to make the Stale supienie o\or e\ er\ foim ol" ichgioiis teaching; m (letni:ui\ 11 was oi-l\ the i cpei it ion of an elioit which has been made tune and again in <>\ ci \ Slate m Fun>|»e ,\)\d has al\va>s (Muled in disappointment and failuie And so Bismarcl — like Olniei — enteied "iqion (he war .iß.niht Ihe Chui'ch ' dun coeur le^or ' — with a li^ht heart There shall never be peace 'he declared till Home is ( i ushed '] have no fear.' said the Io n Chancelloi on anothei occasion. ' that f slTall cv or have to fio to ('anossa ' f alluding to the castle in AToden.i whoie the (lenn.tn Fniporor. ITenrv IV made his submission to Fope(!tegoiv VII in 1O77) The first Imiiii of the Hismaickian war was boirn by the Jesuits An Act passed in June 1872, placed them under the ban of the lav suppiessod their houses, banished their loreign members, and confined the (Jot man members to enforced residence within certain specified

aieas. Jn the lolloping year (1873) an Act was passed tiepiiMiig the Liiurch m nubsia ol seli-go\einmenc,, piolnuiiuig Lin- leaning oi papal encj-clicais in chujcnes, penalising m \aiiuuh wa\ s the lecogniuon ol the i ope b fti'iiiLiuu iiuilioruj, giving to the oov eminent Hie ught tn apt ointment and uepo.sition ol bisnops and parish prust.s, ana placing tne education, ti anting, and tuucnmg oi aspiiniit.3 to the pnesthood completely under the control oi tne State jv new penal cove was, in lac , established against the catholic ciiuicn in iiussia. i-ignt out ol Uie twelve bishops who came within the law weie either exiled or tin own into prison, in one it'll swoop ±^,tjuu punsh pncblb itud OoU euraleo weicdepi i\ed oi their chaiges and driven into exile. Ln the law coui ts tiie judges held that tile new acts wcie incompatible with tne punciples oi the Constitution. Bism.irk soon lemedieU this by altering or abolishing anything m tiie constitution that mterieied with his plans. I'.llk, the Minister ot I'ublic Worship, who drew up and administered the code, was a strong man. But there were stiong men, too, on the other side. 'Ihe Catholics found an aole champion lor their lights in Heir Windthorst, the O Connell ol Prussia, one ol the ablest debaters m any European Parliament 'Ihe law served, as iar as the Catholics weie concerned, to bind them in a closer stranded union than ever. 'Ihey absolutely lefused to accept a pi lest on the Government nomination. liome lelused to appoint a bishop under similar ciicumstances. \ntl the wai went liercely on

Ihe wholesale nnpi isonment of their bishops and j).istors thoioughl^ aioused the good Catholics and waked up the apathetic unto. U heii Xlll. became a ope, he — m IS',H — opened up negotiations with the Ernpeioi William on lines thai Uisconcci led Bismaick/s plans. \hout the same tune two seiious attempts wure made by the Socialists on the Jile ol the Emperor. 'Ihis opened his e,\ i s to the dangers ol lneligion in the land. " liengion must be sustained m (ieimany,' said the Empeior. Uisniai Cm., howevei, had his own idea as to the brand ol lciigun that should be sustained. lie went to the townti.v on the 1 1 ,> ol a war against the Catholics and Socialists '1 he I intie (or Catholic) pai ty came back to the House in iih leased stieng i.h. The Socialist membeis went into opposition Bismarck could no longer tai i, \ on the CJovei mnent o! the ce/untr.v JJe opened up negotiations with the \atuaii without the knowledge of i>i r.ilk When i'alk learned this he promptly tendered ins lesignation 'Ihis was the end ol the lust "chapter of the Kult vi kampi It saw Bismaick m Canossa. After war pi at c Jhe lion Chancellor was, after all, magnanimous In IS.SC>, at his lequest. the Pope ai bit rated between CJoimarn and Spam m the Caroline islands dispute Alter the publication ot the Tope's award, Bisiii.u tk sent him (l giacioiis letter ol thanks loi his highminded and per let t impartiality ' And among the many (let oi at ions that grated the breast ot the rugged old statesman, and one much pi l/ed b\ him, was that given linn l)\ the I'ope alter the award made by him between (■einianv and Sp.nn lhus ended, m peace and good will one oi the bitteiest battles in tile history ol the I hrn t h

I- ast h] on the successlul close of Bismarck's long wat uiih ilif ( luiidi, Citnn' dilloiences with the Belgian ( :o\ ci nment , that h.iid sot about the complete secularisation oi tiic svsiem 01 pimiaiv, instruction, and with \\\r M.v Mahon .ulnunisii .it ion m !• ranee, which hud begun in 1ST 1 .), an active piopaganda ol persecution against tlif lolinioiis Didi'is, and especially against those enga>4iml in I'duc at loiuil woik '1 lungs adjusted themselves s.i t isiact 01 il\ in l.elgnim In the complete overthrow of the so-called • Libeial ' Government, which had brought the counti\ to the vetge ol i inn J-'oi tnnatoly for Belgium's jiioial and material pi ogress, they have never siikc lelunied to powi'i In I Vance however, the Pope's appeal loi just tieatmeiit 101 l on deaf oars Successive Ministeis pushed on a pohc\ of persecution which, in vaivmg degiees has gone on ever since, and in the past lew months, under the Combes administration, has tradii'il ;\ point oi ferocious illegality which deeply embitteied the la.st da.vs ol the v enei able old I'ontilT Pope Leo and Ireland '1 he condition ol lielancl also occupied a good deal oi the late i'ope s attention in the early eighties. The Home Itnle mo\einent was m lull swing, and, side by side and in union with it, the agraiian agitation of i he new I,\ -estabhslied Land League lor the abolition of iiKkienting and othei j)hases ol the despotic landloi dism ol Ireland r J ho J'ope and his counsellors lelied, m the matt*-! , a good deal on I lie i epresenlatioiis and advice oi piominent English Catholics who weie, m politics, C. onsei %at i\ es, and theieloie out ol sympathy with Irish national aspnations 'J he land agitation was a strike against an lnloleiable system 'Jo the counsellors of the \«iti( an it seemed a lebollion against some ol the sac nil pi nuMples ot social law, and to the Papal Court nothing thai could happen to 1 1 eland seemed so terrible as that the laithiul old land should commit a crime. I lie I'ope intervened and condemned the J and League II was suppressed by Mr Gladstone and its leaders tin own into pnson .No one can doldit,' say s a prominent liish Nationalist w liter — ' no calm observer among hish Nationalists ever ('id doubt — the absolute good laith ami swnpathv ol the advice which the Vatican gave to Ireland The sweetest allection lor Ireland uispiM-d, liev oi'd question, the condemnation, such as it w.is, ol the I anil League Hut the intervention was a mistake alt the same, loi it was (minded on imperfect knowledge and a misapprehension ol the whole condition ol the political and social uti ug-gle m Ireland' The Irish hierarchy and priests remained faithful to the national cause, and all alike recognised that this was a

purely political question and not one on which the Pope claimed the right to decide as head of the Church. On .the death of Cardinal McCabe, the .tope appointed the brilliant and distinguished Iresident of Maynooth College, Dr. "Walsh— a strong Borne Kuler— to succeed him . in the See of Dublin. As he became more closely ac- . quainted with the realities of the Irish struggle, Leo's sympathies with the Irish National cause grew and he sent his blessing to John Dillon on the day that this prominent leader of the political and agrarian agitation in Ireland took to himself- a partner ol his joys and woes. An Anti-Papal Outrage After the forcible occupation of the Eternal City by the troops of Victor Emmanuel in 1870, Pope Pius IX. confined himself strictly, for motives of personal safety, within the walls of the Vatican. Leo XIII. did like- ■ wise, and the Catholic world, by common accord, referred to the visible Head of their Church as ' the Prisoner of the Vatican.' But m England and elsewhere there were many who entertained the idea that the Pope was performing, for his own purposes, a sort of melodramatic part and playing the role of an imprisoned martyp. As a matter of fact he was naturally and prudently avoiding exposing himself to the attacks of the turbulent and ferocious anti-papal element that had come into Home at the heels of the military and officialdom of Piedmont on and after the fall of the city in 1870. An incident occurred in July, 1881, which amply justified the seclusion of the Pope within his palace walls. The remains of Pius IX. were to be conveyed to the Basilica of St. Lawrence, a mile outside the city walls. The crypt of that ancient and venerable church had been selected by Pius IX. ior his final resting-place. Airangements for the transfer of the remains were made, oritehalf of the Vatican authorities, by Count Vespignani, The Italian Government declined to allow the solemn procession to pass through the streets in the day-time. It was to take place a.ier dusk, and co Lh' sparsely attended, and proper police and military precautions were promised to repress any hostile demonstration by the riff-raff and the irreconcileables. A simple hearse, a few carriages, and a modest lino of pedestrians formed the procession. They had scarcely moved away from St. Peter's when they were accompanied by the yells, hooting, curses, and ribaldry of small but organised gangs of the brutalised members of the anti - Catholic secret societies of the city. The processionists were hustled, ' assailed, ill-used, the glass sides of the hearse were smashed in by volleys of stones, which rattled off the coffin that enclosed the remains of the dead Pontiff, a rush was made to seize the body and throw it into the Tiber. The diabolical purpose was frustrated by the gallant stand made by those who followed the remains and by the shocked citizens who came tq their rescue. There was no need for calling out the military to suppress this rabid and indecent outburst of ruffianism. And they were not called out. The police were amply sufficient to protect the procession. But they displayed a criminal inactivity which called forth vigorous condemnation from decent people of every class. We were in the Eternal City at the time, and the sad cortege passed close under our windows amidst the uproar and savage yells of the residuum, of the ruffianism of the great city. Messages and telegrams of sympathy and protest were poured in upon the Pope from every part of Italy and the civilised world, and in an allocution on the subject Leo said: 'Let the Catholic world see, by what has hap-, pened, what security is left for Us in the Eternal City. The world will better .understand, by what it has seen, that we cannot at present remain in Rome except as prisoner in the Vatican.' Leo and the Slave It was the 'Catholic Church that emancipated the slave in. Europe. She is, and has ever been, the foe of slavery. Her voice was ever against it in the Southern States and Brazil. It was raised once more against the inhuman traffic in human beings when the earthrhunge,r of the Powers opened up Darkest Africa to commerce and the A.rab slave-raiders did a lucrative business in providing traders with negroes as beasts of burden. Cardinal Lavigerie was the first to direct attention to the inhuman character of the African slave-trade, in a letter to Pope Leo XT.TT. The Pope supplied him with 300,000 francs to combat the traffic, and the militant Cardinal established a semi-military Order (the White Fathers) to deal with the matter and led the campaign for the enslaved negroes till his death in 1892. The Powers were, by Leo's example, also drawn into the task of suppression of the slave-trade, -which now exists only to a small extent. The Rights of Labor It is no very violent transition from the question of slavery to that of the due and. proper rights of labor. This is a subject which the late Pope made all his own. On May 15, 1891, he published his famous encyclical on the Condition of Labor. It defined the relative rights of the rich and poor, of capital and labor, and was received with the warmest appreciation, not alone byi the Catholic, but by the non-Catholic, world. The London ' Times ' said of it that 'it breathed the spirit of Christian Charity, and a goodwill which, if it were imitated and shared widely, would jjo far to resolve all the industrial questions of the epoch.' a Leo and the French Republic France, ' the eldest daughter of the Church,' had ever since the dowfall of the Empire, followed a system

o± persecution against the Catholic faith. A great number ot French Catholics, especially of the higher ranks, associated Republicanism with persecution and saw no hope of security for the free exercise of religion but tfhdier a nionarchial form, of Government. They, therefore, kept apart from public life under the new regime. Others— and a large number- of the Catholic body held quite different views. There was a prospect of dangerous and lasting dissensions. The Pope's opinion was eagerly sought. It came, through Cardinal Lavigerie, on November 12, 1890, and impressed on French Catholics the necessity of accepting the established form of Government as being the expressed will of the people. A few days later Cardinal Rampolla, Secretary of State, gave confirmation to this advice, and in February of the following year the Pope issued an encyclical in which he practically endorsed the view exp,nessed in Cardinal Rampolla's letter. Van' a lope Leo XITI. took a keen and active interest in the Lauren ol tne .fc^ast, established colleges in Koine lor tue education ol their clergy, created (in 1886) a hierarchy ol eig(ht ecclesiastical provinces in the East mdies, and div much to nurtner the interests of religion in Lhina and japan, xn 1898 he organised a Eucharistic Longress in Jerusalem with a view ol drawing the Eastern, schismatic churches into the one true Jb'ola, On 1< ebruary 19, 189», Pope .Leo XJJLI. celebrated his episcopal jubilee in St. Peter's in the presence of 80,00U people, almost Su,OUU of whom were palgrims of all nationalities, who greeted the Pontiffs entrance, into, the basilica with enthusiastic plaudits, and cries, of- .Viva il Papa-He '(* Long lrve the Pope-Jsdng '). ip. the, early spring of 1895 tie addressed his memorable letier ', ad Anglos' — to the English people, it , was , an , anectyonate fatnerly appeal for unity of faith, , in- which -he -mvited the English people 'to imploie light to know , the truth in all its fulness, and to embrace the designs of G-oti's mercy with single and entire faithfulness.' The ..letter of Leo XIII. was received with much good feeling by, the public and press of England. .Never since the Reformation was there a time when 'the public heart; of England was filled with a more general kindliness , and cordiality ' towards the head of the Catholic Church. About the same time some members of the Established Church of England appealed to the Pope for recognition of the validity of Anglican Orders. The Papal decision was however, against their validity. The Friend of Peace It is almost unnecessary here to refer to his efforts on behalf of peace, and how through his mediation the European Powers were induced to Hold a Conierence at the Hague for the consideration of a scheme of general disarmament — a conference from which his Holiness's representative was excluded through the jealous intervention of Italy. The later facts of his life — such as the proclamation of the "Universal Jubilee ,of the Holy Year (1900), his encyclical on social and Christian Democracy, the recent Jubilee celebrations, in Rome, the visits of King, Edward and of the Emperor of Germany to the Vatican, are sufficiently well known to our readers. He lived far beyond , the usual span allotted to man, and his great mind was clear to the last. Not counting St. Peter, only one Pope governed the Church for a longer period than Leo Xlil.— namely Pius IX., hisi immediate predecessor, who bore the tiara from. -1846 to .1878. Only two of, "the, long line of Roman Pontiffs lived to a greater age than/ Leo. One of these, was Pope Agatho, who. lived, to-, the, .gnasual^ age of 107w, years and died in 682 ; the, other v^e^fs^Garegory 1X.,,w1i0 die,d in L 241 at the age. of. 99- years*, . " >: ' When the fact of death " was ascertained , in accordance with the solemn ceremony already described, the Cardinal-Chamberlain assumed supreme control within the Vatican, assembled the prelates of the Apostolic Chamber, allotted to each his special office during the vacancy of the Holy See, had an inventory taken of the papal apartments, sealed every desk, drawer, and chest, cleared the palace of intruding visitors, notified all the Cardinals of the demise of the illustrious Pontiff, and made arrangements for the conclave for the election of his successor. The body of the deceased Pope was, embalmed and clad in purple vestments. The funeral obsequies last for nine days, and on the tenth day begins the solemn conclave, or closed assembly, of Cardinals who are to choose a successor to the great High Priest who in his day pleased God and was found just. An Appreciation In concluding his biographical sketch of Leo XHI. Mr. Justin McCarthy said : ' I am ' sure > the calm; jpdfement of the civilised world, apart from political or sectarian p,rejudice, one way or another, will accept this summary of Pope Leo's career. I have tried to tell the story of his life as one might tell the story of the life oi any other prince or statesman. . . But it is hard indeed not to grow enthusiastic as one studies the rercords of such a career. Statesmanship and philanthropy are combined in it, each at its highest and best. Pope Leo loved the working people and the poor, and strove unceasingly with all his power to lighten their burdens and to brighten their lives. He showed to others the best and most practical way to the accomplishment of f.uch objects. He spread the light of education all around him. As a great leader oD men, endowed with unrivalled influence, he made it his task to maintain peace among his neighbors. Better praise no man could have earned : a better- life -no man could have lived.' May his soul rest in peace !