FUNERAL OF THE LATE POPE

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 37, 10 September 1903, Page 29

FUNERAL OF THE LATE POPE

IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES The Rome correspondent of a New York newspaper writing under date, July 22, gives the following account of the lying in state of the remains of the late Pontifi. The first of the great ceremonies of Pope Leo's funeral took place to-day, when the body lay in state in the Throne Room of the Vatican. from 930 am. until 1 p.m. all the diplomats accredited to the Vatican, representatives of ancient families remaining faithful to the Papacy, the high dignitaries of the Church, the heads of the religious Orders passed in solemn procession before the bier. The Papal throne had been removed, and in its place, under the famous red silken canopy, on a small Led, lay the body of Leo XIII. Over the bed was thrown a red damask covering, on which the body reposed. It was robed in white vestments, with the red rochet and purple hood, while on the feet were slippers embroidered with gold. The thin hands, clasped over the chest, held tightly a small ivory crucifix, around which was entwined a rosary of mother-of-pearl, set in gold. On the third finger of the right hand the huge emerald Pontifical ring sparkled.

At the four corners of the bed stood lighted candles, yen feet high. On the right of the body, close to the bed, was a small table, covered with a white linen cloth, on which were two candles, throwing a glimmer of light on the crucifix between them. At the foot of the cross was a crystal bowl, filled w'th holy water. Each Cardinal, when he passed the body, sprinkled it and uttered a benediction. Besides the bowl were the devotional books used by Pope Leo in his lifetime. The Silence was only Broken by the solemn chanting of six Franciscan penitentiaries, who, kneeling or standing at a bench at the foot of the bier, continued their incessant supplication The only light thrown on this solemn scene came from the candles beside the body and from the faint rays of sunlight which filtered through the two windows, curtained with white silk and rich green hangings. The red damask tapestries with which the room was hung gave a touch of royal splendor to the surroundings. Otherwise it was an almost simple scene for the death rites of a Pope. There was ' no carpet on the marble floor, and, in accordance with the strict ritual of the last honors of the Church to a Pontiff, not a flower was to be seen. As each lay or clerical dignitary entered the throne room he advanced slowly to the side of the bed, took one last look at the body, and then withdrew. Some persons knelt in momentary prayer and crossed themselves It was the last tribute of devotion and attention rather than of mere outward homage to the head of the Church. Writing on the following day the same correspondent suppliad the following particulars : Since the time of the Caesars Rome has not witnessed A More Wonderful Spectacle than that of to-day, when men and women gathered in and around St Peter's to see the dead Leo. The body of the* dead Pontiff lay all day in state in the basilica of St Peter's. From dawn until nightfall and after the great and lowly of the Catholic Church came to ga?e on it. Before sunrise thousands of the faithful had come into the shadows of the church and awaited the opening of the great doors These were reinforced by a motley throng from all the other hills of Rome, from across the ■ i uer and from the four corners of the world. With the swinging back of the doors the crowd of 80,000 people began to press into the church They passed in front of the dead Pontiff and lost themselves in the labyrinths of the temple. It was a strange procession It typified the universality of Catholicism. All nations were represented and all grades of human society sent delegates Princes walked with paupers. Aristocracy touched elbows with the proletariat Saints ]oined sinners. Priests, nuns, old men and children pressed towards the bier France sent pilgrims from Paris and Normandy Lithe men from Spain, made way for big men from beyond the Danube Faithful from Japan and China and the islet; of the Indian Ocean uncovered with turbanned Copts from the Nile's head-waters, and the brown men of the Syriac rite, who m turn followed the travellers from Armenia Solemn-visaged pilgrims from South America, .short men from Mexico walked slowly along with Englishmen, Americans, and Irish Men and women from all nations gathered for a last tribute andf prayers f&*r the repose of Leo's soul were offered In Every Language the Tongue Lisps. All day men and women came and saw and prayed and went their way. At nine o'clock, when 50,000

nS^Pp 7 ; ,, T wo hundred thousand people passed through St. Peter's to-day and saw the dead Pope NPw T Y°nrW at - er (J + Uly 205)2 o 5) the correspondent of the in™ i ?u n V. wrote . : ~Soon after six o'clock Cardinal Oregha the Camerlingo, attended by the Vatican &?#?' "t hIS brOtl ? e f, Cardin als in the 7 vestry o St Peter s They were followed by the chapter of the 0 whir°h th 6 Ca H th H d K al t0 , the choir eha P ci ' in toe centre of which there had been placed three coffins Meantime three Cardinals, the chaplains of the basilica and a portion of the choir, bearing torches, proceeded to the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, on the opposite Sifl v £ 116 bod y of the Holy Father still lay. There the Swiss Guards, in their magnificent S 'J?° ha w been <l n post for three da y«. stood in a solid phalanx before the gates. On the approach of the procession they fell back and the gates swung open the e clerg WaS lowered and the body was delivered to As the procession started there rung out the solemn overwhelming notes of the ' Miserere,' such as can be heard nowhere save in St. Peter's. Dusk was falling as the slow march began and it was an impressive moment. Silence fell for an instant upon the assembled throng. There was no circuit of the cathedra according to the ancient custom, but the line passed slowly in front of the great altar of St. Peter a ? d +l the 2 dir ! ct *2 the choir eha P cl < where the members of the Sacred College awaited it. The bier was reverently placed beside the waiting coffin. The ceremony of Preparing the Body for the Grave proceeded as quietly as possible. Members of the Noble v.uard wrapped it in a winding sheet and placed it in the cypress coffin. Majordomo Cagiano placed a mantle of inte bilk over the face and hands and then put in the foot of the coffin a velvet bag containing gold silver and bion/.e medals, which had bden struck annually durinc the pontificate of the late Pope. Cardinal Vannutelli, as the senior Cardinal present who had been crested by Pope Leo XIII., advanced to the coffin bearing a white metal tube containing a parchment on which were inscribed notes of the late Pontiff's principal encyclicals and a brief record of his pontificate lms was placed beside the body. A second drapery or winding sheet of red silk was now spread over the body the hd was placed over all, and screwed down, and the body was then technically delivered to the Chapter of St 1 eter, its chief giving a receipt to the Cardinal Dean' I he representatives of the Chapter then lifted the coffin into another massive casket of lead, on which were inscribed the name and armorial bearings of the dead Pope, his age, and the date of his death. Artisans who were present then carefully soldered out the cover of this coffin until it had been hermetically closed. Then it was locked up by the Camerlingo and major-domo once more. The double coffin was lifted this time and placed in a third, which was of elm. J his, in turn, was screwed down and sealed by the Carmerhngo and Cardinal Rampolla as aichpnest of St. Petci's, the major-domo and the dean of the chapter. These formalities occupied more than an hour. While they were proceeding, prayers had been constantly recited and the choir sang the htany. The Final Ceremonies. Night had fallen, but before the body went into the cathedral for immurement the cathedral was brilliantly illuminated. The entombing took place in a niche fifteen feet high over a door just to the left of the entrance to the chapel, where the foregoing ceremonies were enacted. ihe full choir and many of the clergy, bearing torches and tapers, accompanied the body, but the Cardinals withdrew to the side entrance of the chapel. The niche had been empty since the body of Pius IX was removed therefrom in 1881. Before it stood an ordinary workman's derrick with a tackle and fall. The coffin, on which hung a pall of deep maroon silk, was placed below Ropes were quickly tied around the coffin and a hook attached The last prayers wore solemnly said and the choir burst into a grand requiem. The sad notes rose and fell, now swelling in glorious harmony now dying pathetically into silence. Slowly, as the workmen pulled on the ropes, the receptacle of all that was mortal of the great potentate of a great Church rose above the heads of the spectators. Scores fell on their knees and bent their heads in prayer. Minute by minute the coffin rose higher, light after light in the mourners' procession was extinguished, chants whose grandeur seemed of something more than earth filled for the moment the historic temple, and then its walls became once more the custodian of the ashes of its high pries-t.