Catholic World

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 1, 7 January 1925, Page 55

Catholic World

BURIAL OF LEO XIII. £ The funeral obsequies of Pope Leo XIII P took place in the Lateran on the third day after the translation of the body from St. Peter's (says Catholic News Service, London, for November 3). The removal of the body from the Vatican Basilica was carried out -*Mth the strictest privacy, and there was a .general opinion that the obsequies would not be performed until about the beginning. of November. The casket lay at first in the Leonine Chapel of the Lateran, and during that time it was visited by vast numbers of persons. Societies of Catholic students, organisations of youths and adults, the colleges, members of the Patricianate and the Roman Nobility visited the chapel in groups, to pray for the eternal repose of the great Pope. At one of the Masses the Roman groups of. the Popular Party assisted in a body, afterwards placing a wreath at the foot of the catafalque. At other Masses groups of the faithful recited the Be Profimdis as a choir. This was on the 26th, and during the late -evening the Basilica was closed to the public, and the casket was removed to the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, and close to the tomb which Leo XIII had chosen in his life time. On the 27th the casket was placed in the tomb, only those being present who had received special invitations. The rite began at ten in the morning. All the Cardinals present took part in the blessing of the tomb, and the Schola Cantorum of the Lateran Seminary chanted the Miserere the Libera me Bomine, and other chants. Count RichPecci, nepbew of the deceased Pope, assisted at the ceremony. Later on the casket was placed in its niche, and before the aperture was sealed there were placed therein a copy of the deed in Latin and certain medals. The opening was then closed with a marble slab, on which was inscribed the name of the deceased Pontiff.. Nine Cardinals were present at the ceremony, as well as a number of bishops and many prelates of the Pontificial Palace. Among the other ecclesiastics were the Chapters of the greater Basilicas and the parish priests of Rome. The family of Leo XIII was represented by Count Pecci, the Countesses Moronil, Blunk, and Pecci, with the . Marchioness de Canali and the Marchioness Pecci. The widow of the sculptor Tadolini, who carved the monument, was also present. SOLEMN REQUIEM FOR LEO XIII. The solemn public requiem for Pope Leo XIII was not celebrated until two or three days after the burial of his body in the Lateran, this last ceremony being of a pri- . vate nature to which only those receiving came. ;'.* •; For the public requiem a catafalque was erected in the nave of the Lateran covered by a black velvet pall embroidered with the v arms of Leo XIII and surmounted by a tiara. "The attending Cardinals sat at the Gospel side, and on the Epistle side "were the archJfjishops and bishops, the Chapters of the

other Basilicas, and the clergy and students of the Lateran Seminary. " ,-' In the reserved seats were members of the Pontifical Antechamber, the Orders of Malta and the Holy Sepulchre, the Pecci family, and also the Roman nobles and patricians. There were present representatives of the City and Province of Rome, clergy and municipal councillors - from Perusa, Oarpineto, and Anagni, with the parish priests of Rome and representatives of the religious Orders and the seminaries. Cardinal Pompili, Vicar of his Holiness, officiated and gave the Absolution. Then the twenty Cardinals present, with the assistants and the clergy, went in solemn r recession to the tomb where the Be Profundi* was chanted and the Absolutions agun pronounced. A humble and loyal message has been addressed by the Chapter of the Lateran to the Holy Father, thanking him for giving the necessary facilities for the burial to have taken place, after it had been in abeyance for so many years. NOTES FROM ROME. The informative process as to the life and virtue of Pius X, which was opened by the Roman Curia of Treviso, has finished its proceedings for the moment. Mgr. Mattacones, who is Vice-Postulator of the Process, has sent out a final invitation to all persons possessing writings of Pius X or who have information bearing directly on the Cause, to communicate' at once with the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Curia of Treviso. At the same time petitions from all parts of the world continue to pour in on the Holy See, begging that the cause for the beatification of Pius X may be hastened. The Motu Proprio of Pius XI, establishing a special school of Latin at the Gregorian University, has aroused the widest interest, and those who, like Cardinal Bourne, hope to see a revival of Latin as a language for international intercourse, believe that the Pope's plan will greatly further the revival. The Pope dwells on the part which, during the course of centuries, the Church has taken in keeping alive the Latin tongue. He emphasises the need for sound Latinists in the every day work of the Church, and founds herewith a school of Latin at the Gregoriana which will be of two years' duration successful students will receive a gold medal. What is of special interest is that the Pope desires the Latin school to be open to lay students, and not to be restricted to ecclesiastics. •;"; The learned Jesuit, Cardinal Ehrle, received a pleasant surprise on his 80th birthday, when in the Braccia Nuova of the Vatican Museum, the Holy Father presented him with five volumes of Miscellanea Francesco Ehrle, a collection to which 80 distinguished scholars in all parts of the world have contributed. His Holiness congratulated Cardinal Ehrle on his accomplishments as Vatican Librarian. •.■■"-. The Cardinals in Curia, together with the

diplomats accredited to the Holy See, were present at the little function, and the colleges and learned bodies of Rome also sent their representatives. . ' SIXTH CENTENARY OF BOURGES CATHEDRAL. Bourges' ancient Cathedral of St. Stephen has just celebrated the sixth hundredth anniversary of its consecration by Archbishop William de Brosse'in 1324. Old as is this vast and magnificent cathedral, the history of the bishopric is much older, for it dates back to the third century, taking its name from the Roman settlement of Biturix, the official ecclesiastical title of the archbishopric being Bituricensis. The Pontifical Mass of the centenary was celebrated by Cardinal Dubois, Archbishop of Paris, who went to that See from Bourges. In the sanctuary was the Archbishop of Bourges, Mgr. Izart, and the Bishops of Limoges, Clermont, Chalons, Puy*, SaintClaude, and Saint-Flour. The whole countryside flocked into the city to take part in the celebration, and vast as is the Cathedral, it could accommodate only a fraction of those who desired to assist at the Mass. A still greater crowd assembled in the afternoon, when pontifical Vespers was chanted and an eloquent sermon preached by the Bishop of Chalons, who surpassed himself in the brilliance of his oration. Bourges, declared his Lordship, takes rank .amongst the splendid basilicas of France, along with Chartres, Paris ,Rheims, and Amiens; it symbolises in the majesty of its architecture both beauty anid doctrine and sanctity. After the sermon the Cardinal and prelates grouped before the high altar for the solemn Te Beum, which was followed by Benediction. Then the bishops, followed by Cardinal Dubois, walked in stately procession from the Cathedral to the episcopal residence, their progress being very difficult on account of the vast crowds that thronged the streets through which the procession had to go. The Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral, under the direction of Canon Signargout, rendered the music at both the morning and afternoon services. The more florid school of French ecclesiastical music was displaced by Palestrina's Mass of Pope Marcellus, rendered by six voices . The settings of Cesar Franck were used for the afternoon services.

REMARKABLE INCREASE OF BERLIN CATHOLICS. The number of Catholics in Greater Berlin is four times what it was before the war, according to some relgiious statistics that have been taken recently. Before the war the Catholic population in the capital, all told, amounted to no more than a fraction over 3 per cent, of the whole. To-day, according to the most reliable figures, the Catholics number 12 per cent. ~ Nor is it around Berlin alone that this growth in numbers is to be seen. In the Mark of Brendenburg the Catholics before the war were a .bare 2 per cent, of the population,- they are now 7i per cent.,'and almost four times their strength in 1914. ■