POPE LEO THE THIRTEENTH THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AND WORK.

Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 20, 23 July 1903, Page 7

POPE LEO THE THIRTEENTH

THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AND WORK.

HIS BIRTH AND TRAINING. In 1804 tho Holy Roman Empire, the temporal framework 6*f Mediaeval Christendom, was finally destroyed by the shock of the French Revolution. In 1810 the Papacy which symbolised that same Christendom m its spiritual aspect ¦seemed destined to a similar fate. Rome had been for two years annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, the crown of which Napoleon had assumed in 1805. The city of the Popes and the States of the Church were under control of officers appointed by the French Viceroy. The gentle Pius VII. was a prisoner in the hands of the revolution-made despot he had but lately excommunicated. Even in the highlands of the Volscian hills, villages and towns bore the scars left by the republican sofdiers of France. Their inhabitants, and particularly the clergy, were made to feel that the ruler of Italy was no longer an Augustus of a Pope, but an alien and a x conqueror. Here in a cleft of the Monti Lepini was perched the quaint, old-world town of Carpineto, "an eagle's nest placed for security high above the plain, between two gigantic rocks." On its, highest point stood a fifteenth-century palace, the home of a noble Siennese family, which had migrated to the States of the Church in the days of our own Henry VIII. The owner of the palace in the year of grace 1810 was a certain Dominico Ludovico Pecci, commonly known as Count Ludovico Pecci. He dwelt there, in the home of his ancestors, with his wife, Anna Prosperi-Buzi, a descend ant, it is said, of the famous Tribune Cola di Rienzi, and their five children. The Count had been, a soldier, and his wife was a woman of great piety, deep sympathies, and tender affections In their quiet mountain home they lived a life of simplicity, but not without such culture as the age could afford. To them ! in their bill fastness was born on 2nd March of this year, 1810, a sixth child, their fourth son, Joachim Vincent Raphael Louis. This was the child who was destined sixty-eight years later to succeed Pius IX. as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholio Church. The boy Joachim, or Vincent, as he was called during his mother's lifetime, was a child of the (mountains, nursed in a religious family, and born' amid the moral chaos and physical suffering produced by the wild outburst of French Jacobinism. In his early days his chief playfellow and companion was his brother Joseph, Mb senior by two years. In their tenth and eighth years respectively the two boys, both of whom were to become princes of the Church, were taken on a visit to Rome, and the following year (1818) they were sent to the new Jesuit College at Viterbo. This institution, which was devoted to the education of young Italians of good family, was established during the period of reconstruction which followed upon the downfall' of Napoleon. The brothers remained at Viterbo until the death of their mother, in 1824, wheri their pathways diverged. Joseph was destined to and trained for the Society of Jesus, while Joachim was entered at the Roman College, which was restored to Jesuit control by Leo XII. Whatever may be thought of the religious views or general work of the Jesuits their masterly skill in developing the intellectual faculties of their pupils is undeniable. In Joachim j Pecci they had a splendid subject, and his training made him not only a profound and elegant scholar but also a capable and resourceful man of affairs. In classics, mathematics, science and philosophy he gained distinction, and at the end of his' course, iv 1828, he was specially chosen to defend, according to the old custom, a thesis against all comers, la 1830 he became a Divinity student, and two years later obtained the degree of Doctor of Theology. He decided to enter the secular priesthood and the service of the Holy See. With this end in view he studied civil and ecclesiastical jurisprudence at the Academy for Noble Ecclesiastics, and graduated as Doctor of Civil and Common Law. This long course of study, which was of a most thorough and exhaustive character, had fitted "a naturally suitable instrument for the delicate work of administration. In 1837 young Pecci was appointed a domestic prelate to Pope Gregory. XVI. He received successively the minor orders, and was ordained to the priesthood on the last day of the year. HIS FIRST CHARGE. . j The future Pontiff had already won the recognition of his superiors, and he was known to be possessed of high moral j qualities as well as great intellectual ] attainments. He was soon to add ad- j ministrative successes to his academic laurels. In 1838 he was appointed Apostolic Delegate or Governor of Benevento, an outlying province of the States of the Church, situated near Naples. In this office he displayed firmness and energy, particularly in the suppression of brigandage and smuggling, crimes in i which even the nobility were concerned. The manner of his rule is well illustrat- ! ed by a story told in Justin M'Carthy's "Pope Leo XIII.":— "A great noble of the province once stormed in upon the young delegate, and furiously complained that the delegate's agentu and the delegate's police had interfered with and overridden his seignorial rights, and made arrests within the limits of his own domain. The delegate answered blandly that offenders again&t the law must be arrested wherever they could be found. The noble — he a marquis — declared that the law did not apply to his territory. Pecci blandly observed that he did not know how in these days of civilisation any man, however high his position, could put himself above the law, or even outside the law. Then the wrath of the noble marquis boiled over, and he declared that be would go off at once to Rome, and would return with an order from the Pope for the dismissal of the delegate. 'Go by all means,' said the imperturbable delegate ; 'but please to remember that in order to get to the Vatican you will have to pass the Castle of St. Angelo.' The reply of Pecci contained a distinct threat. The Castle of St. Angelo holds a famous prison. The words of the delegate made it clear enough to the noble marquis that the delegate knew him to have made himself responsible for acts more distinctly criminal than a claim to exercise exclusive I rights within his own domains. The | marquis did not go to Rome. The de'.e- I gate soon after got evidence which war- j ranted him in having the castle of the j marquis broken into and captured by the j Pontifical troops, and the band of brigands who had sheltered themselves there given oven to trial and justice." Thus, in his first responsible office, Peaci was no respecter of persons, but an impartial and strict upholder of the law. NUNCIO AT BRUSSELS. In 1841 Pecci, who had given ample proof at Benevento that he was a ruler of men as well as a student of books, was recalled to Rome by Pope Gregory. He was piomoted in rapid succession to the civil charge ifirst of Spoleto and then of Perugia. At the latter place his just,' sympathetic, and energetic government won him the respect and affection of the j>eq_>le. Be tiausli became,

strongly attached to the place, and it was amid mutual regrets that he and the Perugians separated when in 1843 he was selected for the high diplomatic post of Apostolic Nuncio at Brus&els. His advancement in the service of the Holy See had been unusually rapid, but at the same time ifc was undoubtedly the outcome of recognised merit. Chosen at thirty-thres for the delicate work of Papal representative at the Belgian Courfc, Pecci, had he been influenced by personal ambition — and his action afc all the crises of his life proves that he was not — might have felt that a brilliant and successful career was assured to him. In order that he might have ecclesiastical rank befitting his new dignity, he was created Archbishop of Damietta, in partibus infidelium. Belgium was at that time one of the most interesting countries in Europe for the student of politics. Only about twelve years before it had by a revolution broken away from Holland, and under the judicious rule of its king, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, uncle of Queen Victoria, ifc was rapidly developing strong national feelings and progressive ideas. It was a Catholic country, and it was making its first essay in self-government under- a Liberal Constitution. Important questions directly affecting the welfare of Catholicism and the interests of the Holy See were being warmly discussd. At the revolution of 1830 the Roman Catholic clergy had lost the administration of public charities, which they were in 1843, and have been ever since, striving to regain. A keen struggle was also raging between the Liberals and the Church over national education. This is a subject of dispute familiar in all lands where the State undertakes the work of public instruction. Pecci's task at Brussels was not an easy one, but although he did not gain any striking victory for the cause he was defending, his diplomatic skill was well exercised, and he gained thus early experience which stood him in good stead when as Sovereign Pontiff he had to guide the Church in other lands during similar struggles. Without entering into the merits of the controversy, it is worth noting that Pecci had the wisdom to see that until the denominational teaching institutions were models of efficiency the Church could not hope to triumph. He set himself during his stay in Belgium to study closely the various colleges, schools, and foundations, and to urge upon their managers improvements wherever he thought them needful. He was a persona grata at Court, and won the lasting regard of King Leopold. He took a lively interest in railways, gaslighting, and o&er progressive works then being fostered in Belgium, and displayed a receptive and unprejudiced mind in such matters. Among the friends he made at Brussels was Count Frederic de Merode, afterwards famous as Monsignor de Merode, War Minister to Pope Pius the Ninth. • Pecci's strong will and practical mind were shown in the determination with which he set himself to study French, of which he knew hardly anything when he received his appointment as Nuncio. "He made his whole journey to Brussels," says a biographer, "a study of French. A lucky delay — a delay, lucky in that sense, although it was caused by illness — kept the Nuncio immured for a fortnight at Nimes, and he resolutely gave up every possible hour to lessons in French. By the time he reached Brussels he was able to -understand the language and make himself understood." HIS SELF-SACRIFICE. Pecci was fast gaining influence in Belgium, and establishing his claims to be regarded as an able diplomatist, when he received from Pope Gregory the news of his appointment as Bishop of Perugia. In ordinary circumstances such a transfer could hardly be regarded as a promotion. As Nuncio Pecci had his feet firmly on the ladder of diplomatic preferment, and the transformation into a working Bishop would- not have been pleasing to an ambitious and worldly-minded man. The future Pope, however, was a disinterested servant of the Church ; he made no effort to reverse the Papal decision, but rather accepted it with alacrity. His former rule in Perugia had so endeared him to its people that they had petitioned the Pope to send him back as Bishop whenever an opportunity arose. Gregory, who was, apparently, a correct judge of Pecci's character, granted the popular -wish, and wrote to the young Nuncio explaining everything and assuring him that the transfer was meant as a promotion. The leave-taking at Brussels was as great a tribute to the Nuncio's charm and worth as had been that at Perugia two years before. Before returning to Italy Pecci visited England, where he was cordially received by Queen Victoria, and thence journeyed to Paris, where he made the acquaintance of King Louis Philippe. On reaching Rome he found his friend and patron, Pope Gregory, dead, and Cardinal Mastai Ferretti ruling in his stead, under the title of Pius the Ninth. The new Pontiff congratulated Pecci on his services, and the latter, who was allowed to retain his title of Archbishop, proceeded to the diocese where he was to labour for two-and-thirty years. THE CHURCH AND THE NATION." Pecci's long tenure of the bishopric of Perugia, extending from 1845 to 1877, covered the period during which the spirit of Italian nationality was working through revolution, bloodshed, and warfare to the building-up of the modern Kingdom of Italy. This spirit of nationality seriously atfected the Papacy 'in its spiritual as well as its temporal sovereignty. Besides being the Sovereign Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope was a temporal Italian prince ruling over a considerable extent of territory, known as the States of tke Church. The growth of national sentiment which followed upon the break-up of the Middle Ages and found its most pronounced expression in England during the sixteenth century, had seriously curtailed the jurisdiction exercised by the Pope as the spiritual vicegerent of Christ upon earth just as it took away al. reality from the pretensions of the head of the Holy Roman Empire, then a German Prince, who in virtue of his mediaeval claims was technically regarded as the Pope's temporal alter-ego, tho civil vicegerent of Christ upon earth. It was not, however, until well on in the nineteenth century that Italy began to feel the effects of the movement which had triumphed in England about three hundred years before. The form it took was not that of i-sligious reformation, but of tho secularism born of the French revolution. Napoleon's premature attempt to form a united Italy had, perhaps, fostered this alliance between nationality and rationalism. But for the Italians as for the rest of tho Romance races, the religious problem seems, as a rule, to resolve itself into the straight-out issue Roman Catholicism or nothing. The Pope, as an Italian Prince, was in virtue of his temporal power an obstacle, probably the most serious obstacle to the consolidation of Italy, and gradually Italian nationalists realised that their aims involved direct antagonism to the Holy Sec which, then as now, insists upon the essential unity and interdependence of the temporal and spiritual sovereignty. Thus in Italy the spirit of nationality attacked both prerogatives of the Papacy, and national unity has been achieved at the heavy cost of national estrangement, from the Church, which represents tho only form of Christianity possible for the bulk of the Italian people. AT PERUGIA. Pecci's Pei:i;;inn episcopate, which practically coincides with the reign of Pius _the $i3tU. 3v.as ons> oi th.9 me-t critical ,

periods in the history of the Papacy. Eio its close,- Rome had become the capital of a united Italy, the Church had lost its temporal power, the Pope, no longer an Italian sovereign, was virtually a prisoner in the Vatican, and in Rome itself the Holy See was fighting for control over education and its own clergy against the secular Government of the day. Perugia, in 1846, was included in the States of the Church, but, long before Rome was joined to the Italian Kingdom, it had come under secular rule, and Pecci bravely and ably strove to retain for the Church within his sphere of influence such rights as remained after her loss, of temporal jurisdiction. His diocese was more than once exposed to the horrors of the spasmodic warfare which attended the long-drawn struggle between King and Pope. To attempt a description of Pecci's part in these momentous affairs it would be necessary to tea in detail the history of Italy for thirty years. It is, however, sufficient to note that he displayed throughout unswerving loyalty to his church, deep sympathy with his flock, and a statesmanlike grasp of the situation which impressed his opponents. Urban Rattazzi, a Prime Minister of Italy under Victor Emanuel 1., and therefore opposed to his policy and ideals, spoke of him in the following terms: — "This Pecci is a man of indisputable worth, of great force of will, of rare severity in the exercise of his functions ; with all this he has the most agreeable manners. During his sojourn at Benevento he displnyed great capacity, together with decisive and inflexible character. On various occasions I have spoken of him with King Leopold, who has the perspicacity of no other King in Europe, and who had studied and appreciated him proportionately when he was Nuncio in Belgium. We discussed his infinite prudence, his incorruptibility, and his dignity, which inspires an insurmountable awe of his person in our Government officials. His devotion to the Holy See is unlimited, his principles are most energetic ; his- inflexible, almost obstinate firmness, permits no suspicion of faltering. One cannot help recognising him as a priest to be esteemed and admired, a man of great political foresight and of still greater science." In spite of the violent political changes which were taking place, Pecci laboured hard in Perugia to promote religion, education, and the general welfare of his people. He founded and encouraged colleges, schools, hospitals, and charitab'e institutions of all kinds. He cherished the arts and cultivated the muses. He insisted again and again upon the need of a learned priesthood, and devoted strenuous efforts to the education of his clergy. As evidence of his breadth of mind, it may be observed that he was a warm advocate of female education. His faith in the Church, his belief in its destiny, never wavered even when in 1870 the withdrawal of the French troops led to the occupation of Rome by the Royalists. Whether or not he thought Pius the Ninth erred in allowing his dread of the revolutionaries to check his first generous impulse to place himself at the head of a Federated Italy, Pecci never swerved from his allegiance, and never attempted to compromise what he considered fundamental principles. In 1854 he had been created a Cardinal, and in 1877 he was caUed to the high office of Cardinal Chamberlain, which carried with it the duty, when Pius- died the following year, of acting as temporary head of the Church, and superintending the arrangements for the Conclave summoned to elect the new Pope. The Conclave of Cardinal met on 18th April, the late Cardinal Manning being among tne number, and after repeated ballots at last chose Cardinal v Pecci, who took the title of Leo XIII. (To be concluded in our issue of next Saturday.)