THE LAST HOURS OF PIUS IX.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 5345, 9 April 1878, Page 3

THE LAST HOURS OF PIUS IX.

The own. correspondent at Rome of the London Hail}/ Telegraph writes to that journal under date, Feb. 8, as follows':— From the Osservatore Romano I take soma further details of the Pope’s last hours: A general-rise in the temperature of the body and an accelerated pulse op, 'Wednesday • evening alarmed the physicians', 1 and at three next morning a restorative was administered. Tbaeffcet ofthissoon passed off, andatflro there was great distress of breathing, accompanied by a sudden fall in the temperature. At halfpast eight the piilse was feeble pud frequent, while the air passages were loaded with mucous secretion. Despite these distressing symptoms, his Holiness preserved his wonted serenity and intelligence. His sacristan, Monsignor Marinelli, then administered the viaticum, and at nine the Extreme Unction. At ten the pulse was barely perceptible. At this time the exposition of the Sacrament in he parish churches awakened the alarm' of the public, ar,d there' was a general rush to the Vatican, Meanwhile the

malady made swift progress. The surface of the body became chill, and a livid hue overspread the extremities. In another hour the respiratory distress was painful to witness ; but still his Holiness remained calm, and, taking a crucifix from under his pillow, he blessed with it the bystanders round his bed. It was now noon, and the physicians saw that the respiration had become abdominal. The members of the Sacred College were all in the room, and assiduous at the bedside were Cardinal Bilio and Monsignor Marinelli. Amid the silence commenced the recommendation of the Holy Father’s soul, and while the act of contrition was recited he roused himself and devoutly uttered the words “ with your holy aid. At this point the breathing grew more laboured, and the death-rattle distinctly audible. Still his Holiness retained his faculties entire, and was understood imperfectly to articulate his regret that ho could not more plainly express himself. Cardinal Bilio, the Penitentiary Major, theft asked him to bless the Sacred College, and his Holiness lifted his right hand and blessed them. At twenty minutes to four the livid hue had extended from the lower limbs to the trunk. The eyes became over-clouded, and the death-struggle set in. Amid the constant prayers of the cardinals, who relieved each other in breathing consolation into his ear, the death-rattle continued audible, till at half-past five Cardinal Bilio began to recite the mystic offices, to which all present responded. At the commencement of the fourth office the death-rattle ceased. The kneeling cardinals rose to their feet, and the words of absolution, repeated in a loud voice, were accompanied by the ticking of the clock, as at forty-seven minutes past five it marked the spirit’s flight. Scarcely had the Cardinal Penitentiary pronounced the words “Requiem seternam dona ei Domine,” when cardinals, prelates, pontifical guards, and attendants, pressed forward to kiss once rr.r/o the Imnd which had so often been raised m - mediation over them. Such, is in substance the official report revised by Cardinal Simeoni, of the last hours of Pius the Ninth. To the foregoing detail I can add the following, not official, but none the less authentic:— By his Holiness’ deathbed stood Cardinals Bilio and Marinelli, and when Extreme Unction had to be administered the Holy Father said, “ Fate presto,” “ Fate presto ” (make haste, make haste). He spoke little afterwards, but said from time to time: —“ Oh ■ Heaven, to which I have aspired, and which I have so ardently loved, I hope Thou wilt receive me.” When Cardinal Marinelli recited the prayers for the dying in Latin, Cardinal Bilio responded for the now inarticulate Pope in Italian, and taking the matter of his improvised responses from the previous life of His Holiness at Spoleto, at Imola, and in Borne he always concluded them with the words : —“ I pray that Thou wilt forgive this deed.” When, at three, Cardinal Bilio asked the Holy Father to bless the Sacred College, the last agony had set in. In Vatican circles it is believed that the Pope, enfeebled as he had been by the receptions of pilgrims last June, was this time fairly sacrificed to the attempts made, bnt ineffectually, to rouse him to a similar demonstration of energy for the 2nd inst., the Feast of the Purification.

The master spirit of the Vatican is now Cardinal Bilio, the author of the Syllabus. Cardinal Simeoni’s influence seems effaced with his portfolio.