VISITED BY POPE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4282, 29 September 1936, Page 2

VISITED BY POPE

TOMBS OF PREDECESSORS Pope Pius visited the tombs of his predecessors in the grottoes under St. Peter’s on June 28, and meditated on the place he has chosen for himself, says the New York ‘ Times.’ On the eve of the fete day of St. Pter the Pope, Pius. XI., now in his eightieth year, knelt at the tomb of Peter and prayed. He thereby followed a custom of more than GO years. But the visit was deeply significant in view of the Pope’s age, and the belief he has expressed he may not have long to live. Only a small group of ecclesiastics and Swiss and nobte guards attended the Pope as he descended from his apartments into St. Peter’s by an elevator reserved for himself. All other persons were escorted from the great Basilica, and the doors were closed. The edifice was completely illuminated. Pope Pius walked directly to the Altar of the Confession, which is directly over the Tomb of St. Peter. There he knelt on the damask-covered steps. He recited the Rosary and concluded with some minutes of silent prayer. Rising to his feet, he went to the small chapel before St. Peter’s Tomb. This chapel is in a sunken portion of the cathedral, where the pavement gives way to a flight of stairs leading to the tomb. There lie blessed the pallia, or mantles of lamb’s wool worn by archbishops and bishops as the insignia of their rank. They were in a silver box in front of the tomb. He then entered the grottoes of the Basilica, where Popes lie buried in the so-called Chapel of Popes. He saw the tombs of his immediate predecessor, Benedict XV., who made him a cardinal, and of Pius X. The chapel is a small chamber, with a low, arching, white-washed ceiling. Gratings open in the ceiling, on a level with the pavements in St. Peter’s. Tall candles flickered before the tombs. In one coiner of the room other candles gleamed before the tomb of Queen Christina, seventeenth century ruler of Protestant Sweden, who gave up her throne to become a Catholic. Pope Pius stood before the tombs in silent contemplation. Five years ago, on this same spot, he remarked, almost with enjoyment: “Some day I also shall find sweet repose in this place.”