Pope Leo.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXX, Issue XIX, 9 May 1903, Page 1279

Pope Leo.

INTERESTING ANECDOTES. There is no more interesting figure in •he Europe of the present day than Pope Leo, whom King Edward recently visited at the Vatican. Only two Popes in the long line of the Vicars of Christ have occupied their high office for a period so long as twentylive years. In addition to this, the advanced age of Leo XIII. draws attention to his person in a particular degree. On Monday, March 2, he entered his ninetyfourth year. It may not in consequence of all this be amiss to make some note of what manner of man is Leo XIII., and what are some of the things he has done. Joaehin Vincent Raphael Peeci was born on March 2, ISIO, at Carpineto. The mother of Leo XIII. was a descendant of a famous Volscian family. Count Domenico, his father, fought for a time under Napoleon I. But wnile Napoleon held Pius IX. in his dutches. Count Domenico lived quietly in his house at Carpineto, little dreaming that his son was to be the successor of the imprisoned Pope. Vincent Peeci spent a happy childhood in the “Eagle’s Nest,” as his brother called the home, for he was the youngest of six children —four boys and two girls—and the memories of that peaceful time permeate his poetical work. Like most boys of his class, he was put in care of the Jesuits. Carpineto lay in the Volkan hills. Vincent Peeci had the long, lean, straight, broad-shouldered frame of the true mountaineer, tire marvellously bright eye. the eagle features, the wellknit growth of strength, traceable even in extreme old age; and in character there is in him the well-balanced combination of a steady caution, with an unerring unhesitating decision. As a boy he was a great walker and climber, and said to be excessively fond of catching birds with nets as well as shooting them. LEO AS A SOLDIER. It is not generally known that the Pope in his early life displayed qualities that would have made him a good administrator of the North-Western provinces of India. In 1838 he was dispatched as Papal delegate to the province of Benevento, then in a very unsettled state, and took prompt and vigorous action against the brigands. He began by satisfying himself that the Pontifical troops could be relied on. He then drew’ up his plans of campaign with the utmost secrecy. He obtained the fullest information on the districts in which brigandage chiefly flourished, and dispatched columns of troops led by reliable and experienced guides. The result soon surpassed all expectations. Most of the robber chiefs were arrested. and their gang dispersed. With a view to restoring confidence among the people, he had the dreaded chiefs loaded with chains and marched through the streets of the city. lie also took care that all sentences passed by the Courts were carried out to the letter. And brigandage died out for want of brigands. HIS ‘ TOUCH OF NATURE.” As a boy, we remarked he was passionately fond of shooting. It is another of the human ties which binds him to his fellow men. These touches of human nature are not wanting, for the Pope seems to be a man who is capable both of administering sharp reproof and of frankly confessing his error. For instance, finding himself thwarted on one occasion by’ Cardinal Oreglio, he told him sharply: “Will your Eminence please remember that I can not only’ bestow the hat, but also take it away?” “Holy Father,” quietly replied Cardinal Oreglio, “you have that power, but if you use it against me I shall consider myself happy to suffer for having spoken the truth.”

This incident happened at the beginning of the year 1884. On March 27 following Leo XIII., recognising that in Cardinal Oreglio he had to deal with a man and not a courtier, appointed him Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the eventful head of the executive power during the next vacancy in the Holy See. On another occasion he was so put Out by Cardinal Parocchi that he asked him to resign. The wily Cardinal asked for time, and then, when the Pope sent

to ask him his decision, he asked for more time. At the end of two days the Cardinal sent his answer. He said:

“I have duly reflected, and I consider it my duty to remain at my post so long as Your Holiness does not think fit to relieve me of it.”

The delay had given the Pope time to think it over, and the period of reflection convinced him that Cardinal Parocchi was too useful to be sacrificed.

The following anecdote of the Pope and his doctor gives one of the delightfully human touches of nature that make the whole world kin.

When the Pope was suffering from hoarseness the doctor advised his patient to curtail a discourse he was to deliver during the day. z Leo XIII. pocketed the powder and thought no more about it. As to the discourse, the Holy Father did not omit one word of it. In vain did the doctor, who was present, repeatedly clear his throat with much emphasis as a reminder to the Pope to economise his strength. His Holiness kept on and even purposely raised his voice. After finishing his address he sent for Dr. Lapponi handed him the powder, and said, laughingly: “Here, my dear doctor,, take your powder. You evidently need it more than I.” A GREAT CHESS PLAYER. Chess is, er was, the favourite pastime of the Pope, and his mastery of this complex science was said to be great. A Roman priest. Father Guila, had the honour of being his usual fellow-player, and he has fulfilled this high function for over four-and-thirty years. When Cardinal Peeci mounted the Pontifical throne as Leo XIII. Father Guila was in Florence. The Pope called him to Rome, and even gave him his lodging in the palace of the Vatican. His skill at chess was marvellous, but he was credited also with a strangely irascible temper. At times the good priest even worked himself into a terrible passion. On these occasions, it is said, the Pope stopped the game and delivered to Father Guila a neat little discourse in praise of Christian renunciation and the conquest of self. THE MAN AND HIS HABITS. Describing the Pope’s habits as they were a year or two ago, one who was acquainted with them said: Leo XIII. was of fastidious cleanliness and precise habits. His Holiness was very fond of birds, having an aviary’ in his garden and feathered songsters in his rooms. He was also immensely interested in viticulture, and had a large vineyard. The situation, however, was not ‘favourable, and the wine produced was of inferior quality. But though he drank little ofit.it sold at a high price, as being produced under the Pope’s superintendence. His speech was deliberate but unhesitating, energetic, precise in form, and authoritative in manner. His voice was wonderfully’ clear and ringing, with a certain incisiveness of sound, which gave it great carrying power. His enunciation was exceedingly clear in Latin, Italian, and French. His favourite poets were Virgil and Dante, from whom he quoted liberally. The Pope was a strict economist, his establishment was essentially frugal. He had a marvellous memory for little things, for faces and names, for figures and facts. In his private life he was remarkable for a dash of shrewdness and simplicity. The Pope took snuff, and when it was prohibited during illness, he suffered keenly. KING OSCAR’S INNOVATION. Forres of salutation observed in the presence of His Holiness are the theme of many anecdotes.

Kingly and princely visitors bent low and kissed the prof erred hand of the Pope, although one or two reigning monarchs introduced a variety in this respect. King Oscar of Sweden was the first to make the innovation. He was received at the Vatican with much pomp and ceremony, and as he entered the throne-room the venerable Pontiff movd to meet him, and extended his hand in greeting. A monarch of a Catholic country would in like circumtance have been bent his knee and kissed extended hand—while Protestant monarchs had hitherto bowed low. But King Oscar, who is well over six feet in height, advanced with his head well in the air, seized hold of the Pope’s hand, and shook it with the greatest hearti*

ness; then, stooping down he threw his arms round the fragile form before him and imprinted in rapid succession three sounding kisses on his face, in just the same manner as he is accustomed to when visiting temporal monarchs. The horror manifested by the prelates and courtiers cannot well be described, but the Pontiff himself was much amused, and from thenceforth took a great liking to the Swedish King.

His Imperial Majesty of Germany since followed suit, greeting the head of the Roman Catholic Church in exactly the same fashion.