The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-02-16 00:00:00

THE DEATH OF THE POPE.

Pope Pius IX. died on Thursday afternoon (Feb. 7).
The official declaration of the physicians who attended
His Holiness assigned paralysis of the lungs as the
cause of his death.—He was the 252nd Pope of Rome.
He presided over the Holy See longer than any of his
predecessors. of whom only three surpassed him in
age—John XII., who lived to 90; Clement XII.,
to 92; and Gregory IX., who was a centenarian.

"From the Osservatore Romano I take some details
of the Pope's last hours" (writes the CorreToudent of
the Daily News):—
" A general rise in the temperature of the body and an
accelerated pulse on Wednesday evening alarmed the
physicians, and at three next morning a restorative was
administered. The effect of this soon passed off, and at live
there was great distress of breathing, .accompanied by a
sudden fall of temperature. At half-past eight the
pulse was feeble and frequent, while the air passages
were loaded with mucous secretion. Despite these
distressing symptoms, his Holiness preserved his
wanted serenity and intelligence. His sacristan, Mon-
signor Marinelli. the nadministered the viaticum, and at nine
the Extreme Unction. At ten the pulse was barely percep-
tible. By this time the exposition of the Sacrament in the
parish churches awakened the alarm of the public, and there
was a general rush to the Vatican. Meanwliile 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, anyi 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 of the grave commenced the recommenda-
tion of the Holy Father's soul, and while the act of contri-
tion was recited he roused himself and devoutly uttered
the words, "with your holy aid." At this point the
breathisig 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 he could not more plainly ex-
press himself. Cardinal Pilio, the Penitentiary Major, then
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 tht lower limbs to
the trunk. The eyes became overclouded, and the death-
struggle set in. Amid the constant prayers of the cardinals,
who relieved each other iq breathing consolation into his ear,
the death-rattle continued audible, till at half-pd'st five Car-
dinal 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 reternam dona ei Domine," when car-
dinals, prelates, pontifical guards, and attendants pressed
forward to kiss once more the hand which had so often been
raised in benediction over them." Such is in substance the
official report, revised by Cardinal Simeoni, of the last hours
of Pius the Ninth.

"To the foregoing details 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' (mate 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 Cardlital 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 Rome, 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.

The official Gazette of Saturday evening says :—"To the
mourning of Catholicism for the death of its august and
venerated chief is joined the regret of the secular world at
witnessing the removal of one of the great figures of our
century. The Pontificate of Pius IX. has left an ineffaceable
trace in the history of Italy and Europe."—The Gazette pro-
ceeds to give an account of the rope's illness, and dwells
upon the noble conduct of the population of Rome and the
respect and devotion it displayed towards the Read of the
Church. It concludes by announcing that from this evening
till the end of the lying in state in the Basilica of St., Peter
all public spectacles and amusements are suspended. '

The public were admitted from half-past six o'clock on
Sunday morning to St. Peter's to visit the remains of the
deceased Pontiff lying in state An immense crowd assembled
at the doors of the Basilica to obtain admission, and the
crush was so great that the military and police force on duty
had to be increased. Many women fainted, and cries were
heard from women and children unable to extricate them-
selves from the throng. At length the company of troops
was sent into the Basilica in order to regulate the passage of
the crowd. The remains of the late Pope Pius IX. clad in
the Pontifical habiliments, are laid on a crimson bed, at each
of the four angles of which stands a Noble Guard with
drawn sword. Twelve large candslabra surround the bed.
The body is so placed that the feet of the deceased Pontiff
extend beyond the altar rails of the chapel in which the bed
stands, so that the people, according to custom, may be able
to kiss them conveniently. The face of the deceased is calm,
and the features unchanged by death.

"All the Cardinals in Rome except Cardinal Panebianco
and another were present at the opening of the sealed
packet left by the Pope. Both documents thus left had
been dictated by the Pope to persons not members of the
Sacred College. lie has left directions that his obsequies
shall be such as have been customary, and entreats that the
Conclave shall be held in Rome with all usual formalities.
He reminds the Sacred College of all that he has suffered
rather than injure the interests of the Church. Among the
other documents left by the Pope is one showing that out
at the funds furnished by the Roman Catholic world he has
provided three and a half million francs annually towards
the provision for future .Popes, and a sufficiency for the
ma.ntenance of a Court and Diplomatic representation, and
for the payment of the persons in his employment up to his
death during their lives."—Correspondent of the Standard.

The embalming of the body of the Pope began at eight
o'clock on Friday evening, and was finished at half-past four
on Saturday morning. Dr. Ceccarelli and eight assistant
medical men performed the operation. All the bodily
organs were found to be perfectly sqund except the heart,
a portion of which showed some slight signs of thicken-
ing of the walls, tending to cause an impediment
to the circulation. The flesh of the body had no ap-
pearance of emaciation, and the skin was white and
healthy. The legs bore marks of the wounds whence the
humours had free exit to the last. The viscera Were
carefully removed and deposited in a jar, which was closed
up by the Polish Penitentiary with a seal supplied by the
Majordomo. The operation was conducted in the presence
of some of the Noble Guards and the Penitentiaries, the
corpse lying on the iron bedstead alluded to above. The
process of injection was employed, and was attended with
perfect success, the windows of the room being opened to
purify the atmosphere loaded with the odours of the
powerful aromatics made use of. Photographs were taken
of the corpse before the embalming took place, and a por-
trait sketch was made of it by Petacti.—Correspondent of
Daily Telegraph.

The late Pope has left two wills. In the first, which is
drawn up in his quality of Pontiff, he leaves an annual sum
of 3,500,000 f. to his successor for the expenses of the Iloly
See, and an annual allowance for the employes of the former
Pontifical administration. In the second document the
testator, speaking as a private person, makes his nephews
his heirs, and leaves 300,000 f. to be distriuuted atuong the
poor of Home. At the death of his successor in the Papacy,
the late Pope orders that his own remains shall be entombed
in the Basilica of St. Laurence extra muros. Ile has also left
a very simple inscription for his monument, the cost of
which is not to exceed 2,000 f.

The Camerlengo has found in the Pope's desk a sealed
pacitet with instructions for its delivery into the hands of
his successor; also 400,000 scudi in gold and French bank-
notes, the destination of which probably is designated in
the Popo's testament. The Pope's wealth altogether is said
to amount to 120,000,000 lire, which is mostly in the hands
of the Rothschilds at Paris.

On Sunday at all the Roman Catholic churches in the
dioceses of Westminister and Southwark, special prayers
were offered for the repose of the soul of the late Pontiff,
Pius IX. In many of the churches outward signs of mourn-
ing were used, the pulpits, the pietures, and the sacred
effigies being draped in the penitential purple used during
Lent. • Ithati•the West-end churches and the Pre-Cathedral,
;.liCenAingtett, Farm-street, Spanish-place, and the Brompton .
Oratory, 'the congregations appeared in deep mourning, the
gentlemen wearing hatbands, and the ladies being attired
in deep crape costumes, while in even the poorer dis-
tricts many of the members of the congregations
and, confraternities appeared with crape armlets. Very
few special sermons on the career of the late Pontiff
were preached, these being reservedjor the special requiem
masses"to be celebrated during the week. Monsignor Capel,
however, made the life of the late Pope his subject at
Spanish-place in the morning, and at St, Mary's, Moorfields,
in the evening. In the morning sermon he dwelt particu-
larly on the grandeur of the Pontiff's character as revealed
to the world by his courage i benevolence, and unselfish-
ness ; and in he evening service on his ecclesiastical mission
in being elected as the head of the Church'who was destined
to give a guide to the consciences of men by the promulga-
tion of the accepted doctrines of the Church in the Immaculate
Conception and the Syllabus. At all the evening services a
prayer for blessing on the members of the Conclave was said.
At the Cathedral, Southwark, a solemn High Mass was
sung by Dr. Crookhall, Vicar-General, assisted by the Rev.
Fathers sßeyetiert and -Burnett, accepted. by the church
choir: The prayer mind on similar occasions:ln all Roman
Catholic churches for guidance in the choice of a successor
to his late Holiness was then offered up; and at the conclu-
sion of the service the sermon was preached by the Rev.
Joseph Reeks, who took his text from Colossians iii. 14—
"But above all these things have charity, which is the bond
of perfection." Having defined charity in its most extended
Christian acceptation, the preacher went on to say that if
they wanted to know what charity really was their best study
would be the life and acts of the late rope. No man had
suffered more persecution than his late Holiness, and if eve l-
a man truly forgave his enemies that man was Pius IX.
He was despoiled of all he possessed on earth, was driven
from his home and his earthly kingdom, and was at last
compelled to witness the entrance of his enemies through
the gates of his own city. A place of residence, but
nothing more, was given to him by an earthly government,
but from the windows of that residence he could see the
soldiers of his enemies keeping around him watch and ward.
Truly he had suffered, and lied drained the cup, of humilia-
tion to the dregs. It would not have been wonderful then
if he had filled the world with protests against-his hard fate.
He did piotest in heart-broken terms to every Government:
but not for himself. He only Isaid, "I suffer, and because I
do so,- the Church of God suffers." All his written and spoken
utterances—and they were many—were not for himself, but
for the well-being of the Church, and for the glorification of
God his master, who appointed him to rule the Church; and
he knew that his sufferihgs were not merely his, but those
of the Church of God. He was a great man, and perhaps
the greatest Pontiff the world had ever seen. It was not for
men to judge him ; but even if the most ardent bigot
wished to find blots in his character, it would be impossible
for him to do so; not the whole critical world could pick no
hole in his character. No one could say a word against the
memory of Pius IX. ; and there were very few in the
universe who would rejoice at his departure. His courtesy
was universally known, and by his sympatiissise gained the
affections of all hearts. All who were admitted to his
presence went away charmed with his manner, because he
was always mild and affable in his bearing, and, excepting
on those points on which the Church could not give way,
he was ready to yield to the wishes of others. He was gone
now, and the greatest Vicar thst ever shone in the annals of
the Church was relegated to the past. The whole world had
heard of his death, and there lead not gone up that cry of
execration which sometimes was raised on the death of an
illustrious man. Pius IX. crowned his life, almost on the eve
of its dote, by one of his greatest acts of Christian
charity. When his arch enemy, that king who hild
despoiled him of his kingdom, was in ibis. death throes, and
.when it was feared he would not have time to repent and
receivd the hit sacrament of the Church, the:fppe declared
, with tears in his eyes that he 'would go himself if it were
' ' not for his infirmities, and with his own hands would ad-
minister the last rites and consolations. When the news
reached this country that his Holiness was gone there was
scarcely a heart that was not stirred to its depths at the sad
tidings. Many au eye was wet with the tears of sorrow, and
all hearts were shaken with emotion. Every Catholic felt
that he had lost a good and kind protector, for. in fact his
Holiness was the personification of the charity to which the
text referred. He was a bright and shining light to all man-
kind, and it was for them to endeavour as far as they could
to follow his example by being in charity with all men.
At the Pro-Cathedral, Kensington, the usual High Mass
was celebrated. In the morning, and in. the sermon, which
was preached by the /tev. Dr. Angus, a brief allusion was
made to the life and character of the late Pope. Mass was
said by Dr. Rouse, assisted by Father M. Fanning and Father
C. Biale, the high altar being draped in purple and Bur-
=anted by a Dlacit Daum', on winch On fignxo of fhocr
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