The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-01 00:00:00

ALLOCUTION OF THE POPE.

At the Secret Consistory, held by our Holy Father
Pope Pius IX., on March 16, in the Apostolic
Palace of the Vatican, his Holiness delivered the
following allocution :
" VENERABLE BRETHREN,—It is known and notorious
to all, Venerable Brethren, how, in these wrethed times,
unhappy Italy in particular, and almost the whole world
is convulsed and tormented by the violence of a deplorable
rebellion, to the exceedingly great and never sufficiently to
be lamented injury of the Catholic Church, and to the in-
credible grief of ourselves, of you, and of all good men. This
most grievous revolution hath so struck the Republic of
Mexico, that our moat holy religion has been lamentably
afflicted and prostrated there. We, therefore, keenly anxious
and solicitous for the safety of the universal flock of the
Lord, divinely entrusted to us by Christ, the Lord himself,
apply all our thoughts and care to repair the spiritual ruins
of the faithful there, and more and more to procure their
good. And, Venerable Brethren, since almost all the
bishops of the Republic of Mexico, torn from their own
flocks and cast into exile, have gathered together in
this our fair city, and have represented to us that a new
circumscription of those most extensive dioceses was quite
necessary, we have determined cheerfully to comply with
the just wishes and requestsof these our venerable brethren.
Wherefore, we announce to )ou that the cathedral churches _
of Mechoacan and Guadalajara have been raised by us
to the archiepiscopal dignity, and that seven new dioceses
have been erected in Mexico.

"Two of these, Tulancingo and Queretaro, have been
formed in territory severed from the Archiepiscopal Church
of Mexico ; two other dioceses, viz., Vera Cruz and Chi-
laps, in territory severed from the diocese of Puebla de los
Angelos; two, viz., Zamura and Legios, in territory taken
from the diocese of Mechoacan; and one, namely, the dio-
cese of Zacateco, in territory severed trom the see of Gua-
dalaxara. Therefore, to the metr, •politan church of Mexico
will be subject as suffragans the dioceses of Puebla, Chiapa,
Oaxaco, Yucatan, Vera Cruz, Chilapa, and Tulancingo.
To the Archiepiscopal Church of Mechoacan will be subject
as suffragans the dioceses of St. Luiz de Potosi, of Quere-
taro, Legion, and Zamora. To the Archiepiscopal Church
of Guadalaxara will be subject as suffragans the dioceses of
Durango, Linares, Sonora, and Zacateco. We have ordered
that letters apostolic shall be issued, in which are pre-
scribed the new limits which the dioceses of Mexico are to
have in future, the number of which, as yeu see, is increased
considerably. Thus while the Revolutions endeavour ut-
terly to destroy all religion in those regions, we strive to
apply timely remedies to the many and great misfortunes
of those populations byfounding new dioceses, and zealously
to provide for the ecclesiastical affairs of that republic.
" We trust that God, plenteous in mercy, will bless these
our efforts and grant them a joyful and gratifying success.
And as we know well the religious and episcopal zeal by
which all those are distinguished wham we have promoted
to the government of those dioceses, we doubt not that they,
corresponding with our wish. will endeavour sedulously
to fulfil all the duties of their most important office, to take
every care of the spiritual good of their faithful, and to lend
us all their help in arranging the ecclesiastical affairs of that
republic.
" The present deplorable condition of Poland has also
more and more excited our pontifical solicitude with which
we have always watched that Catholic kingdom; so that
among other things we have resolved on providing for the
widowed state of several dioceses of that kingdom, some of
which, to our great grief, had long been deprived of their
pastors. Wherefore, as you have heard, we have announced
and appointed the Bishops of Plock, of Augustowo, and of
Chelm (the last of whom is of the Ruthenian Rite), and suf-
fragan bishops of the churches of Warsaw and Chelm that
they, together with their other venerable brethren, bishops
of that kingdom, inflamed with sacerdotal zeal, and sedu-
lously seeking the things which are of Jesus Christ, may
apply all care, diligence, labour, counsel, and study, so that
the divine and saving religion and doctrine of Christ, re-
maining stable and unshaken in that kingdom, may daily
strengthen and flourish more and more, and so that all
these evils and misfortunes may be removed from which the
Catholic Church in those regions long suffers. May the
most clement Father of Mercies and God of all consolation
deign propitiously to grant our most humble and fervent
prayers, which day and night we cease not to pour forth to
Him for the triumph and peace of the Holy Church over the
whole world, and for the true prosperity and peace of all
nations.

" Moreover, we announce to you, with no small joy,
venerable brethren, that treaties have been made by us with
the Republic of San Salvador and of Nicaragua, on the
model of these treaties which have been made by this Apos-
tolic See with other governments of Central America. By
these treaties we have resolved and determined that it
should be provided in the first place, among other things,
that both in the Republic of San Salvador, and in the Re-
public of Nicaragua, our most holy religion must be domi-
nant, and must be, absolutely, as it were, the peculiar reli-
gion of both Republics. It bas also been fixed that the
venerable rights of the Catholic Church are to be preserved
entire and inviolate—that the bishops are to be absolutely
free In the discharge of their sacred offices--that the accu-
rate education, especially of the younger clergy, is to be most
diligently provided for—that seminaries are to be founded
—that a suitable endowment is to be given to the priests—
that other religious families are to be able to exist there be-
sides those which exist there at pr-sent,and that the bishops
of both republics and all the faithful are to be able to com.
municate freely with this Apostolic See.
" We have ordered that these treaties, already ratified by
us and by the presidents of both republics aforesaid,should
be laid before you, together with the letters apostolic con-
firming them, in order that you may be more fully and
more accurately acquanted with them.

" Moreover,we have determined that your most illustrious
order is to be this day increased by a new number of Car-
dinals, by our summoning into it distinguished men, who,
being conspicuous for singular fidelity towards us and this
Apostolic See, and excelling in t alent, probity, piety, and
learning, have discharged excellently well the duties with
which they have been entrusted, and by whose help and
yours, we trust that we shall be helped in the Government
of the church in these most cruel times."

A story is afloat of the honour paid by Prince
Alfred's brother middies to their royal messmate,
apropos of his election as King of Greece. Hearing a
great row in the young gentlemen's berth, on board the
Royal Gs:orge, the captain, on inquiring the cause, found
the mess had determined to crown the Prince. So they
bad got the ship's carpenter, or armourer, to make a tin
crown with which the Prinoe was solemnly ingested, a
purser's dip being first stuck on each point of the circlet,
and lighted.