The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-24 00:00:00

CHURCH.

The solemn function to 17e celebrated on the Bth of
nsielxicta,misoanoth, the takingpecaliarinitpaonsasteussrieonano the
df
soanLtiaqtuereanin Ba
tile-
(foohrriigmsiniimanlm)which his present holiness
that
is about to restore it
will be reatedhdaiwattiwetheotimtuttiohne
predecessors
rseusrtebayo
m all.
some
accountating
of
f departeditsi
nf rs
The Lateran is considered the mother and head of all
churches on earth, having been founded by Constantine
the Great, and dedicated to the Saviour, to St. John the
Baptist, asd to the Evangelist of the same name. For-
after their coronationesi ate thine Vatican,
pmreorcleys stihoen , Popeswit h allr their .d
dcourt, .
palace adjoining it, and
solemnly
Hence
th a enterori
origin
iian
ot of Thee occupancy
function
sanctuary, toc return in
cniedn
tio whichn ,
buatt
aoffift,
er rst
the
the iumnmheeadl
pontiffsitah tye
left
atmosphere
followedtohs the Lateran
hLe
eaiarwnl
tel
etehthrtdhi
aoceenthew!euihtta. sie;:aar‘
hhoyperfaerievisceisoinesrasos(foxua, 'l
con-
sequencel;
posed, a later occasion was fixed on for the formery
t,Tishtehaetarolfietste‘o‘ pillseinssoth"eonf
the order of which the' pontiff received the tiara
cere-
mony.
accord-
ingictc otuo
probably silver
tissue) at the foot of the stairs before the Vatican
form of a helmet of " white cloth,"
Basilica, whilst the priors, or chief magistrates of the
i civic districts, chanted three times in Latin, " Our Lord
Pope Leo, whom St. Peter has elected in his chair, to sit
therein many years." He then mounted his palfrey,
and attended by all his court, passed through the crowde
ggi°to celebrate
streets to the Lateran. Some of the
, ut threpownittihfros we
crowned out of Rome, but so important was the cere-
mony in the Lateran considered, that it a
course as in the case of St. Silvester, who, after his coronation
lways
followed
dispensed
,
e
asse
in the
walls,po
scsheusrsci
olan.
returned o f t
oSt. h Me
cityar y iz i
onf Ca ol len i
they
horse a
The popes who resided at Avignon, of
with this rite, but a procession was substituted for it, in
which, after receiving the crown, white
p
d through
the city in great magnificence. When Clement the
Sixth made this progress, the Duke of Normandy, eldest
son of the King of France, the Duke of Burgundy, and
the Lord of Dauphiny, acted as his grooms.
people, who
were allowed the privilege of taking possession Of the
horse, with its trappings, on which the pontiff had ridden,
in the
use return
o f throwing
o rto. thewin g Popes
maey to
to homethe we find the
caunsAdt of tmoefr
the canopy borne over his head. This practice
gave rise to the most dangerous tumults, and similar
lawlessness, whether from motives more malignant,
actua:ly proved fatal to two, Pius 11. and Sixtus IV., after
a'etion, are such as
which the perquisites of the horse and canopy were with-
the precession
with-
held. The accounts given of the magnificence of the
thVeadtiacyanofatth the
rtoi
nu
call the most stately picture before the imagination.
progress reeesl
es
bfrr
ao
tme d the
The cardinals and prelates all rode in their mitres,
copes, rochets, or other most solemn attire, the fantastic
richness of the liveries worn by the laics who assisted,
the glittering of arms and waving of plumes, the spark-
ling of gems on the caps and collars of princes and
ambassadors ; these were the details of the gorgeous
accumulation. An ancient usage was then followed, of
having the blessed sacrament borne in a golden ciborium,
I
on the back of a richly caparisoned white mule, sur-
, rounded by twelvo assistants with great wax torches.
ill the eeremobial of Innocent VIII we read that as