The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-02-14

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Man in Rome, from which we take . fsw
paragraphs. The writer has the good taste
to declare that he is not of those who
sneer at practices and ceremoniaIs OBJ
seryableteyery day, e which many of our
people here sdo;n and can sympathiye
with the feeling of reverence, of awe, OF
love, of, piety that prompts those who do
In a dark, stone- walled and st0ne-roofed
dungeon under an old ehurch4-a dungeon
from which mortal man never escaped !; a
dungeon in which many n brave old Roman
was starved and murdered; a dungeon that
makes the visitor sigh for air and lights
a stone pillar to which st. Peter was chain
ed. In 'front.' of this, and but a few feet from
L it, is spring of water which miraculously
gushed forth to enable the imprisoned Apos-
tie to baptize the jailer, whdm his prayers
and preaching had converted Erom Pagan
isnn to Christianity. ThatssPrifg is not>yet
dry. q t@tpssl AZ s.; asae/ Rjap.R'{oq
Some three hundred years b I've come and
gone since an old man, bending under the
weight Of more than s'three sepre years and
tep,h yexed at hearing the tRbmans of that
time boast OF the old PANTHEON ma o thing
of wonder, told them that hefwould bald .
church so large TINT he esGid put q Pan
from the ground that its a0weststone should
De higher than the highest OF the Pantheon;
and, to-day, Angeles dome, ON the great
church Of Sc. Peter's, tells the world how
well ythe cid man kept his word=-tefls of D
higher and greater faith than; men had
leSrnea when tfe Old Pantheon was new !;
and new the mighty structure.r crowned by
the Pantheon of tie Christian atanils. with
.iss walls SO thick. and the space they en-
close 20 great, that the Temperature within
newer aries;- --symbolical the uniyersali-
rty and eqaalizing influence of the faith IL
genius to The Great Fatl,ea.
Y As there was bat one St. Peter among the
Apostles. so there is but one st. Peters
amongst the worlds churches. p Since the
late political troubles of the papacy, no WIS.,
itor is allowed in the, dome, for fsar-so it
is ssid4-tbat some reyolutiouist NAV place
the flag of Italy on its ton. Neither are
visitors allowed in the, crypt, for fear---so it,
is said--that some reyolntionist may. blow
mp the church. foa 81 Is5aal3z aa,Yf 81 q
IL The " atican is known as the residence of
the Pope. True, the holy father occupies n
few of its forty-five hundred rooms--and
only a few Many of the remainder are
used for public purposes; but~:tfie great
feature of the MISUNDERSTANDING make it
famous the world over,-<is it's immense col
lection of ancient sculpture, its great libra
ry, wonderful paintings, and unriyaled Inu-
scum. Of these, and such as these, is the
Rome of to-day. aA.ss 4r.4 III Hi
= In the church of st. Peters there is o
large bronze statue Of that Saint sitting in
marble chair. His right foot extends out
to the edge of the base on which it rests.-
Devotees have kissed this foot, and pressed
their foreheads on it so much, that the
great toe 10 worn away almost to the first
Joint To one amused to such things, it
seems strange to see old men, whose backs
are SO bent with age that they can barely
get their lips and foreheads high enough to
reach the saints toe, come tremblingly up,
cane in hand, take their coat.sleeves to
wipe off whatever the last worshiper may
have left on the foot, and, with an effort,
raise their totsering old heads mp, and rev.
erently kiss the toe, and tenderly lay their
wrinkled foreheads On it, s5.st fe. 4.
Strange is it to us Of Protestant America
TO zee mothers lead their little ones up to
the place where the bronze figure sits, kiss
and press the toe themselves, and then
touch the sinless lips of childhood to the
cold metal honest homage of honest hearts,
Strange to us, who think we worship ideas,
and pay but little heed to the physical
types thereof, is it to see stalwart soldiers,
booted and sparred, with their swords clat-
terinR ever the marble floor, march nh 10
al. =. -