The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-03-06
Irish College in Rome.

Irish College in Rome.
|. A correspondent of the Dublin ITeesnans
Journal, in writing of the Irish College in Rome
and it's Church, gives some interesting partic-
ulars:
that the eye of the Irish visitor will first search
out is the memorial which the patriotism and
the affection of a friend and follower, more
Irish than the Irish themselves, have placed
above the spot that enshripes the Liberator of
his country. The monument erected by Charles
Bianconi over the resting place of OConnelPs
heart is on your left hand as you enter the
church, and is very graceful though simple
piece of sculpture executed in Carrara marble
by the great Roman artist, Benzoni. In the
| basement slab is grouping, representing
| O'Connell in presence Of the Speaker and House
of Commons, holding in his hand the degrad-
ing and insulting oath which he was asked to
| swear, and uttering the memorable words that
struck off the chains from around himself and
| his Catholic fellow countrymen, and made
their religion free. Above it is the inscription
recording that, dying ut Genoa, ION his way to
| the Eternal City, he bequcathed his soul to
God, his body to Ireland and his heart to
Rome" In the upper portion of the nonu.
ment is a figure of Erin, holding in her hand
the urn supposed to contain the heart; at her
| feet is an Irish wolf dog, and above her in the
distance is the figure of an angel pointing up,
wards to the heavens, whittier his soul had
winged its flight
On the other side of the river from that in
which the heart of OConnell lies enshrned,
rises up an object conspicuous 1Or many, miles
around the Church of ST. Peter in Mohtorio
1t is situated in an unfIequented place, on the
spot where OF old, on the summit of the Jani-
cnlum Hills watch was kept to guard the city
from surprise. From every part around it, as
it stands on its lonely and lofty eminence, the
spectator will obtain n magnificent view of the
city, its glorious structures, its ruins, its river
its Campagnh, and the noble range or neigh
, boring mountains covered thick with snow as
we gazed upon them the other day under Il
bright, hot SUM, that add such picturesque
| tn, srli nf
> But it is not so much for this that the Catho-
lie, and more particularly the Irish Catholic,
wends his way up the steep ascent, and makes
= n sort of little pilgrimage to the Shrine. Every
: Catholic goes there to pay his homage at con-
secrated spot-every Irish Catholic has the ad-
n dtional incentive that he is going to pray over
!, Montorfo is built beside the place where well
:, authenticated tradition has recorded that st.
Peter was crucified. In the open space imme-
diately outside the church, an eXquisitely con-
3 structed round temple, erected by Bramante,
encloses the precise spot where the martyrdom
!, took place, and it is marked by series of
, lamps, burning ever brightly around it, The
interior architecture of the church itself is
simple and unambitious, butthe sacred edifice
contains many treasures in frescoes, in paint
ing and in sculpture, which will not fail to at
tract the eye, and will amply repay the visitor
for any tune he may linger in admiration
1 amongst them. But on the floor, little to the
left of the principal altar, are two large monu-
0 mental slabs of marble laid side by side, and
= the record that is inscribed upon them will
l possess more of interest for the 1rishman, and
especially for the Irish Catholic, than would
r the highest conception of painter of sculp-
j, tor.
Some sleep far off in other lands,
were the words of o memorable ballad, and
here we are, far, far away from the old country
] at home, kneeling above the ashes of some of
the bravest and the truest of that country's
y prosecuted and exiled children. For in the
consecrated soil beneath, weared and worn by
}, the trials they had passed through, were laid,
growing close on three hundred years ago, all
: that was mortal of Roderic and Calphurnius
i O'Donnell, the brave Cheftains of TyrconnelI,
and of Hugh ONeill the chiTalrous Baron of
Dungannon. The ihscri ption over the Tyrcon-
: nells tells us that Roderic had escaped from
. the greatest dangers because of the Catholic
= religion, an unceasing defender of the Apos-
tolic Roman faith, for the maintaining of
, which, Re, patria prcfagus-there is a sound of
, sadness IN the very words" an exile from IA
u therlaud," having travelled through the coun-
! tries of Europe, and being received with sin
u gular love and honor by it's Christian princes,
and ut Rome by the Supreme Pontif Paul W.
: died in THAT city amidst the most earnest
prayers for his recovery, and by his premature
death at the early age of three and thirty
q !. years, brought intensest sorrow to his own
: younger brother, Calphurnius, "the companion
! ! of his danger and of his exile" died in two
months, and was laid with him in the grave,
: being only twenty-five years old The inscrip-
u ton adds that Prince Hugh, their eldest
!, brother, whom {" whilst he thinking af-
fectonately and in n Catholic spirit of his
ialth and OF his country,) Philip III. of Spain
n kindly welcomed, had already died before
= them, and inferred with every mark of
honor by order of that prince in the city of
Valladolid. The inscription over Hugh ONeill
Q narrates how he had followed his father and
. his uncle prince Roderic,) who had fought for
many years against the heretics in Ireland, y
r to Rome, the common asylum of Catholics, !"
and that, having been snatched away in the
q midst of bright hopes for his future, he died
= there, mourned by his own as by the whole
y Roman Court, in September, 1909, in the 25th
), year of his age. All these records are but the
y framework of an interesting pcture-they tell
!. of their birth, they tell of their death, and
what passed in the interval is the subject of a
= romantic history already written.
+ -..
4 REMNANT OF THE PENAL T,ws-A IN q.