Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-16
ROYAL CHURCHES.
Magnificent and Historic EdIfices Visited by
Father Phelan.

Magnificent and Historic Edlhces visited Dy
Father Phelan.
The Rev. DR.. D s. Phelan, editor of
Western Watchman, who is now in Italy,
writes home some very interesting letters
on Rome, Florence and other cities. To-
morrow's issue of the Waterman will
contain one dated at Florence, August
p, in which ne treats of the churches
of Rome 1T begins by saying that
he has long had it in his mind TO
write of the monumental church editices
that are found in Rome, but that he has
been deferred by the magnitude Of the
task. The pictures of the churches wereS
particularly pleasing to him, and of them
he says: 1.-THE paintings that cover the
walls and adorn the ceilings are all
instinct of sublime devotion.
Their subjects are all inspired
by faith, and the portraits of the
saints that look down on you from every
side are ideals of what is most elevating
and sublime in Christian morality. No
wonder Professionalism has not produced
single great picture. PTOtestants have
no conception of the counsels of Chris
tan perfection, prayer, ecstasy, self
sacrifice. union with God Protestant
ism has produced at best men, great
men, still only men. The church alone
produces saints.
He says that one of the first things that
finds condemnation from the Protestants
is the tons of gold, silver and precious
stones which seems thrown away upon
the shrines. The church, he continues,
regards nobility of soul the most precious
and peerless thing on earth, and to en-
blematize her judgment, she filings gold
and silver and precious stones IN
uncalculating disorder at the feet
of the saints The wealth of the
churches of Italy would pay the
national debt of this country ten times
over, and yet no living human being de-
rives l penny's profit in century from
the Investment.
In speaking of the churches outside of
Rome, DR.. PheIan writes as follows:
I had the honor of celebrating the holy
sacrifice at the same altar at which, over
four hundred years ago, q pope said
mass and an emperor received holy COM
munion. At Florence they have their
! grand Dunno, the third largest church in
| ChristendOm, st. Peter 5 being first and
| st. Paul's, London, being the second.
| 1t was at this church, in the year 1889,
! the union Of the Greek and Latin
| reioicings of both East and West. A
! tablet on the wall attests the event and
reading it in the light of subsequent
| events one is apt to repine at the incon-
! staucy and perversity of the hnman heart,
| the union there cemented was of such
! short duration The church is of marble
! and one of the most stunning monuments
of Christian generosity in the world. The
campaniIe is so beautiful that Charles ' G.
| said it should be enclosed III glass case.
! In Bologna | had the happiness of say
ing mass over the tomb of st. DOmenic,
who died in that city. 1t IS gorgeous
! shrine, and the privilege Of celebrat-
ing at it is not freely accorded. In this
same church of St Domenic st. Francis
Xavier celebrated his first mass. 1t is a
very old but eXeellently preserved
church, and the piety of the people anu
| the zeal of the good monks give earnest
of q long and glorious future of the
| church and parish. In the church
! of st. Catherine l saw st. Cath
crime herself still sitting bolt
upright in the same chair she has Occu-
pied these 300 years. Her body is not
decayed The skin is very black, ex-
cept around the mouth, but the face,
hands and feet are full and well rounded g..
the wrist and lifted the arm to show its
fexibility. Some years ago Plus *,
lifted the arm as high as the top of the
head and then replacing the hand in the
lap, said: ''FuI minis audax 81 Yves
too bold. The face has the semblance OF
a human face strOnly mummitied.
He speaks of the people of Bologna as
being very devout, and the churches "a
being always well filed on Sundays anc
week days His next letter will bS
about Venice and St. Marks. The fol-
lowing gives his views on the Catholic
papers of Italy: They are few, no
half dozen being printed out
side of Rome, and generally
they are of the heavy, whining
sort. A witty, wide-awake, waspish
Catholic journal in the Italian Language
would make the lot of the modern red
very uncomfortable. These latter peO
pie are a tumble of inconsistencies an(
contradictions. They know not wha
they want, and if they did they wOulC
not know how to go about attaining it.
THE JOKE WAS ON SMITH.