San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-06-19
CARDINAL LAEIGERIE.
A Christian Cathedral Built Above
the Ruins of Ancient Car
thage.

A Christian Cathedral Built Above
the Ruins of Ancient Car
thage.
New York Tribune.
ALGIERS, May 24.-On Thursday
morning last the solemn conservation
of the new basilica of Carthage-the
cathe dral church in Africa-was cele-
brated by Cardinal Lavigerie in the
presence of forty Archbishops and
prelates Of high rank. At a later
hour in the afternoon His Eminence
inaugurated the opening session of
the Council of Bishops, the first of
the kind which has taken place there
since the year A. D. 252, by st. Cy-
prian. The cathedral is perched on
the summit of the Byrsa Hill amidst
the ruins of the old acropolis, and on
the very site of that famous heather
temple of Esculapius, IN which, at
the close of the last Punic War, B. C..
took refuge with his wife, chill
dren and some Roman deserters, de-
termined to defend themselves to the
last and to perish among the ruins.
Hasdrubals heart, however, failed
him, and, while his family and his
followers met bravely the doom from
which he so meanly shrank, he sur
Rendered himself to the Roman con-
Querers, who, after causing him to
march in chains in the triumphal pro-
cession of the victorious general
through the streets of the Eternal
City, subsequently tortured him to
death.
The cathedral presents a very
striking appearance with it's dazzling
white towers and minarets. Its
architecture is mixture of the
Roman and Byzantine, and 1t is built
of a brilliant white chalky-looking
stone, which has been quarried in the
island of Malta. Within it is divided
into nave, transepts and gallery, and
the roof is supported upon l42 columns
of white Carrara marble. The wood
work is of pitch pine, and the walls
are decorated with exquisite colored
Tunisian falence. The ceiling has
been painted by native artists with
a profusion of arabesques, but, in
accordance with the prescriptions
contained in the Koran, they hay q
carefully avoided all designs repre-
senting either human beings or ami
mails
The cathedral dominates the entire
surrounding country. standing on
the top of the steep hill up the slope
of which a body of some 5000 pilgrims
from all parts of the world wendell
their dusty way on the day of the
conservation. They were followed at
10 o'clock by the 4th Regiment of
Zouaves, which, preceded by its band.
served as escorts to the marvelouslv
chiseled gold and jeweIed casket
that contained the relics of st. Louis,
the Crusader King of France. The
latter persisted some half dozen CEN
turtles ago, almost on the very spot
where the cathedral erected ia his
honor and hearing his name now
stands. The relics were placed on
the high altar, at the foot of the
steps leading up to which is a mable
slab cOncealing the entrance to the
tomb in which Cardinal Lavigerie de-
sires to DE inferred. The Inscription
on the stone is in Latin, and reads as
follows:
Here rests in peace.
In the hope Of infinite mercy,
He who was
Charles Martial Allemand Lavigprip.
Cardinal priest of the Holy Roman
Church.
Archbishop of Carthage and AlgiprS.
Primate of Africa,
And who is now but dust.
~, Pray for him.
The spectacle inside the cathedral
during the ceremony of conservation
was most picturesque. The foreign
consular corps at Tunis and the Off
GERS of the French garrison, in their
gold-laced uniforms, the gorgeous
vestments of the prelates, the flowing
robes of the native dignitaries who
had assembled to witness the ipau-
guration of the new mosque to the
Prophet Jesus" and white cowls and
red feZzes of the monks Of st. Charles
an order founded by the cardinal
for missionary work in Africa-aIl
to render the spectacle
one never to be forgotten. Equally
memorable was the sermon preached
rom the altar steps by the venerab bile
cardinal, which was brought to
close with the following words. deIiv-
ered In tones of impassioned elo-
Iuence:
And now, bells of our cathedral,
announce the birth of new Carthage.
Ring forth from today nothing but
and life. Speak to these
people who environ you nothing but
If peace, concord and brOtherIv love.
And declare to the world that if the
priests Of pagan Rome were brought
lere in times of old to curse, the
priests of Christian Rome have come
My to bless Carthage and poor