The Irish standard., 1891-03-14

l
aeeting life could never move me.
ever longed afrer the eternal. The NOR
tai enchains not my spirio. He wh'
; seeks his home after long exile is happ.
when he sees his bark approaching tht
/ haven -
! True faith and strong feeling breathe
| through these lines. No weak being il
he who at 20 can look unmoved upor
the face of8death. Pecci received his di
|ploma from the university at Rome
where he also received the tonsure ano
1.-The inferior orders, and celebrated his
first mass. In 1887 he received the
higher orders from Cardinal Odescalchi
and was named by Gregory XVI: one o1
chaplains. Having studied iurispru.
| dence, he was soon called to euthority
in the states Of the church. On Feb. 49,
1888, he was sent by the Pope as dele
gate to Beneyento, where he found
plenty to do hunting brigands and
building roads. After short residence
as delegate in Perugia he was next sent
as Papal nuncio to Belgium. King Leo
pold I. appre lated his character, which
in many features resembled his own,
and was fond of having him at court,
and when hersturned to r. oms gave him
O most friendly letter to the Pope. Be-
fore returning to Italy Pecoi made a
short tour through Germany, seeing
Aix, Cologne, Mainz and Trier. Thus
| he learned to appreciate German yatho-
licism, with which hs had always mad
great sympathy, which he had striven
to aid with all his might in it's battles
with Prince Bismarck.
In 1916, the year of Pope Gregory's
death, his appointment. already desig.
mated by Gregory as bishop Of Perugia
| was confirmed by Plus TX, and he re-
manned in that city until 1878, when he
assumed the tiara. Here he also wrote
many poems, some Of which show the
strongest feeling, but in all of them Leo
is first priest and then poeS.
| He has read much Of modern litera-
| ture. and modern writer's are often quot
ed in his pastorals, which are far better
measures OF his temper and intelligence
than his Papal encyclicals.
He has strong leaning, and also q
great talent, for diplomacy. Whoever
may be the foreign secretary at the
! Vatican Leo XIII, always remains his
own foreign minister His attitude to-
ward foreign powers is that OF an equal,
and he always holds grave and digni--
| fed language IN addressing them in his
pastoyals He treats with the protestant
sovereign Of Germany in his capacity of
ruler over SO mary of his spiritual sub
iects with calmness and wisdom. He
would like to open negotiations of the
same kind with the Czar, but the Rus
sian bear will tolerate no interference.
He ignores the anti Christian doings Of
the French republic, and looks upon
France only as party to the Concordat,
which he is we'll aware she will never
dare to abolish,
His arbitration between Germany and
Spain, regarding the Caroline Islands.
was masterpiece of diplomacy. He is
and always has been mirror of exact
ness and punotuality. A story goes in
Perugia how q certain professor, who
was also his friend, having for several
mornings arrived late at lecture. was
struck dumb on one occasion to find on
his entra nee the cardinal himself sitting
in his chair and lecturng on his behalf.
The professor exhausted himself in ex-
cuses, but he was effectualy cured of his
unpunctuality.
The diplomatic corps at the Papal
court look on with astonishment at the
patient endurance with which His Holi-
ness goes through with the most; weari-
some routine Of receptions and presenta-
tions. He always receives in person the
bishops from foreign countries, repre-.
sentatives of Catholic societies and
swarms of pilgrims from all parts of the
world Of late his purely ceremonial
receptions have been less numerous
than formerly. The departure from
Rome," the very idea OF which fills Italy
with such frantic excitement, and briggs
about the fortune or ruin of so many
votaries of the lottery, will probably
not take place in Leo's lifetime. He is
too we'll aware of the prestige attaching
to the Eternal City; and knows how
strong source OF weakness his presence
in her capital is to the Italy of today.
Lao XIII. is older than any cardinal.
Since his accession more than sixty car
dinals have died. Among these are
three of his secretaries Of state, Oardi-
nal Franchi, Cardinal Nina and Cardi-
nal Jacobini. Among them also was
his brother. Cardinal Pecci.
He studies and writes from
early morn to deWy eve. One Of his
secretaries told US that his private cor
respondence wass appalling in its bulk