Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-07-13
A REPUTED RELIC OF ST. PETER,

Inc mOSU nOJdDlo eCCl6SlaSGlCal event.
that has ever occurred in Vermont will
take place in the Cathedral of the I'm
maculate Conception in Burlington,
August 9th, being the conservation of
precious shrine made for the reception
of part of the chain which, it is said,
bound st. Peter when he was confined in
Mamertine prison in Rome by order of
the Emperor Nero. There is in process
of erection an altar of Italian marble,
upon which will rest the shrine of bronze
and crystal. Many notable persons will
be present and take part in the consecra-
ton. Among those expected are Mon
signor Satolli, the Papal legate; Arch
bishops Williams of Boston and Corrigan
of New York; the Bishops of all the New
England states, Montreal, Ottawa and
Quebec, with others from the Middle and
Western states.
In the morning Monsignor Satoili, will
celebrate Solemn Pontifcal Mass in the
cathedral, the sermon being preached by
Bishop Bradley of Manchester N. II. In
the afternoon there will be procession,
consisting of all the ecclesiastical digni-
taries present, all of the Catholic socie-
ties of the diocese, with many from the
, provinces of Quebec and the New Eng
land states. The choir on this occasion
will consist of fifty voices, assisted by
the Howard house orchestra under the
direction of Rev. Father Boyle of the
cathedral These are already rehearsing
Gounod's "Messe Solennelle." In the
afternoon Rev Father Doherty, S. j., of
Montreal will preach in Battery Park,
overlooking Lake Champlain.
The link brought to Burlington by
Bishop de Goesbriand is said to be ore
from the original chain which in itself
has quite a history. According to ira
dition, after the martyrdom of st. Peter,
the faithful in Rome did not forget the
chain that bound him and finally pro-
cured it from his keepers. 1t was kept
hidden until the year 1911, when it was
found during the pontiticate of st. Alex
ander l. He confided it to Theodore,
sister to st. Hermes, who caused an ora
| tory to be erected on the Esquiline Hill,
in which the chain was deposited.
The two chains of Jerusalem were
| then in the possession of the Patriarch of
Rome, and are still to be seen in the
| Basilica erected by the Empress EudoXia.
The smaller one has only five links, the
last of which is in the shape of letter
| S. When one of the chains of Jerusalem
was brought to Rome by Eudoxia the
sovereign pontiff desired to compare it
with that used in the Mamertine prison,
but legend says that as soon as the two
were brought in contact they instantly
| became jointed together so as to form as
| it were one chain made by the same
| workman, This miraculous event is
said to have occurred on the first day of
| August since which time on that day
the feast of the chains of st. Peter has
been celebrated.
During the stay of Bishop de Goes
BRAND in Rome last year he visited the
church of st. Peter and Vincula and
and made thorough examination of
| their chains. He requested that fac
smile be given him, which was done,
and on the day of his departure from
the Holy Land he placed this fac smile
on the tomb of st. Peter in Rome. On
Mt. Carmel in Syria it was placed on the
altar of Our Lady at Nazareth: in
| Gethsemane on the spot where our Lord
sweated blood; and finally in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the
place of the crucitixion, of the planting
of the cross, and on the holy sepulchre.
| On his return to Rome from the Holy
Land Bishop de Goesbriand learned that
in the church of St. Cecilia in that city
were few links of the chain that were
said to have bound Peter while he was in
prison. Becoming convinced OF their
authenticity, on the eve of his departure
from Rome he had an audience His
Holiness Pope Leo XIII, and made bold
to ask for one of the links. A day or
two afterwards he had another interview
with His Holiness, and before leaving
was informed that his request had been
granted, and that the cardinal protector
of the Church of st. Cecilia had been in
structed to detach one of the links and
give it to him with an authenticated
letter.
The diocese of Vermont now possesses
not only fac-simile of the great chain,
but link of the reputed original chain,
these being the only ones in America.
The magnificent shrine has never been
exhibited, and will be seen for the first
time on the morning of August 9Th,
when the cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception will be opened to the faith
full. The shrine was built in New York
and cost several thousand dollars.