The Irish standard., 1896-09-26
An Interesting Sketch of the
Great Italian Prelate Who
Succeeds SataIli.
Simplicity and straightforward
ness One of His Char
acteristics.
Born in City That Existed Over
Half Century Before
&si3s.-s Christ.

It has been my privilege, says ~rite:
in tie baltimore Sur, IL have IOWA
Father Martinclli 70: many yeA's. No
one conld cpue near to him and ksCN him
without, admiring tae silnMicity and
straightforwardness CT his speech, his mar
difficult er involved questions.
Several years OF his life were spent in
teaching in the conveat or college Of the
Irish AugustiniaDs at their house of Santa
Maria Posterula, on the banks OF the Ii
ber.. at Rome. Many Of the young still
dents, since priests, who came to that
quaint, ol1..fasdioned house,. palace be-.
fore il was convent, with its three f1na
arches opening on 70 the Tiber and charm
ing views of st. Peters, the Castle st. An
gelo and the castle meadows, then mr.
built on and picturesque in their sylvan
beauty-nlany of these students owe much
of their development III intellect and vir-
tue to the lessons Of young Father MaTtf-
nell. 1t was here I, a visitor to the genial
prior of The house, the wel.known Prior
Glynn, became first acquainted with
Father Martinelli. Then he was a quiet,
retiring young man, whose voice was
scarcely heard and who was but rarely
seen, yet ever gracious and kindly in his
greeting. Here also his brother, the Car
diral, lived, as here he found himself
among his brethren Of the same order.
Living here it vas tut natural that he
should learn Englisl AID he las ac .uirc'l
ti,..t language thoroughly. He ce.'.inly
does speak it su'Ect n'ly Will t0 con IS 70
Others :. all clearness a'1 p.ic!stsa tho
thoughts which he h:,r /. Is ,ni1d. nd il
he ever hesitates for a word it is not that
he carnot find one, but that he wants to
select the noet suitable for the expression
of his thought.
There IS special interest in learning,
from the Voce della Verita, that notwith-
been destined by the Holy Father ne will
general of the Augustinian Order, leaving
a representative in Rome during mis- stay
in America This will obviate, in the mean
time. the necessity of holding a gene
raj chapter for the election of new gene
raj. The same organ OF Vatican opinion
adds that he is friar Of great learning. OF
hcly life and is endowed with extracrdi-
nary prudence. These qualities will find
their full exercise in the new position to
wnica he has been appointed.
HIS BIRTHPLACE.
The place, Lucca, from which Father
MartinelIi takes his origin, is one Of the
most interesting of the minor cities Of
Italy Like so many other towns OF this
historical land, it's beginnings are lost in tas
nlists Of antiquity. AS the local historian,
Enrico Ridolfi. says of it: <'We ignore at
what time and by whom it was founded
1t was an, Etrlscan city, and 1t enters into
history SIS years before Christ, when it be-
came a Roman mnuicipium under Domi-
thus Calvin1s. And so it went through the
usual vicissitudes of the time, Julius
Caesar being its Governor for a time.
One of the greatest surprises that this
little city, the birthplace of the new dele
gate Apostolic, offers to the traveller is the
memory it preserves Of S. F'rediano lin
Latin, Frigidianus) or Fridian, an Irish
saint, who, in the sixth century, came here
and established his see. The present
cathedral, dedicated to St. Martin, was e.
tab!ished on the site Of the old original
church bul1t by S. Frediano between the
years A. d. $50 and 5SS. 1t may nave been
that the memory of what an Irish saint
ildu dcul6Veu AVi Ills uotIvo o1ey aoA".AS So
acceptable to the young Martinelli long
residence in an Irish house Of his order in
Rome. The honor that people pay to q
patron saint in Italy explains the habit
that the I.uccese have of naming SO many
OF their sons Frediano. Father MartinelH
says that about half Of the inhabta1its espe-
cially the commercial half, are called Mar
tinelr: SO it may be said that half the men
are called FTediano.
Such are few memories OF Lucca-the
city Of olives, the oil of which has a world
wide reputation; the city Of statuette deal-
ers, who have flooded France, England and
the United States with tiny replicas oe
the great works Of antique and modern
sculpture, and the city Gf music, from
which have come more composers than
from any other city Of Italy.