St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-09-19
TOMsS IN Sr. PETERS.
Some of Them Have lBeen Violated and
the bones Scattered Abroad.

| Some OF Them Have Been Violated and
the bones Scattered Abroad.
One of the best tombs in the basilica
is that of Sixtus ~. the first pope of
the Rovere family. in the Chapel of the
Sacrament. The bronze figure. lying
low on a sarcophagus placed out upon
the floor. has a quiet. manly dignity
about it which one cannot forget. But
i'm the same tomb lies greater man
of the same race. Julius H.. for whom
Michelangelo made his great "Moses"
IN the Church of San Pietro in Vinco'i.
a man who did more than any other.
perhaps. to make the great basilict
what il is. and who. by a chain of mis-
takes. got no tomb of his own. lie vino
solemnly laid the foundations of the
present church and lived to see the four
main piers compieted.with their arches.
has only little slab in the pavement to
recall his memory. The protector anil
friend of Bramante. of Michelangelo
ard of Raphael-of the great architect.
the great sculptor and the great painter
has not so much as the least work os
any of the three to mark his place of
rest. Perhaps he needed nothing but
his name. which must always stand
among the greatest.
After all. his bones have been allowed
to rest in peace. which is more than can
he said of all that have been buried
within the area of that church. Urban
VI. had no such good fortune. He sd
much surprised the cardinals as soon
as they had elected him by his vigorous
moral reforms that they hastily retired
to Anagni and elected an anti-pope of
niider manners and less sensitive con-
science. He lived to triumph over his
enemies. In Piacenza he was besieged
by King Charles of Naples. He excom-
municated him. tortured seven car
tlinals whom he caught in conspiracy
and put five of them to death. over
came and slew Charles. refused him
burial and had his body exposed to the
deris:on of the crowd. The chronicler
says that Italy. Germany. England.
Hungary, Bohemia. Poland. Sicily AMI
Portugal were obedient to the Lord
Pope Urban VI" He died peacefully
and was buried in St. Peters in mar bic
sarcophagus.
But when Sixtus ". who also sur
prised the cardinals greatly, was in a
fit of haste to finish the dome. the ma
sons, wanting a receptacle for water,
laid hands on Urban's stone coffin.
pitched his bones into corner and
used the sarcophagus as they pleased.
leaving il to serve as a water tank for
many years afterward.
In extending the foundations of the
church Paul Ill. came upon the bodies
of Maria and Hermantia, the two wives
of Honorius. the emperor who ''discs-
tablished'' paganism in favor Of Chris
tianity. They were sisters. daughters
of Stilicho. and had been buried in their
imperial robes, with many rich objects
and feminine trinkets: and they were
found intact. as they had been buried.
in the month of February. 1543. Forty
pounds of fine gold were taken from
their robes alone. says Baracconi. with
out counting all the jewels and trinkets.
among which was n very beautiful lamp.
besides great number of precious
stones. The pope melted down the gold
for the expenses of the building ami
set the gems in tiara, where. If they
could be identified, they certainly exist
to-day-the very stones worn by en-
presses of ancient Rome. = Marion
Crawford, i'm Century.