Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-06-05
FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF POPE
The Cardinal knocks Thrice ON the
Door of the Bed Che.=.s.r.

When the death of the reigning pope
draws near, the cardinal secretary Of
state informs the dean of the sacred col
lege, who summons his colleagues to TIE
| residence of the dying man; the cardinal
vicar issues orders that prayers be offered
In the Roman churches; the cardinal PEN
itentiary attends the bedside of the pope,
to whom the sacristan of the pope's chap
Ell administers extreme JUNCTION, says q
writer in the May Century AS soon as
may be after death has occurred, the
BODY must be formally recognized by the
cardinal camerlingo, who, in obedience
TO an ancient custom, first knocks thrice
on the door of the bed chamber. Getting
no answer, he enters, and taps thrice with
a silver mallet on the dead mans fore
head, and thrice calls him by name. No
response coming, the camerlingo declares
that the pope Is dead. Thenceforth the
camerlingo is the most important of the
cardinals, having charge of the prepare
tons for the conclave, of the government
OF the palace, and of the transactions
with the representatives of foreign pow
ers, to whom he officially announces the
pope's death; the papal guard Of Swiss
halberdiers attends him wnen he goes out;
his arms are stamped on the medal of
the vacant see; he takes an inventory Of
the property in the palace, and affixes
seals to the dead pontiff's papers But, in
order to prevent him from overstepping
his authority, the sacred college appoints
three cardinals bishop, priest and a
deacon-who are called the heads of the
orders. and whose business it Is to over
see his acts. They serve for three days,
being replaced by others chosen in rota-
ton.
Meanwhile the great bell of the capitol,
the so-called 'Paterine,' has tolled the
news to the citizens in Rome. Formerly
this was the signal for unlocking the jails
and for unrestrained disorder. Brokers
used to set up booths, where pools, as at
horse race, were sold on the probable
next pope, enormous sums being squan-
dered in this species of gambling; more
recently that scandal has been less open.
Every one is on tip-toe with excitement;
churchmen as well as iaymen display an
eagerness out of tune with the grief in
which the church is officially declared to
be plunged.
For during the novennial, or nine days
succeeding the pope's death, the celebra.
ton of his obsequies and the mourning
for his loss are supposed to absorb uni
versal attention. His body must first be
embalmed and then attired in funeral ap.
parel When masses have been said over
1t in the presence of the cardinals, II
is removed to st. Peters, where, on a
magnificent catalogue, 1t lies in state
Finally. on the mint day, the public fu-
nera1--one of the great pageants of the
world-takes place, after which the body
is confined and laid away in the tenn
porary receiving tombs, to rest there until.
when the next pope dies, 1t is lowered into
the crypt of st. Peters for permanent
burial.
Needless to say, the funeral ceremonies
of the novennial cause no abatement in
the preparation for the conclave. The day
after the pope dies as many cardinals as
happen to be in Rome meet to confer. The
oldest of their number, the dean of the
college, presides; they swear to preserve
the utmost secrecy concerning all their
proceedings; they renew their oath of al
legiance to the holy see, binding them
selves to defend and guard the rights, pre-
negatives and temporal possessions of the
church Cup to the effusion of blood; then
they discuss questions of immediate ur-
gency, listen to the reading of the laws
governing the election, and hear the cam
erlingos report of his business. The con-
gregation reassembles each day, its num-
bers being constantly increased by the
arrival of cardinals from a distance.