The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-09-03

Some of Them Have Besn Violated anA
the Bones Scattered Abroad

Some of Them Have Besn Violated anA
the Bones Scattered Abroad
One of the best tomhs in the ha-
silica is that of Sixtus ~. the first
pope of the Rovere ssmily, in the
Chapel of the Sacrament The bronze
figure, lying low on q sarcophague
placed out upon the floor, has q
quiet, manly dignity about il which
one cannot forget. But in the same
tomb lies a greater man of the same
race-Julius H-for whom Michael
Angelo made his great Moses" in
the church of San Pietro in Vincoli,
a man who did more than any other,
perhaps, TO make the great basilica
what it is, and who, by chain Of
mistakes, got no tomb of his own.
He who solemnly laid the founda-
tions of the present church and lived
to SEQ the four main piers completed,
with their arches, has only a slab
in the pavement TO recall his men,
ory. The protector and friend of
Bramante, of Michael Angelo and of
Raphael-and of the great architect.
the great sculptor and the great
painter-has not so much as the
least work of any of the three to
mark his place of rest. Perhaps he
needed nothing but his name, which
must always stand among the great
est
After all, his bones have been al
lowed to rest in peace, which 10
more than can be said of all that
[ have been buried within the area Of
the church. Urban VI had no such
/ good fortune. he so much surprised
/ the caRdinals, as soon as they bad
elected him, by his vigorous moral
reforms, that they hastily retired TO
Anagni and elected an antipope of
milder manners and less sensitive
conscience. He lived to triumph over
his enemies. In Piacenza he was be
sieged by King Charles of Naples.
He communicated him, tortured
seven cardinals whom he caught in
a conspiracy and put five of them 70
death, overcame and slew Charles,
refused him burial and had his body
exposed TO the derision of the crowd.
The clIronicler says that Italy, Ger.
many, England, Hungary, Bohemia,
Poland, Sicily and Portugal were
obedient TO the Lord Pope Urban
VI" he died peacefully and was
buried in st. Peter 5 in n marble sar
cophagus.
, But when Sixtus V, who also sur
prised the cardinals greatly, was il
fit of haste TO finish the dome, the
masons, wanting a receptacle foi
water, laid hands on Urban's ston'
coffin, pitched his bones into a cor
ner and used the sarcophagus al
they pleased, leaving it TO serve a.
a water tank for many years after
ward.
! In extending the foundations o
7 the church Paul III came upon tn
+ bodies of Maria and Hermantia, tn
two wives of Honorius. the empero
who "disestablished' paganism il
. favor of Christianity. They were
S-SAIAot AAh5AAblA1 Va 1AAAANAet eAA'
r had been buried in their imperia
robes, with many rich objects ant
feminine trinkets, and they wer
found intact. as they had been bur
led, in the month of February, 154s
Forty pounds of fine gold were take
from their robes alone, says Barac
: conf, without counting all the jew
< els and trinkets, among which wa
: very beautiful lamp, besides
great number of precious stones
The pope melted down the gold 70
the expenses of the building and sc
; the gems in a tiara, where, if the
p could be identified, they oertainl
exist tod8y-the very stones wor
by empresses of ancient Rome =
e Marion Crawford in Century.