The record-union., 1897-10-03
RICHES OF The VATICAN.
MILLIONS IN PRESENTS TO
POPE LEO XIII.
KIondike Riches Not ComparabIe
to Those Stored in the
Vatican.

There is one place in the world where
more gold is to be found than has so
far come out of the Klondike And,
stranger still, in the same place there
are more diamonds and other gems
than the total output of the South Af-
rican diamond fields. This spot rich
as the mythical wealth Of Aladdins s
Palace, is the home of a childless old
man, whose feeble life is creeping daily
to it's imminent close.
Who can this be, this solitary man,
whose possessions are as vast and valu-
able as those of Monte Cristo? He is
no less a person than Pope Leo XIII,
born Giacomo Pecci, of a noble but poor
family of Carrineto, Italy. who en-
tered upon his pontifcate nth almost
nothing of worldly possessions. and still
lives the life of q recluse, eating spar
ingly, and whose bedroom is furnished
more humbly than the home of many
q day laborer in this country. His
home, however is in the vatican, a pail
ace that contains 1000 rooms, and
within which are stored treasures that
eclipse the wealth Of the Klondike.
It would be difficult to estimate pre-
cisely the total weight of gold in the
Vatican, but it is safe to say that there
are at least thirty tons Of it. worth in
the neighborhood of $2000O0O0 at the
present market price of the unwrought
metal OF this huge amount of gold,
there is probably not a single pound
of the metal that remains in it's virgin
state. Nearly every ounce of it has
passed through the hands of skilled
I
countless forms, thus adding perhaps
third or a quarter more to it's value.
Nor does the alloy that is usually en-
ployed by the goldsmith to give a dura-
bic quality to objects made of this
precious meal enter at all into the COM
position of the treasures of the Vatican,
which, being almost entirely native Of
ferings to the Sovereign Pontiff, are lit
orally of solid gold
Here, therefore, is an isolated corner
of the city Of Rome, about ten acres of
land, which are perhaps richer than
any similar amount of territory in as
much of the universe as has ever been
explored.
The Vatican treasures may he prac-
| tically considered as the personal es-
tate of the Pope. He inherited many
of them when he was elected to the
Holy See. He is required to give an
account of his stewardship at his pleas
ure. To large proportion of these
| treasures his personal right is indis-
putable for to him, Leo XIII, were
presented at various times and more
particularly on the occasion of his jubi
lee, in 1888 enough gifts of pure gold
to ransom a kingdom
The golden chalices alone that are
kept in the storehouses of the Vatican
would probably represent a value
nearly as great as the sum total of the
Klondikes product. Quite two-thirds
Of these We're in the Papal Palace when
Leo was elected to the chair of Peter
in 1878, and the precious stones in most
of them magnify their value many fold.
They were for the most part gifts of
sovereigns of nations to the reigning
POntiff. The treasures inherited by the
present Pope also embraced archiepis-
copal and pontifical croziers and pee
tora1 crosses of gold. studded with
gems; various altar ornaments-used
in the exposition of the Blessed Sacra-
ment-that shine like the sunlight, and
the vestments for the celebration of the
Mass, each and every article heavy
with the gold employed in its fabrica-
ton or decoration.
The Pontificate of the present vener-
able Prelate has added inestimably to
the treasures of the Vatican. January
/, 1888, Leo recited the Mass in St.
Peters in Rome, in celebration Of the
f1ftieth anniversary of his ordination
as a priest. The preliminary ceremonies
of his Golden Jubilee began about a
week earlier, and continued for more
than a month in the new year, during
which time an exposition was opened
in the vast Pontifcal Palace for the
display of the presents that had been
sent to the head of the Christian
Church from every corner of the world.
Before the exposition was opened tons
upon tons of gold poured into the Vat
lean, beginning early in December of
1887, and continuing without intermis
sion until after the exposition had been
closed in March of the following year.
There was scarcely an object received
in which the metal universally appro-
pirate to the fiftieth anniversary did
not figure in some form and proper
tion
At the Jubilee Mass alone So, ,000 600
in gold, the most part in coined money.
We're presented to His Holiness There
were audiences of pilgrims from the
various countries, and those from
France alone presented to the Pope
$100,000 in gold coin, besides many
other objects in wrought gold.
The Duke of Norfolk, Envoy Extraor-
binary from Queen Victoria, presented
to His Holiness on behalf of the Cath
olics of England, a massive basin and
ever of solid gold Her British ma
jesty personally presented an altar or
nament Of gold worth many thousands
of dollars. The Emperor of Russia
sent a mammoth crozfer of solid gold,
inlaid with precious stones, and the
Emperor William OF Germany gold
mitre that bIazed with diamonds and
rubies.
The Emperors of Austria, Turkey,
China and Japan and the lesser mon
archs or chiefs of state of Europe, Asia.
America and Africa paid tribute to the
venerable Pontfff in priceless articles
wrought Of the rare metal. Dom Pc
dro Of Brazil, sent pectoral cross six
teen inches long Of the purest gold ever
Inlned IN MS eNipiTbt anu nu2e ula-
monds added TO the weight of the mas
sive gift. There We're several statues
of the yellow metal that weighed as
much as the average-szed man; ponti-
/ fical rings made of gold of all shades of
color, studded with the papal gem of
size that made its worth incalculable,
and vestments embroidered in spun gold
of the most exquisite workmanship
One of these sets of vestments was said
to have cost $20.0o0 The total value