The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-09


Divine Child who was
BORN IN A MANGER.
| and to whom the shepherds Mastered to
pay homage. 1t was very pare cola
little grotto, and we left 1t by narrow,
winding passage that led US past the eat=
| acombs in Rome. These catacombs wera
as damp and musty as the grotto, and
were all empty except one which con-
tained the coffin Of one Of the brQ2thssr5
! who had passed out Of this life only the
day before, and whose body was wait
ing here for burial. 1t was very dark in
this passage, and 1 could reach my hand
into the catacombs on each side. The
only light came from our guides can
die, and when he suddenly dropped on
his knees to say prayer for ms dean
brother the candle went out and We We're
| left standing in the darkness until the
| prayer was finished and the guide could
ask for match, which I was fortunate
enough to have. 1 did not have but one,
| however, and this one only burned sec
! ond, and after casting feeble light upon
the coffin of the dead brother lying in
peace in his catacomb went out and left
us again in the dark. Feeling our way
! along we soon came to where a green
| light was reflected upon the wall of the
passage. This came from a little gas
| stove burning in the martyrs crypt. The
| guide said it was kept burning In order
to keep the dampness from running the
! painting over the altar, which rs a very
beautiful symbelical fresco of our Lord
teaching. The chapel is circular in form,
and is said to be a perfect reproduction
of one of those old hiding places whore
the early Christians used to hear mass
when the Roman soldiers were hunting
I them down as hounds hunt q fox. The
! body of st. Berigness, who was one OF
| the early Christians and lived most of
/ H. 3fA IN, Of III fcTs T1aaT1
chapels, has been brought from the ca
thedral of Narni, where 1t has reposed
for many centuries, to Mt St Sepulcher,
where it now rests under the altar of the
martyrs crypt.
AFTER THE CATACoMBS.
The decorations of this chapel are not
| yet complete, and are to be copies Of the
| originals in the catacombs Of Rome.
There will be twelve frescoes in all, and
each will be symbolic. They will be made
| by Mr.. Charles C. Arendsen, of Cincin-
natl, who has visited Rome and the Holy
Land in order to prepare himself for this
work.
Our guide led us out of this chapel and
down a short passageway into another
chapel very large and very we'll lighted
compared to the Others This, he told
u.s. was the chapel of the poor souls.
Here the brothers are placed when they
die and here their bodies rest until they
are made ready to be put into a cofftn
and placed in the catacombs, from where
| they are taken away in few days and
buried in the little graveyard within the
walls of the cloister. Our guide called II
the anteroom of heaven, and he fell upon
his knees and prayed, I suppose, that he
| would one day pass through this ante
| room and come out before the throne of
| God. However, it is now very bare and
unfinished, and our guide led us out again,
passing through the martyrs crypt and
| stopping while he lit the candle, that had
| gone out while he prayed for the dead
| brother, at the little gas stove. Then we
left the chapel by a catacomb passage
Just opposite to the one by which we had
entered, and, following its damp walls
for some distance, we came out into the
grotto Of Nazareth. To millions Of Chris
tians this chapel will mean more than all
the others put together. To millions Of
other Christians it will mean nothing at
all. When our guide said Nazareth, ;"
it called up q world of poetry and ro-
nance and old world history; that work
shop of st. Joseph, where Jesus worked
as a boy, beautiful, golden-haired boy;
the ships upon the blue sea Of Ga1lee;
the olive trees upon the hillsides that are
now barren, and which the entire world
knows about 1t. The first open space We
enter is known as the
CHAPEL OF THE ANGEL.
and here are two affairs the one on the
left being dedicated to the Archangel
Gabriel, and the one on the right to
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Going
forward q little way and descending two
steps we come before the altar of the
Annunciation, which marks the spot
that she would become mother Of the
Savior" The cross of the holy land
is set just in front of this altar, and
| stone from the real Nazareth marks the
| - II, oioff ion
piece is very beautiful, and presents the
great mystery that here took place. 1t
is q copy of Lpca Della Robbins work,
But what Is perhaps the most curious
thing. in this chapel is reproduction Of
the fragment of the granite column
great fire was started at Nazareth and
the Africans, in their search for treasure,
cut the piece from the granite column,
leaving it as 1t is today. and as it is seen
here at Mount Saint Sepulcher. Our
guide, however, would not let US pass
under 1t, as he says 1t is not very Sc
cure At one side Of the altar a door
way leads into a chapel that is dedicated
to st. Joseph fleeing into Egypt. Going
, back through the chapel Of the Angel, we
come to the wide marble stairway that
leads back to the nave of the church
Along the walls of this stairway is a
horizontal bar which is in Its turn sur
what it meant. and pausing and blowing
out his candle, he said: "They denote
the limits of the foundation Of the Holy
House, which was transplanted by the
hands of the angels first to Tersati in
Dalmatia, in the year 1921, and then a
few years afterwards to Recanau and
Loretto, where 1t has remained ever
since"
CHAPEL OF OUR LADY.
We were now back again in the upper
church, with its flood of soft golden light
and smell of flowers. We passed the altar
Of the Sacred Heart and the altar of the
Holy Ghost, and entered the chapel of
very beautiful picture Of Saint Francis
plucking roses, and our guide related to
us the wonderful story of Saint Francis.
All the time we were passing under
grand arches and over the cold stone.
floor; We passed into the chapel of
chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, and
from there into the chapel of Saint
Francis. In all Of these chapels were
magnificent affairs and statues of God
and the saints, showing blood and open
wounds, seeming as real as you see them
IN the operating room Of hospital
Coming again out into the open place
of the church we stood still and looked
about US. Everywhere graceful arches
and beautiful windows. The great vaulted
rosettes, and the flowers on the affairs
| lend it life and color. Above the holv
sepulcher is Mount Calvary, with two
marble stairways leading up to it, and
with our Lord on the cross, with the two
thieves beside Him. the penitent one with
the feet of the cross are the Blessed
Virgin and St John. the we'll beloved
It is very fine work of ert and is gift
from the Ferral family Of Cologne.
J Lord: We enter through a low door,
cut in the solid marble, and find our