Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-07
THE GOLDEN ROSE.
An Imposing Ceremony Performed by the Pone

All AupOSluB ceremony PerTOTmeQ Dy
 the Pope.
 Every year the Pope sends golden rose as a special mark of distinction, either to a crowned head or to a town or church, and the ceremony of bless ing the rose has long been an imposing event. It cannot be ascertained defi- niteiy when this ceremony was first ob- served by the Roman Catholic church.
 1t Is maintained that the custom arose during the pontificate of Pope Leo TX, who was born ill 1902, in the castle of
 Egisheim,. in AlSace, and was elected to the chair of St Peter in 1O47. Some historians consider it to be of much earlier origin When, during the middle ages, the Pope resided in the Lateran, he was wont to ride after the cere-
 mony in a gorgeous procession, and, ac- companied by the entire college of car dinalS, to the baSilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, and he held the symbolic flower in his hand all the way Tn the
 basilica the Pope delivered an address upon the mystical meaning of the rose,
 as portrayed by it's beauty, color and perfume. and then the high mass was celebrated. When the mass was at an end the Pope returned to his palace in
 tn Lateran, still carrying the mysti-. cal flower. If royal prince happened
 to have taken part in the procession it was incumbent upon him to approach the Pope on his arrival in the Lateran
 and to hold his stirrup and thus assist him to dismount. Then, as a reward for his kindly attention, the Pope gave | him the rose.
 Although the ceremony as observed
 nowadays is not so imposing as it used to be of yore, yet it still preserves its
 chief rites. The pontiff blesses the
 golden rose" in the Parament Hall,
 and he wears pink chasuble and the
 white miter, which contains no pre- cious stones. Every New Years day the jeweler of the papal court receives
 the order to make the rose, and the
 Pope's master of the household gives l him the precious stones which are to l adorn it, and which the pontiff has l himself previously chosen from among | his jewels. The ceremony of blessing 1 the golden rose'' takes place on the l fourth Sunday in Lent, and then the Pope sees it for the first time; he takes l it in his hands to look at it; then he
 kneels and begins the ceremony with prayer. The address subsequently, de 1 lfvered was drawn up by Pope Leo K | in 1050. After the prescribed prayers l have been said the Pope anoints the rose with the holy oil, and, in accord
 ance with ancient custom, scatters
 over it strongly scented powder. The
 moment for celebrating high mass hav- 1 ing arrived, the Pope enters the chapel and carries the rose. Here he hands l the flower to an attendant, who places 1 it upon the altar on a bouquet of golden
 roses. When the mass is finished the | rose is handed to the Pope, and accompanied by his suite, he returns to l the Parament hall, where he mentions l by name the person who is to receive the golden rose" as gift.
 Tn former times the rose" was made 1 in red enamel, as this was the best | imitation of the natural color of the l flower. At later date it was made out of gold, and in it's center was a ruby or sapphire used to be inserted. 1 The golden rose" of to-day costs about 400 pounds, and 1t has a stem, leaves and buds wrought in gold. The stem l rests in silver-gilt vase on which are
 engraved the coat of arms of the Pope and the name of the person for whom
 the gift is intended. The three mysti- cal meanings symbolized by the golden
 rose" are as follows: The gold signi-
 fies the Almighty, the splendor and
 costliness of the metal typify the eternal light which surrounds the God
 head, and. the amounting oil and the sweet scent are symbols of the majesty of the risen Savior In recent years
 the golden rose" has been given to such christian rulers or to their con verts as have attracted the attention of
 the Pope by their good works in the
 cause of charity. Globe.