The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-04-19
Hlty TlfluSemVnt
is preferable
CO IdleneSs
80 Said Pope Leo When He Was Car.
d1nal Pecci-Fond of Chess and
Once Played Game of Poker.
Chicago Tribune

= Chicago Tribune.)
= Rome, April 5.-The story of tn,
e hrSt and only time when POPE Lee
! prayed poker, was told by Carolina
Farochi, the papal vice chancellor. t
Rome
Cardinal Parocchi is at the head OF
| rope Leo's chancery, from which ema-
: nate all public acts of the holy father
5 and is directly concerned with the vat
: lcan relations to foreign states il
being his duty to authenticate the
pope's every public act and all docu-
ments issued under the authority of
the church.
. You know" said his eminence.
that the pope is an ardent chess play
er. The royal game is the holy fathers
chlet amusement nowadays, and his
regular partner, Pater Guilio Domin-
lean monk of great wisdom and sunny
temperament, who holds the position
OF master of chess in the palace, told
me only the other day that old age
doesn't interfere with his holiness
cleverness as player; on the con-
trary, though Pope and monk have
now been playing against each other
Tor tWenty-three years it is still I'M
decided which of the two is the 9TH
er's superior at chess
But as ! was going to say" con-
tinued the cardinal, Pope Leo has real
sporting blood in him. Up to his 10th
year he was a great hunter, and to
this day there is not game mentioned
IN the magazines or newspapers that
he doesn't take an interest in.
''Of course, his dignity would not
allow him to engage in amusements
outside his own apartments now but
in the days of his cardinalship ETH
quette was less burdensome and the
then Count Pecci made good use of
his liberty. l once saw him play poker
and he beat us right royalty, l as
sure you.
The pontiff and myself have been
friends for the last forty or fifty years
| or longer. When | was archbishop of
| Bologna and the holy father held the
| same dignity in Perugia, both of us
being cardinals at the same time, we
often met in friendly intercourse. All,
| these were the happiest days of my
| life, and perhaps also those of Pope
| Leo. Though princes of the church.
we knew not the cares of state and
seemingly had reached the pinnacle of
our ambition.
'Well, one day, in September, 1871
we met at the sanctuary of Nernia,
high up in the Romagna mountains
At the time the sanctuary was cele-
brating the seven hundredth anniver-
sary of its foundation, and we both
longed to see the spot where st.
Francis of Assist bent his knee and
acknowledged Gods greatness and
goodness. The history of the founder
of the Francis friars, you must know,
is Intimately connected with the mon
astery of Vernia, where the good saint
renewed the VOWS of poverty he made
before his bishop, when the latter de-
manded him to renounce his rights to
his fortune, an act 10 which he as
sented and carried to such extremes
as to strip himself literally of the
clothes he wore. begging the prelate
to procure him some rags instead.
Both Cardinal Pecci and myself had
never been in that part of the Romag-
ia. which then had only half as many
inhabitants as now. We went to the
sanctuary by invitation of the abbot |
who with his monks were well known
for the hospitality they extended to |
rich and poor alike. Indeed. they kept |
open house for all wayfarers, and in
winter their dogs searched the noun |
tains for unfortunates for many miles |
around.
after breakfast Cardinal Pecci pro-
posed to view the art treasures of the |
sanctuary, and we remained for some !
time in the church. where his eminence |
delivered an impromptu lecture on the |
reliefs decorating the walls which he |
ascribed to the great Della Robbia,
arguing interestingly and cgnvincingly
that no one but Robbia could have
done them in such perfection. The nat
ural leader of any congregation of /
men, he next proposed an expedition
into the mountains, telling us how he
enjoyed, mountain climbing as boy
and while still belonging to the lower
clergy. 'Ah, those days of Carpinetti,
he sighed, when l was young and Wig
orous. and deemed a three or four
hours climb mere bagatelle;
Making, of course, due allowance
for his old age. the cardinal looked
much like the pope of today answered
his eminence. IF anything, his bony
frame was more prominent-he never
had an ounce of superf1uouS flesh. But
| think his general aspect was more
severe. his countenance was not yet
mellowed by the expression of love and
now shining from it.
Cardinal Pecci finally induced some
Of the younger prelates to accompany
him up the mountains and they ac-
tualy reached the highest point there
abouts, the Penna peak. Returning, ]
the cardinal alone. though the others ;
senior by many years. was ready to
report on the trip. The rest were so
they had to withdraw for
lime.
NATURE.
II still remember his eminence's en-
-husiastic description of the beauties
IF the landscape, the great panorama ,
,ordered by the snow fields of the !
Consuma and Prato Magno Every
word testified to his love for nature, J.,
lis keen observation and innate sense
If beauty, delighting in color and
grand scenery.
I'VE spent an enjoyable evening lis -,
ening to Cardinal Pecci, who was in !
/ reminiscent mood. His tour in the
Mountains had called up memories of
lis youthful days, When he spent ev
ry moment he could spare from his
studies in Gods temple, as he ex-
PRESSED himself. c
Next morning we found that the I
had undergone a sudden q
hange. It had grown cold for the sea- g
on and the rain came down in tor /
ents. There was no use trying to get i
.vay. neither was there anything that }
Te could do save hearing mass and c
ooking out of the window, for the I
monks possessed no library and, the
of them being uneducated q
nen, they didn't know how to make p
Cardinal Pecci didn't 7
ike it at all; to waste a whole day in 7
1leness without amusement or mental i
ecreation of any sort seemed sinful a
o him. We were feeling uncomforta- .
le besides being dressed for the sum- .
1er while a cold wind was whstling
through the windows and cracks in the
oors. !,
observing the plight we were in, :
he abbot finally ordered the fire lit in 4
he gfireat hall and invited us to gath =
+ about the chimney places where i'm
nense logs burned, filing the air with
he sweet fragrance of pine. Cardinal
,enci tban asked fbe monks to cbou-