The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-07-25
THE PopE's LAST HOURS.
Dying Pontiff Was Sublime in His
Agony.

agony.
Rome, July 20.-1:O5 D. NAT l O'Clock
there was great alarm at the vatican as
the pope was suffering from great
cardiac affection. DR.. Lapponi really
thought the end had arrived and Car
dinal SerafiDo Vnnutelli, the grand peni-
and gave the pontiff absolution in articulo
mortis. His death was considered so i'm
minent that all the cardinals were pres
eIt and the members of the diplomatic
corps were admitted to the sick room, as
according to tradition. popes must be-
come surrounded by the sacred college,
the pontifical court and the diplomats
accredited to the vatican.
Laughing and Talking.
Just at that moment large party of
| American tourists, unaware of the critic
| al situation of the pontiff ascended the
| grand staircase. talking and laughing.
! They were approached by gendarne
who said: please do not make any noise
! as the holy father is dying"
This produced great emotion among
| the tourists and they Immediately retired
| The government has decided that when
the pope's death is imminent or has actu-
ally occurred it viii hold all dispatches
until the facts are officially verified, when
the first official announcement will be
/ made.
Sick Room Was Tranquil.
r1 This morning the sick room was the
most tranquil spot in the vatican. The
pontiff lies on his bed. the pillows of
which are not whittier than his face. which
mas strange appearance, owing to his
not having been shaved for so long His
hands are folded over the rosary which
he has used for over sixty years. The
I9nous arm chair, which. perhaps. his
h0llneSS VIII never again enter stands in
vitngly near with his stick beside it.
while Contra. his valet. prays and weeps
before huge ivory crucifiX, DR.. Lapponi
sitting by the bedside ready for any
emergency. The doctor from time to
time, rises noiselessly to administer nour-
ishment, of which this morning the pom
tiff has taken some. Indeed. DR.. Lapponi
succeeded in having him swallow several
teaspoonfuls Of coffee, milk and brandy
mixed
The silence of the sick room Is oc-
casionally broken by hacking cough
due to the gathering of phlegm in the
pope's throat. These coughing spells
have the effect of rousing the pontiff,
causing him to open his eyes and re-
vive slightly. When the doctors were
examining him this morning, believing he
was in a stupor, his holiness suddenly
fixed his eyes. even now bright and by
no means lifeless, on them, saying:
The End Foreseen.
This time doctors. you will not win
in your brave fight with DEATH
1T is your holiness who is brave" |
said DIR. Lapponi, but before the remark |
was uttered the pope was again unable |
to understand what was said
Although this mornings bulletin has |
given the impression that the pope's con- |
dition is somewhat ameliorated. in real |
ity the doctors do not think so. They |
consider that the lowering of the pulse |
and the diminution of the respiration are |
due 10 great prostration of the whole |
organism, which is augmenting notwith- !
standing the fact shat the patient at !
times takes little nourishment. The |
pope continues now and then to mutt
ter phrases, although unconscious His
mind evidently returns TO the events
which impressed him most before his |
illness began; At one moment he is feel
ing about with his hands and moving his
head from side to side, trying to lift |
himself while he mutters:
Dying Words.
What crowds. What devotion. Ny
dear people then. falling back he
signs and says: "Oh! the weight of these
robes. Can l hold out until the end?'
This is followed by scraps of Latin
verse and prayers, and then comes an
interval of silence which is broken by
another moment of energy in which the
pope cries:
proach me no longer. How many faces
of all kinds! Now many foreigners, The
church is triumphing, and so on, over
and over again.
The final scene in the death chamber
was profoundly impressive. The pope's
death having been expected since noon
his death bed wGs surrounded by prac-
ucally all the members of the sacred coll
lGSG AON III IAOllt anu lIl6 whole Dd@1l
court while the pontiffs nephews re-
manned in the papal library until they
received word from the doctors which
that his last expiring breath
was approaching. Then they moved ST.
lentiy within the death chamber, some
some kneeling, all awaiting the
awful moment of dissolution.
In the ante-chamber had assembled the
high ecclesiastics, members of the diplo-
matte corps and representatives of the
Dapal aristocracy awaiting the an
that the final moment had
come.
Light Going Out.
Profound silence reigned in the pope's
only broken by the doctors ris-
ng to render their expiring patient more /
comfortable, by the sobs of the ever | !
faithful valet Pic Contra, himself "a i
years of age. who had to be assisted 10 /
he bedside Softly he recited the prayers
lor the dying, the pontiff at one moment |
appearing to follow them as though con- {
'cious OF what was transpiring. but he /
:ould not speak Then the dying pope 1
nurmured something to himself, in which 1
hose bending over him heard the words I
Father" and Mother"
DIR. Iapponi, who almost constantly had | I
MS fingers on the popes pulse. felt ii
growing gradually weaker and weaker
and at-tne same time the pontiff's ex-.
-remities began to get cold, his lips be- ,
came blue. his eyes sank more deeply
nto the head. his breathing became even
more difficult sand there were strange
'attlines in his throat Gnl
~ - = ..f.