Evening star., 1903-07-22
WHEN Plus VIII WAS CHOSEN
Late Pope, Then Only 10, Wrote of
Event to His Brother.

Event to His Brother.
From the Baltimore Sun.
Leo XIII was IN Rome when Leo XII
died and his successor. Pope Plus VIII. WAS
elected He was only a student at the time
and his letters to his brother. John Bhp-
tista. gave q full account OF these notable
events. Joachmo Pecci was then nineteen
years CT age and student at the Ecclesi-
nstical College at Rome.
Under date OF February p. 1900 ne wrote:
Before l tell you what happened after
the popes death let me tell you that he
left a remarkable will. He states that no
monument must be erected to him. as has
been the custom. lie orders that on the
proper day his body shall be deposited near
the statue of Plus VI and that s.mG!"
stone tablet shall be placed over II. with
the Inscription:
Here hes Leo XII. the least OF the
popcs. There Is much talk about THIS IN
sCription in Rome"
Thirteen days after the popc'S death the
conClave of cardinals met.
Several days before the meeting OF the
conclave," the young student wrote, "therc
were rumorS regarding Ccrt.fu lodges. II
was said that certain persons who did not
like the regime had held meetings. 1t Is
certain that Capclle. who acted as gov
ernor of Rome for the coileg" of cardinals.
gave orders for the arrest OF Il large mum
bcr who had taken part III the meeting. and
that hundred daggers Were found in n
private house inhabited by one of the lr'S-
oners. The plot to wait until tho ct:'-
dinals had met. raise rebellion IN the
city and slaughter thoS" In authority. Bui,
thanks to God. Dominus dissipavit coisilii.
eorum God has made vain their plans
''On the day of the concaVe the guards.
to the number of :."p. We're stationed around
the building, while other cnuStablcs III cit
liens clothes mixed In the crowd the
number OF cardinals ho marched to the
pl,,-a h,.lrl
it from fear?-Went later. These We're Ber
netti. Naro Guerrleri, Rvarola and VI
doni. great crowd WAS assembled to See
them pass an hour before sunset.
"Already three days have passed since
the cnnclave met. and who Will he pope?
This Is hard to say. How can any man
tell. Castigione, Giustinani and EsprHldi
Pacca are named as possible SUGGEST al
candidates. The last was only two votes
short yesterday at the scrutinum (the read
ing Of the votes.
1T is said here that the new pope will
soon be chosen. l trust II VIII be Tor the
best interests of the church.
on March . the pope wrote:
The Romans felt satisfied this morning
that the new pope Was elected in the per
son of Cardinal de GregOrio. on the rumor
great crowd went to Monte Cavalio. 1
went, too, but the clouds of smoke
rise and cur hopes were shattered
This reference to smoke relates to the
custom OF burning the ballots when a vote
had been taken without result
About the conclave is dark and unccr-
TAIN" tie student wrote on March -.
Zach one wants to elect that cardinal
most pleasing to him and from whom he
can expect most pope. on this account
tEey would have as many popes as there
are cardinals Cardinal de Gregorio IS Ger
tainly. as we say here. papabile-worthy
to be elected pope. 1t Seems probable that
he will be elected pope. This is the rumor
current In Rome at least. 1t IS reported
also that several of those IN the concl4ve--
servants, secretaries etc, of the cardinals
have been expelled from the building
The city Is full of ruInors to the CON
clave.' young Pecci wrote on March 10
1T Is reported that Pacca has no longer "A
following. De Gregorio has good prospects,
a large number Of the cardinals vote for
him and no other. Cardinal Albani and Ids
followers are fighting for Castiglione. Car
dinals Caistaidi and Capprilari are CON
stantly gaining votes, and 1t Is reported
that Cardinal Tirrao has informed tie col
lege of Cardinals that the King OF Naples
will not recognize De Gregorio if elected.
An of this is mere rumor. and If | wish
ed to report all that are flying l should
never stop. Some hold that pope will b..
elected in a few days; others that months
even year, will pass before any ona is
elected"
on April 2, 1879, he wrote:
AT last. God be praised! we have n new
pope-a new bishop Of Rome. He is Car
diral Castiglone de la Cingol about sixty
-
another Plus after an interval Of five
years.
mo one deemed It possible that Tuesday
March 81. would bring about such
clusion.
March % it began to rain In torrents
and continued all day Monday. Tuesdty X
rained so hard that the streets looked like
seas. 1t is not surprising that the Tiber
has almost overfiowed its banks How
could we expect new pope In such
weather? Yet the pope has been elected.
About noon repeated salutes of artillery
from the Castle of st. Angelo announced
the news. Notwithstanding the downpour-
ing rain, great crowd FASTENED to Monte
Cavalio, in front of the Quirinal to hear
the news, which was made by Cardinal
.Albani, as first deacon, surrounded by four
OF the cardinals.
THE new pope, contrary to the usual
custom. did not go to the Baslica OF tie
Vatican on that day. He waited until yes
torday morning, so to make his entry in
greater state and ceremony. According to
ancient custom, he was IN a carriage and
Cardinals Della Somagla and G.leffl sat
with him. The people in the streets re
ceived him with tunultuous enthusiasm
Il am anxious to hear what you and my
father think of this choice. for l knew lie
ways the case the opinions of the people
vary. In general the new pope seems to
be acceptable. He holds his neck To one
side and appears to dance when he walks"