Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1903-07-24
POPE LEO is DEAD.
His Splendid Battle with Disease
Watched the World Over.
Although In Pain He Whispered Bcne-
dIctIons Upon Those Around Him
His Last Conscious Act was
TO Turn His Eyes To-
ward "A CrucInx.

!
ut four minutes past 4 o'clock Mon
day afternoon and the pontiff now
hes at rest.
The period of over two weeks that
| Pope Leo passed in the shadow of
death was no less wonderful than his
life. His splendid battle against dis
ease was watched the world over
with sympathetic admiration and
ended only after a series of tremen-
dous efforts to conquer the weakness
of his aged frame by the marvellous
will power of his mind.
The emaciated and lifcless frame
which held so brave a spirit lies on
the bed in the Vatican beside which
almost all the world has prayed. The
red damaslt coverlet rests lightly
over the body, the cardinals scarlet
cape is about the shoulders, while on
his head has been placed the papal
hood of velvet, bordered with ermine.
\ white silk handkerchief is bound
about his chin and in the hands
which have blessed so many thou
sands has been placed crucitiX. So
Pope Leo will remain, watched by
uniformed officers of the Noble
Guard and rough clad Franciscan
penitentiaries, who will keep n cease
less vigil until the burial occurs.
Today the college of cardinals will
assemble for the impressive ceremony
of officially pronouncing Pope Leo
dead. After this sad function has
been performed the body will be
taken to the small throne room ad-
joining the death chamber, where it
will be embalmed. The funeral cere-
monies will extend over nine days,
the remains being removed to the
cathedral of st. Peters, where they
will lie in state. The ultimate rest
ing place of the dead pontiff will be
in the magnificent basilica of st.
John the Lateran.
Pope Leo's final moments were
marked by that same serenity and
devotion and, when he was conscious,
that calm intelligence which is asso-
ciated with his 25-year pontificate.
His was no easy death. An hour be-
fore he died, turning to DR.. Lapponi
and his devoted valet, Pho Contra, he
murmured: "The pain | suffer is
most terrible" Yet his parting
words were not of the physical an
guish that he suffered, but were whis-
pered benediction upon the cardinals
and his nephews, who knelt at the
bedside, and the last look of his al
most sightless eyes was towards the
great ivory crucifiX hanging in the
death chamber. Practically all the
cardinals now in Rome, kneeling at
the bedside, watched the passage of
his soul Earlier in the day Cardinal
Serafino Vanutelli had impressively
pronounced the absolution in articulo
mortis.
The condition of his holiness varied
from agony to coma. Wishing to re-
lieve him. DR.. Mazzoni suggested that
morphine should be administered, but
DR.. Lapponi did not agree, fearing
that the end might be quickened.
Of this supreme moment DR.. Lap
poni said: Death occurred through
exhaustion, although in the last two
hours Pope Leo made a supreme eff
fort to. gather together all his ener-
gies. He succeeded in recognizing
those about him by the sound of
their voices. as his sight was almost
entirely lost. Still he made mar
velous display of his energy and even
his death was really grand. 1t was
resigned, calm and serene. Very few
examples can be given of n man of
such advanced age after so eXhaus-
tive an illness showing such supreme
courage in dying"
The perfect administrative machin-
ery of the church provided against
the slightest interruption of the gov
erning authority. AS the senior MEM
ber of the sacred college, Cardinal
Oreglia. to whom the pope yesterday
solemnly confided the interests of the
church, has now become the eXpon-
ent of the cardinals until Pope Leo's
successor has been elected. This has
brought forth Cardinal Oreglia as the
striking personality of the hour.
The cardinal is the exact antithesis
of Pope Leo, having none of the late
pontiff's sympathetic and benevolent
characteristics. He comes from
noble Piedmontese stock and his no
bility is shown in his naughty and
austere bearing. He is not popular
among his colleagues or the Romans,
and his brusque manner has earned
him the title of "The Piedmont bear"
He is tall and robust and his "A years
are shown by the whiteness of his
hair. His face has the tawny hue of
old parchment and is deeply lined.
This is the man who for the time
being is practically pope. 1t was he
who issued the orders to clear the
Vatican from intruders and brought
tranquility out of the confusion i'm
mediately following Pope Leo's
death.
The greatest interest is now cen
tered in the work of the conclave
which is to select the successor to
Leo Nil. The long illness of Pope
Leo has had the effect of narrowing
the chances of some who entered the
contest with bright prospects, while
it has brought forward others who at
first were hardly considered. The
result is that they are all now on
Three Lives Lost in a Hotel Fire.