Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1903-07-24
PEACEFUL CLOSE
OF Pope s LIFE
Valiant Fight Of Great Head Of
Catholic Church Has at
Last Closed.
A GOOD AND GREAT PoNT'FF
His Life Has Spawned Great space
Of History and Has Been Cont'nu-
ously Active-End Came at ~
P. NJ, July 20.

OF History ana VaS Ooe" ~
ously Active-End Came at 4'o4
p. NJ, July 20.
Rome, July 2O.-Pope Leo XIII. is
dead, The last ticker of life explr-
ed at four minutes past four O'CLOCK
this afternoon and the pontiff now lies
at rest.
/! The period of over two weeks that
Pope Leo passed in the SHADE" Oh
death was no less wonderful than MS
life. His splendid battle against dis-
ease was watched the world over with
sympathetic admiration ana enuee
only after . series OF tremendous e.
forts to conquer the weakness OF MS
aged frame by the marvellous Will pow
er of his mind. The pleuro-pneumonlsa
with which his holiness had been SUI
fering, was scarcely so responsible 1or
his death as that inevitable decay OF
tissue which ensues upon ninety'tnree
wears of life.' The tested steel which
I.as bent so often before human Ills
was bound to break at last.
/; Tonight, the emaciated and lifeless
frame which held so brave spirit lies
ION the bed in the vatican beside which
almost all the world has prayed. Inc
red damask 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 vel
vet, bordered with ermine. A white
silk handkerchief is bound about his
chin and in the hands which have bles-
sed SO many thousands has been
placed a crucifix. So Pope Leo Will
remain tomorrow, watched by the uni
formed officers of the Noble Guard and
rough clad Franciscan penitentiaries,
who will keep a ceaseless vigil until
Tomorrow the sacred college Oh
the burial ceremonies.
cardinals will assemble for the i'm
pressive ceremony of officially pro-
nouncing Pope Leo dead. After this
sad function has been performed the
body will be taken to the small throne
room adjoining the death chamber,
where it will be embalmed. The fun
eral ceremonies will extend over nine
days, the remains being removed to
the cathedral of st. Peters, where
they will lie in state. The ultimate
resting place of the dead pontiff will
be in the magnificent basilica of st.
John Lateran.
Pope Leo's final moments were
marked by that same serenity and de-
votion, and when he was conscious
that same intelligence which is asso-
ciated with his twenty-five years pom.
tificate. His was no easy death. An
hour before he died, turning to DR..
I.apponi and his devoted valet, Pho
Contra, he murmured: "The pain l
suffer is most terrible" Yet his part
ing words were not of the physical
anguish that he suffered, but were
whispered benedictions upon the car
dinals and his nephews who knelt
down at his bedside and the last look
of his almost sightless eyes was
toward that great ivory crucifix hang
ing in the death chamber Practically
all of the cardinals now in Rome,
kneeling at the bedside, watched the
passage of his soul. Earlier in the
day Cardinal Serafino Vannutelli had
impressively pronounced the absolu-
ton in articulo mortis.
The condition of his holiness var
led from agony to coma. Wishing to
relieve him, DR.. MaZzoni suggested
that morphine be administered, but
DR.. Lapponi did not agree, fearing
that the end might be quickened.
s. OF the supreme moment DR.. Lap
poni gives an impressive description.
He said: Death occurred through
exhaustion, although in the last two
hours Pope Leo made a supreme
effort 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 ell
tirely lost. Still, he made a marvel
GUS display of his energy and even
his death was really grand. 1t was
resigned, calm and serene. Very few
examples can be given of man of
such advanced age, after so exhaus-
tive an illness, showing such supreme
courage in dying. The pontiff's last
breath was taken exactly at four min
utes past four. approached a lighted
candle to his mouth three times
according to the traditional ceremon-
ial, and afterward declared the pope
to be no more. then went to inform
Cardinal Oreglia, the dean of the sac
red college. who Immediately gave
orders that the vatican be cleared
of all the curious persons having NO
rlgnu TO De therein. contemporary
eously, the cardinal instructed Mon
signor Right, master of ceremonies,
to send the Swiss guards from the
Clementine hall to close all the en-.
frances to the vatican and dismiss all
persons from the death chamber, the
body being entrusted to the Francis
can penitentiaries."
Meantime, events of momentous i'm.
portance to Catholic christendom were
occurring. The death of Pope Leo
meant the passing of the supreme
power into the hands of the sacred
college of cardinals as its temporary
custodian during the interregnum.
The perfect administrative machin-
cry of the church provided against the
slightest interruption of the govern
ing authority. AS the senior member
of the sacred college, Cardinal Ore
glia, to whom the pope today solemnly
sconfided the interests of the church
has now become Inc exponent 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 a