Evening star., 1903-07-20
POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR.
Cardinals Whose Chances of Election
to Papacy Are Good.


Who will succeed Leo XIII? Out of the
Sacred College. which. under Providence,
will in a few days from now be charged
with the solution of this most vital prob
lem. which member will be acclaimed
worthy and able to lift up the mantle Of
the dead pontin?
Even at this hour nobody could venture
to prophesy with anything like centainty
which of the red-robed princes of the
church. now gathered together or on their
way to the impending conclave, will be
awarded the two-thirds vote Indispensable
to his election by the Sacred College.
Should the conflicting groups find them
selves after few preliminary bal
lots unable to agree upon the choice Of one
| Of the more powerful candidates 1t is pos
sible that a compromise will be effected.
and greater ambitions will be sacrificed in
| favor of some colorless and neutral cardinal
| who may be judged pious enough and dig
nified enough to occupy the throne or st
| Peter.
vannuteli Brothers.
BY majority of those watching the cur
| rents of Catholic politics Cardinal Serafino
| Vannutelli. bishop of the great suburban
see of Frascat. was long thought most
likely to be the choice Of the conclave. He
| is the elder Of two brothers in the Sacred
| College.
! An arstocrat, both by birth and taste
| wealthy. and much courted by the Black
section Of Roman society, he has had un-
usually wide experience as a diplomat
list, having acted as nuncio to several
courts and notably to Vienna.
By the supposedly initiate he is believed
| to have the good wishes of the German and
| Austrian empires. and. a logical conse-
| quence, to be persona non grata to France
| and Russia.
I In bygone years he leaned. 1t is said, to
| nltramOntaDiSm Rrt ha fS tn
| have largely modified bis views and grown
moderate. His wide Influence and some
| what imperious character caused him to
| be regarded with alternate disquiet and re-
| spect by Pope Leo. for whom he some
| times showed Scant Difference.
| Courtly and somewhat stately in manner,
with his high forehead. elongated face and
enigmatical smile, he is impressive, though
| not Intellectually or spiritually as fasci-
| mating as the late pontiff. Latterly he has
paid close attention to American politics
| and to American social movements
Cardinal Vincenzo Vannuteli is generally
regarded less as himself a papabile than as
| the grand elector of his brother.
| Amiable, polite, unobtrusive and intelli-
| gent, he Is. however not to be diSregarded.
| Should Cardinal Seratino be elected Car
| dinal Vincenzo will unquestionably have
great authority at the Vatican and become
| one of the factors in ecclesiastical world
| politics. He has had experience in the ad-
| ministration of church affairs as papal
| under secretary of state to Piux TX, and
| he has occupied other equally important,
| although more strictly ecclesiastical, Of
| fees.
Cardinal oreglia, Perhaps.
The cardinal who at the time of pope 9
| decease fills the place of Camerlengo is
| usually regarded possible future pope.
| During the interregnum the Camerengo of
| right exercises certain prerogatives of SOW
ereignty in virtue of which he assumes
| possession Of the Vatican.
| 1t is his duty to himself. in aC-
cordance with custom. of the pope S death,
and to take measures with the other cardi-
| nails for the election Of new pontiff The
present Camerlengo. Cardinal Oreglia di
| Santo Stefano. must be numbered among
the papabili.
He has a strong following inside and out
mined man. he was dreaded by Leo XIII
as too violent. too unbending and to be
likely to bring trouble upon the church.
Rampolla Stands High.
| For reasons which have just been indi-
! Gated, 1t is most improbable that Cardinal
| Rampolla, the man who for some fifteen
| years was the mouthpiece and alter ego of
! Leo XIII. Will be accorded many votes at
| the approaching conclave. Cardinal Ram
polla has long been the most ardent advo-
| cate of policy specially favorable to the
| Franco-Russian alliance. That alliance, it
| may be added he is generally believed to
| have in some measure helped to realize
| On the death of Cardinal Jacobini in the
| spring OF 1887 he was appointed to the papal
| secretaryship of state. and thus became
Identified with the remarkable series of off,
| cial acts by which Leo XIII proclaimed his
| growing sympathy with the democracies of
! the world In general and with the democra-
| cy OF the United States in particular.
Ihose who have seen much of him know
'hat MS urbanity does not exclude Obsti-
| macy. But till increasing weakness COM
| peiled the late pope to confine his activity
| 10 the essential duties of his office he was
ohly nominaily the director of papal policy
as 1T affected foreign Catholic countries.
throughout the greater part of his pontifl-
| cate Leo XIII was in effect his own secre-
tary of state consulting this adviser or
| !hat, but deciding most things according to
! his own judgment. Nevertheless to the
| ulple alliance and to the ultramontane or
extreme Catholic party Cardinal Rampolla
! seems tainted with liberalism. He has of
necessity made many enemies, who will
now De eager to crush him.
| Yet some of his colleagues NAV out of
| respect for the affection borne him by Leo
| Nlll pay him the compliment of giving him
their votes.
Leo Named Gotti.
or recently created cardinals none has
gone further in a few years to win the
| sympathy and respect of the Roman
mera1 chy than Cardinal Gotti. He owes
the honor in which he is now held at the
Vatican chiefly to the tact. zeal and sue
cess with which some time ago he acquit-
| TED himself OF a delicate mission tend
| ing to the much-needed reform of the
| church in South America
On his recall he was comparatiyely un-
| known except to his immediate superiors
| His discretion and ability, less than
his picty, soon attracted attention. And
| the late Cardinal Gafimberti (who had
| fully expected to have a decisive voice in
| the election of the next pope) is said to
| have been so greatly impressed by the
| qualities of Cardinal Gotti that they caused
| him to waver in his old allegiance to Car
dinal Seraf1no Vannutelli, then supposed
| to be his candidate
| Leo XIII for time seemed to look on
| Cardinal Gotu as desirable successor
| Toward the end Of his life. however. his
! feelings became less friendly. Cardinal
| Gotti Is not absolutely committed to any
| policy.
Svampa Possibility.
On the strength largely of the old
| prophecy Of the monk Malachi, to the