The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-08

little later she wrote: MY little Vim
| cenzo walks alone already and goes
everywhere. He is passionately fond
of horses Although he is 50 small thai
you can hardly see him, he jumps uE
and rides all the furniture without
waiting for help from anyone. You
may well believe that this child is not
the cause of much melancholy. Tttt1
CHS elder brother by eight years. does
nothing. but make little affairs the
| church seems to attract him strongly.
How strange ii was. Nincenzo was
TO become Pope, and Titta was the
| only one of the family TO marry. Ills
mother always called him by his nrst
! name, nzo,-sometimes Nino Tor
short-which was also used by nm
| self UP to the termination of his stud
les. when he began the use Of the
| second name GioaCchino. When he
was but four years of age an incident
| took place seeming almost like proph-
| ecy. One of the neghboring peas
ant women had brought a Basket OF
cheese and jar of milk to the palace.
! Little Nino went so close to inspect
! the cheese that in leaning over he
! fell down The peasant helped him
up and said in Carpineto phrase
What else do you want BROTHER
| Il. a brother in the cloister of Car
pinito?" said Nino, Ironically, with
a pout mo: a Cardinal" laughed
the peasant. Pope" interjected his
mother, smiling.
A PrecOciOus Child.
The bright-eyed Nino surprised mis-
| father also one day with his precocity.
| They were walking one day and his
father pointed out to him the birth
place of st. Thomas, and where the
place was where he went to school.
I TWa- Ii FN,fI nTN h n
he knew more of the history of st.
Thomas Aquinas than of that of Bon
aparte, and inquired of his father if
he could not go to that school and
learn to read and write. And said
the honest soldier, speaking of 1T
shortly after, Il had hoped to make
general of him" We'll, what does that
matter? You will make a Pope of him.
laughingly replied his wife. A little
later, when they were discussing the
future of their sons, the father said:
Il firmly believe that Joseph will be-
come a Jesuit, but 1 cannot free my
self from the idea that Gioacchino will
return hither as the pastor of this
village" To which the mother re-
piled: Listen to me. Gioacchino will
be Pope and Joseph Cardinal; then
you may rest easy as to the future Of
our children"
w ME IlulIk VIII Ills lCcNilNA OilE
day in the same year, Nino showed his
great love of humanity which he dem
onstrated so powerfully in later
years. He saw a peasant boy lying by
the side of the road, crying. He stop
ped the carriage, ran to the boy, and
learned that he had been knocked
down by a cart and his foot broken.
Snatching his cap from his head he
ran and filled it with water giving
the boy some to drink and washing
the dirty, swollen foot with the rest
of it. Then, learning that the boy lived
too far from the spot to be taken
home, he put him into the carriage, in
the face of the protests of his teacher,
and took him to his own home When
he reached home his mother pressed
him proudly to her breast and praised
him for his noble deed. Thus was the
child of seven, father to the Pope of
after years.
Taught by Jesuits.
The brigdnds having come into power
few years previous to that, there was
troublesome times and great want in
Carpineto, and the mother and chill
dren were sent to their uncle in Rome.
Then in 1918, the father sent Nino and
Joseph to the Jesuit College of Viterbo.
The parting with her boys was hard
returning to Rome from Viterbo, where
she had accompanied them: II have
felt terribly since parting from my
dear boys, so terribly that l can hard
ly express it, The letters that l get
from Viterbo are very satisfactory. The
children are we'll satisfied and their
teachers have nothing but praise for
them. But they are too far from me-
/ hope they will do well and gain all
honors.'
There at the Jesuit College they were
taught grammar and humanities under
a man of great learning.
The letters written home by Vincen-
20 were simple and as honest as his
heart He begs his parents to come
and see him. and thanks them for
books. One of the earliest of these is
as follows: Dear Mother: 1 am anx-
iously awaiting for the biogra ply of
ST Francis of Assist. so permit me to
remind you to send It. for I am most
DESTROYS to read it. We are now do
ing our best to learn, for we wish to
do you honor Please give my love to
dear papa, my teacher and all of the
servants. l beSeech your blessing, and
in all affection remain your loving son.
| Vincenzo Pecci."
offered TOnsure while Yet n Boy.
The brothers were quite different
| from each other Joseph was stronger
than the quiet Vincenzo. One of their
| teachers called the latter 1.-The angle, -
and his playmates called him mother
| of piety," because of the resemblance
| to one of the pictures of the Virgin
! The mother wished both of them &c
| become priests. and asked if they could
| not receive the tonsure without IL In
| terfering with their freedom of choice
| later. Mgr. Lolli invited the boys t
| dinner and asked them If they woulC
not like to receive the tonsure. Botl
refused, saying that they We're not We
| quite sure of their intentions. beside.
| they did not like to be the only boyy
| wearing the three cornered hat. Vinzt
| wrote to his mother April 25, 1921
The offer of the Governor overcam
us and we could not accede. Neverthe
less. we have not delayed to beseecl
| God and the Holy Virgin that w,
might know the will of God. We hop,
| that you, too will pray to them for u
with better results Before leavin;
that school Vincenzo did receive tn
tonsure, and Joseph decided his calm,
was clear to the Society OF Jesus. Il
his studies Vincenzo made grea
strides, especially in Latin, writing
verses in excellent style at a very ear
| ly age, with remarkable ease and pur
ity. On June 81, 1921, he received hi
first communion in the college church
Death of His Mother.
In July, 1924 Joseph had decided t,
become a Jesuit and Vincenzo gave hi
mother the browning JOY of her life b,
coming home wearing the clerical tire
cornered hat. 1t was truly her las
great JOY for she died in August of tina
| h