Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1903-07-09
LIE HISTORY Of LEO XIII.
A Brief History Of the Life of Leo
XIII, Two Hundred and Six
tieth Pope of Rome.
He Was Early a Pupil of the Jesuits. Earn
ing His Degree of Doctor of Divinity
in His Twenty-FIrst Year. Advancing
Rapidly, Step by Step. Until He Reached
the Pontifical Throne.

in His Twenty-First Year. Advancing
Rapidly, Step by Step. Until He Reached
the Pontifical Throne.
Rome, July 6.-His late holiness was
born at Carpineto, in the diocese OF
Anagni, in the papal states, on March
2. 1910. being christened under the
name of Joachim Vincent. The So
eietv of Jesus, which it was after
wards the first care of his pontiticate
to restore to its ancient position in
the councils of the church, was in
trusted with his education, young
Pecci being sent, at the age of eight
years, to the Jesuit college at Vibar-
bo, where he remained until his four
teenth year. At this time his mother
died, and he shortly afterwards pro-
ceeded to Rome to continue his stud
les at the Jesuit college in that city.
When he was Is years old he secured
the first prize for chemistry and
physics. His aptitude for natural sci
ence, however, in no way interfered
with his taste for literature and class
ical studies, and even in these early
days he was remarkable for the ele-
gance and purity of his Latin, which
subsequently found such notable ex-
preston not only in his encyclicals
and ecclesiastical work, but in the
higher plane of poetry He obtained,
in 1881, the degree of doctor of di-
vinity, and entered the academy of
noble ecclesiastics to study law and
diplomacy and thus qualify himself
for joining what may be termed the
papal diplomatic service and become
with the system of the
spiritual government. 1t is from the
ranks of this official body that, in
these days, new pontiff is almost in
variably chosen.
In 1887. joachim Pecci received the
ub-deaconate and deaconate, and on
March IA of the same year Gregory
XVI. made him a domestic prelate,
his first promotion, with the title of
monsignor.
Ordained n Priest.
On December %, 1897, he was or
dained priest by Cardinal Odescalchi.
saving his first mass in the chapel of
St. Stanislaus at the Jesuit noviciate
of ST. Andrea. Early in 1888 Mgr. Pee
ci was named governor of the papal
province of Benevento, and, like Six
tus ", busted himself with the sup
preston of brigandage. In connection
with this work the following story
was told of Mgr. Pecci: A certain
marquis called one day to protest
against what he considered the inter
ference of the governor and Informed
the latter that he was just starting
for Rome to procure his recall.
"Have you considered the step well,
marquis?" asked Mgr. Pecci.
"Yes, monsignor," said the other,
"and / am going at once"
To this the governor rejoined:
"Resolutions of this kind should be
well considered at leisure. You will
do me the honor of staying here for
the present"
That same night the marquis castle
was surrounded and 2S brigands of
whom he was patron and chief were
arrested or shot.
From Benevento Mgr. Pecci was
transferred to the governorship of
Perugia. where he remained for year
and half. The young ecclesiastic,
in 1915, was called to exercise his tai
ents. in more important post, being
consecrated bishop of Damietta in
partibus. and sent to Brussels as
nuncio. 1t was as representative of
the vatican in the Belgian capital that
he first gained the political insight
and experience which have been one
of the principal characteristics of his
tenure of the pontifical throne.
Mgr. Pecci remained over three
years in Belgium, and on his recall to
Italy was decorated with the grand
Gordon of the Order of Leopold.
Elected to Highest Position.
After leaving Brussels the nuncio
paid visit to London. This was in
February, 1876, and in the same year
he was consecrated archbishop of
Perugia. He continued in this posi-
ton for the 30 years which inter
vened before his election to the high
est position in the church, his tenure
of the episcopate coinciding exactly
with the 80 years of the reign of Plus
IX.
At the consistory held in 1877 Car
dinal Pecci was appointed camerlengo
of the Roman church, which gave him
chief charge of the temporalities of
the holy see. In this capacity it fell
to his task to make the necessary ar
rangements for the conclave for the
election of new pope after the death
of Plus IX., in February. 1878. The
conclave lasted SO hours, and at the
third ballot Cardinal Pecci was elect
ed supreme pontiff and took the name
of Leo XIIl., after the famous Leo
X, for whom he had the greatest ven-
Grafton. He was crowned on March g.
with the tiara or triple crown. the
CCt PithNNs ace IL ~
Peters, where all his predecessors but
one had been crowned since 1855, but
in the Sistine chapel in the Vatican
where the conclave had been held.
First Great Political Achievement.
From the very outset, the new pom
tiff displayed the greatest interest in
the social questions agitating the
world of to-day and in an encyclicai
issued in December, 1878, appealed tc
the intellectual forces of Catholicity
to contest the propaganda of doe
trines which his holiness described
as subservient of social order. allud.
ing especially to the socialists in
Germany and the nihilist movement
in Russia. The cooperation afforded
by the pope to the various govern
ments in opposing the growing forces
of social democracy paved the way
for the settlement of disputes exist