The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-08-25
PERSONALITY OF Plus X.
FlyeW Pope Of Humble Origin,
Scholarly and Kind.
lnEL0vED By THE RIOH AND POOR.

E11k ia the Amicted Know His
IN MASTERING Hand, and He IL the
9aoha ~ Italy's King and. queen.
Msw ne was Honored by Victor
lnnanuel-His Political Attitude
EGA1A ~ Be Unknown.
©right. 1903. by the Press Publishing
company, New York World.1
The Venice correspondent of the New
asXRofk World writes that the mental,
1piritual and physical attributes of
Pope Plus x. will assure, it Is asserted,
IN ideal sovereignty Of the Roman
church. "A man Of large, we'll filed
Agure, his head massive and fine, his
e~ountenance and kindly eye bespeaking
~Gentleness, intelligence and humility,
he bears himself nobly and with all the
graciOusness Of a good king.
One ADLER or more widely loved
could not well have been chosen for the
high office. Sarto sits in the chair of
Peter because Of his splendid worth.
Politics, either of state or church, had
snaught to do with his elevation. Or
all the cardinals of the sacred college
SgHarto knew least Of political intrigue
and hatreds. A pure soul, above world
" things, he wears with peculiar pro-
priety the title of "holy father"
Sarto spent half of his life in teach
ing the young. For many years he was
the priest of a humble parish, with
slender income, upon which there were
many claims. He was past the merid-
ian of life when honors sought him out,
and then he rose to a b%ishopric. Pro-
motion came fast after that, although
Sarto made not the least effort to seize
the prizes above him. His works
brought the rewards.
Pope Plus \. is absolutely adverse to
the church %pugnacious. AS patriarch
Of Venice sarto had most pleasant re-
lations with the king and queen Of
italy, showing to them that the spirit
of peace was strong within him n
that there was in his heart no atom
even of bitterness toward his temporal
aovereigEs. Indicating fully his idea
Of the whole duty of the clergy, he
reformed the abuses in the diocese of
Mantua, of which he was bishop, in
sisting upon the clergy attending to
their religious exercises to the poor
and sick. He also held most modern
views upon education, and brings to
the Vatican a. breadth of mind that
cannot fail to still further eXalt the
papal influence throughout the world.
AS an indication of the extent to
which his character and views are
known in this country it is most evil
dent that the liberal Italians are de-
Hgnted with him, regarding him as
neither a politician nor a zealot, who
will prove to be simply a religious
O which has been the desire of the
Catholic world for thirty years.
The fact is commented on that Sarto
was nine years a priest, nine years a
vicar general, nine years a bishop and
nine years a cardinal, 1t is also point
ed out again that humble extraction
has never been a hindrance In asplra
tons for a cardinalate or the pontlh-
cate. The new pope is absolutely
self made man. He is descended from
a family of very small people in the
Venetian market town Of REESE, dlo
cese of Treviso, near Venice. He wa!
Of a brood of eight, six daughters ant
two sons. lie was born in 1885, ant
is therefore sixty-eight years Old.
Although patriarch, Sarto allowe'
his family to continue in the modes
line of life to which they were borr
Three of his sisters are spinsters. On
of the others. Antonio, is married to
man SO poor that she must supper
the family by dressmaking. Lucia
the wife of a sexton, who is occasion
ally a hawker, and the husband of til
third sister keeps a little tobacco shol
One of the maiden sisters is hous
keeper at the patriarch's palace
Venice.
The pope's mother, now dead, occ
pied a small peasants house, havil
in her humility always refused to Ii
with her son Giuseppe, as even b
modest establishment was consider
by her to be too luxurious in col
parison with what she was accustom'
to. The elder brother of the pope. A
gelo, lives in the village of Dellegraz
province of Mantua, being the pc
man of the district and receiving =
a year for his duties. He adds to |
income by keeping a shop in which
sells tobacco and pork. He has tN
pretty daughters.
When Plus Y. was bishop of Mant
his brother Angelo used often to
there for reasons connected with
postal service. The other clerks wol
ask him jokingly why his brother {
not find him a better position. Ange
with sturdy independence. answer
that he preferred only to be what
could make himself. Still, follow
papal precedents, the tobacconist a
postman of Dellegrazie should becol