Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-07-24

dangerously near his fall.
When lie got to Rome Pope Gregory
was dying.
PccCi was well acquainted with Car
linal Fcratti. who soon became Plus
/ IN, and ;hat pope made hiil archbish-
op of Perugia at the age of thrty-siX.
/ Nearly at the same time the new pope
granted a general amnesty for political
offensCs and was for a time regarded
as a man of liberal intentions.
1t was fortunate for Archbishop Pee
ci that he could retire to distance
| from Rome in the mountains toward
| Tuscany and exercise his prcrogatives
without becoming involved in the ris-
| ing political passions at the Eternal
| City. where very soon Mazzni. Carl
baldi and others revolutionizcd Rome
and formed a triumvirate of dictators
and had to stand siege 10y the French
at the close of which the pope was so
| heartily frightened that he revoked his
/ liberal dispositions.
Retired to city of about 10000 peo-
| pie, the archbishop of Pcrugia, as has
been said, lived there thirty-two years.
or down to the year 1878. He was a
universal reader, and among the wise
saints in the Catholic age he chose St
| Charles BOrromCo as man to initiate.
the giver of his riches to aims and edu-
cation. He thereupon gave his mind to
the study of education in Perugia
He made up his mind In the first
place to educate his clergy thoroughly
and to SEQ that their habits We're indus
trious and pure Next he set upon the
education of the upper classes, many Of
whom wore contemptibly illterate
Finally he came down to the children.
At one time the revolutionary Gle
ments in Perugia arose and a conflict
took Lace between them and the papal
troops, who were of all nations. Swiss.
| German. Irish. and even American, and
the pOpulace was worstcd.
The archbishop surrounded himself
with friends of like tastes with his own,
favorable to education and sincerely dc.
sirous of seeing morals made voluntary.
He had been received in the city, when
he returned there the second time, with
n magnificent demonstration. As the
ruler both ecclcsiastic and civil, he in
hahtod the palace upon the public
square. which had on one side of it the
city hall and on the other the cathedral.
In 1854 he was made a cardinal and
this entitled him to take part in the Sc
lection of future popes.
CHANGING back for moment at these
dates. we will see that the pope was
born in the year after Gladstone that
he became full priest near the close
of General Jackson's administration
and that he became archbishop of Pc
rugia ut the time Of our Mexican war.
His habits did not differ Mt any time
He was remarkably laborious, of n
spare frame. with n high. capacious
forehead. a large mouth, a full, long
and expressive nose and an expression
of thorough refinement, purity and
acutcncss.
Being n noblcman of the hest class Of
Italian descent and of nation imme-
MORALLY ardent for knowledge and low
ing the arts. he was also destitute of
sourncss and had convictions without
being opinonated.
None could impcach his private life
Tie was ever accessible to his priests
and to those people who required him
as spiritual friend. but he also had
high spirit and when browbeaten dis
closed something like n military power
within. and he could use indignant
words. He was too worldly wise to he
cheated. too discreet to commit himself
in either word or deed except as his
Judgment and conscience were touched.
and after the Italians in 1850 overran
his state they found that he was diff
ficult man to handle in that he kept on
the side of intelligent public opinion.
In short, he was pope in spirit rep
resenting the antiquity and authority
of the church long before it was proba-
BILE that he would fill the ponttical
chair. He rose to this distinction at
last by having deserved it,
Though it is probable that he was
not unmindful of the honor and intlu-
ence of that great office. he knew too
well that to reach ii in this dangerous
age he must deserve it by combina-
ton of character, of courage and of
wisdom.
In 1866 the French troops We're with
drawn from Rome, and the pope was
left to such an army as he could him
self create. The Italians, however six
years previously had overrun Sicily
and Naples, annexed Tuscany and 9th
er states, and finally Venice, and We're
determined to occupy the papal states.
At this time Cardinal Pecci addressed
the priests in words which should be
common TO all churches, saying:
The moral conduct of the priests is
the mirror into which the people look
to find n model for their own demean-
or. Every shadow, every stain, is re-
marked 10y the vulgar eye, and the
mere shadow is enough To make the
people lose their esteem of priestly
worth. 1t is impossible that a priest
who lays himself open to such re
proaches or suspicious. who has the
name of being self indulgent, interest
ed and of irregular living. should give
O., 1at