The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1903-07-17

| piouuClilS IHe Itluloitc UdJoll'y 'lli
one day the Cardinal di Porto ex-
claimed that the Holy Ghost could
never come down and inspire their
choice as long as they had p roof over
their heads.
The people of Viterbo took this pre-
fame joke seriously and unroofed the
palace. This measure, too, proved in
efectual, and it is probable that the
cardinals would never have arrived at
any determination had the device not
been hit upon of diminishing the sup
plies of their tables. Hunger effected
more than rain and wind had done, and
Gregory X was elected.
UNDER LOCK AND KEY.
Shortly after his election Gregory
X issued bull that all future popes
should he elected in conclave-that is,
by any body OF cardinals locked up to-
gether and subject to specified restric-
tions as to diet and attendance until
the election was over.
Numerous additions have been made
to the legislation Of the conclave by
successive pontiffs, the most important
of all, perhaps, being the bull "Aeteri-
nj Patris," issued in 1921 by Gregory
XIV, containing minute directions,
which are still observed, concerning
the system Of voting and other details.
An important reform, rendered nee.
essary by the loss of temporal power
after 1870 and by the fear (unfounded,
it is true, but not wholly unjustifiable) }
that undue political influence or intim-
idation might be brought to bear on
the cardinals, was proposed in 1917 by
Cardinal Pecci, then chamberlain of
the church, who arranged that the car
dinals, instead of being forced to hold
the conclave wherever the pope died,
choose any town they thought more
convenient.
This innovation was sanctioned by
Plus IN, who even expressed the hope
that Gin view of the changed political
conditions the future conclave should
be held out of Italy"
The present rules regulating the
conclave consist of thirty-two articles,
and were signed by Plus TX on Janu-
ary 10, 1879, cnly few days before
his death.
ATTENDANTS ON CARDINALS.
Everybody shut in the conclave is
conclavist, but all conclavists are not
necessarily voters. In fact, the word
conclovist is more especially applied
to the attendants on cardinals, who
are of two kinds, those particularly
attached to them (two attendants to
each cardi4aD and those who are the
general tunctionaries of the conclave,
such as the physician, the notary, the
theologian, the confessor, the chaplain
and the secretary of the conclave.
The conclavists attached to each car
dinal are private secretaries or agents,
and as through them most Of the pour
paries and negotiations of the conclave
are carried on, good, willy diplomatic
and cautions conclavist is of invaluable
assistance to his cardinal.
During Leo XIII's pontifcal jubilee
festivities forty-two cardinals were
present in Rome out of total of fifty
eight then living.
AS ten days elapse between the
pope's death and the commencement
of the conclave for the election of his
successor, it is possible that a consid-
erably larger proportion of cardinals
would be able to take part in the pro-
ceedings, including Cardinal Gibbons.
When Leo XIII was elected several
cardinals arrived too late from different
states, but the present highly improved
systems of locomotion would render
such an eventuality highly improbable
in Cardinal Gibbons case.
Supposing the cardinals in the con-
clave to be sixty in number, it will be
seen that the whole body of conclavists
who must remain shut up together
until election will be close upon two
hundred, and the Inconvenience of such
life, especially at certain times of the
year, is naturally considerable, in spite
of numerous notifications and i'm
provements recently introduced
LOCKED IN CELLS.
The conclave IS now ordinarily held
in wing of the palace of the Vatican,
arranged for the purpose, in separate
cells.
Each cardinal has an apartment
composed Of two cells, one for himself
and one for his conclavists. Each cell
is numbered, and the numbers OF the
cells are drawn for by lot by all the