Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-07

sicily. claimed and received the soft parts
OF has brothers bodyJl Preserving them AZ
best he could with spicss and perfumes. he
carried them to his Exlhedral of Montreaie'
near Palermo. in SICILY, where they remain
to this day In theSbox covered with blue
silk dotted with white stars.
The bones of Stsi Louis were deposited
with pomp In the church of the proud ADJ
hey of st. Denis. In the year 1898, when
ST. Louis was canopized, they were taken
up and temporarily transferred, with stu
greater pomp, to the Sainte-Chapeiie IN
Paris. On their return to st. Denis, after
the ceremonies. the saint descendant OF
the time, Philippe the handsome, ana all
the members of his family, carried pieces.
Later, Philippe the Handsome had an
historic controversy with the proud mon rss
of st. Dennis over F4hese same bones. he
wished to deposit them permanently In the
Saint-Chapelle, built by st. Louis himseiI.
He even appealed to the pope OF the time,
Boniface VIII. who enjoined the monks IN. not
to prevent him. on condition that the KING
let them keep leg bone and arm pone.
Later in 1906, there was compromise.
And kind of distribution. Ihe SAINT
sChapelle received the skull, which rnihppe
the Handsome had inclosed in handsome
skull of gold. One rib was given to the
Cathedral of Notres Dame Inc VIE VI
Philippe the Handsome received InseI
bone; the preaching brothers OF Paris
hand; the brothers of Val-des-Eco,ierSs 81, :
= -ei.
finger bone: the Abbess OF Pontolse q lip'
the Able of Royaamont a shoulder piaos;
and the Abbess of Lys bone OF the haho'
Until the Revolution.
The bones of st. Louis. with these ex-
ceptions. remained in their place at 81.
Denis until the French revolution. Inen'
In the year 1902, the convention, con-
sidering that the nation had need OF can
non and munitions, and considering that
the royal tombs would furnish lead and
bronze" voted eirsdestructon. Thus the
bones of the kings of France, inclualns
those of st. Louis, were thrown OUT INTO
the common burying ground OF Ine poor.
Long ago the gold skull containing
that Of ST. Louis disappeared from the
Sainte- Chapelle None know Just Where
are the true bones distributed, as above,
in 1906, many persons ana INSTITUTIONS
claiming to possess them.
There remains always however, the an
cient box of olive wood, covered with
blue silk, dotted with white stars, IN the
Cathedral of Montreale in SICILY.
/ In the year 1S41, cwhile making some
repairs in the Sainte- Chapelle, the archi-
tect came on lead box carefully hidden
under the main altar in secret place
cut out of the stone with great art. rms
box contained silver heart, which, on
being opened, was found to contain a
shriveled, dried-up human heart. There
was no inscription.
On this great controversy arose ana
occupied the learned men of France and
Italy for a long time. Old documents
were brought to light to indicate that the
heart of st. Louis had been secretly
brought to France by his son Philippe, to
be buried in the Sainte-Chapelle, accord
ing to the sanity kings last secret wish.
And the position of the heart thus dis
covered rather bore out this assertion.
Found It as Told.
To settle the controversy, at last, on
July 1. 1S43 the archbishop of Montreale,
accompanied by other dignitaries and two
doctors, opened the great marble sar-
cophagus OF st. Louis and found the old
box of olive wood covered with blue silk
dotted with white stars, just as it had al
ways been described in history.
"Hic condita stunt vsscera sancu Ludovici
TX regis Franc" $50 raads the Latin en-
graved on the sarcophagils).
inside the box covered with blue silk
dotted with white stars they found q
smaller box of thin gold. Inside 1t, en-
veloped in white silk. they found con-
glomerate mass Of dried tissues, whose
parts could not possibly he identified
After making their report they reverentiy
put all back in place 10 the great marble
sarcophagus.
Ard there, in their box of olive wood
covered with blue silk dotted with white
stars. remain the only known true relics
of st. Louis. STERLING HELLO.