Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-11-22
BOMB FIRED IN CHURCH
PANIC FOLLOWS EXPLOSION IN ST.
PETERS ROME.
DEED WITHOUT PARALLEL
Perpetrator Escapes While Men, Wom-
en- and Children Struggle
to Reach Exits.

Rome-Just after the last mass had
been said in the crowded st. Peters
cathedral Sunday, in celebration Of
the anniversary of the dedication OF
the basilica, a man lighted the fuse
of a bomb which had been placed at
the altar of st. Petronilla. The ex-
plosion occurred as a canon, with up
lifted arm, turned to bless the com-
m%unicants. Dense clouds of smoke
rolled through the cathedral, the
crowd rushed panic-stricken for the
doors and in the excitement the bomb
thrower escaped.
The outrage is without a parallel in
Rome since st. Anacietus, who was
ordained by Peter himself, erected an
oratory in 80 A. D., on the site of the
present boscilica, to mark the spot
where the remains of st. Peter are
buried.
That no one was injured by the ex-
plosion or in the panic that followed
seems miraculous. AS soon as the
echoes Of the 0 a had ceased, a canon
sought, by reassuring words, to quiet
the people, but In vain. They fed in
all directions, and children screamed,
and the men tried to protect their
families in the crush.
The canon at the altar tried to stem
the tide of fear. He shouted out:
do not be afraid; it is nothing;
merely the MONDAY gum"
Mad Rush For Doors.
His words had little effect. They
were refuted by the smoke and the
pungent smell of powder, and the peo-
pie continued their headlong fight.
Chairs were overthrown, making the
confusion more serious. Men and wom-
en- fed, stumbling in all directions,
the screams Of children and cries of
anguish were heard on all sides, and
for a few minutes it seemed as If moth
ing could avert a grave disaster.
The vast size Of the church, how
ever, gave room for the crowd to scat
ter, and at the end of a few moments
the people were surging towards the
doors, excited and nervous, but or
derby.
AS soon as the smoke cleared away,
a hasty examination showed that no
body had been hurt in the crush and,
furthermore, that no one had been
wounded by the explosion. Calm was
gradually restored, and people re-
turned to view the extent of the dam
age.
The bomb had been placed under a
scaffolding that had been erected to
facilitate repairs to the roof exactly
under the celebrated tomb of Clement
XIII, by Canova, which consists of a
figure of the pope, and which is the
most remarkable piece of sculpture in
the basilica. This tomb ranks among
the finest efforts of. modern sculpture,
and by its execution Canova estab.
lished his reputation.
When the first gendarmes reached
the spot the scaffolding was found to
be ~smoldering, but this fire was easily
extinguished. The tomb wassfound to
be uninjured, and even the pavement
shows scarcely any signs of the ex-
plosion.
An examination Of the fragments OF
the bomb leads to the supposition that
unless 1t was manufactured in the
country and brought to Rome. 1t is
believed that the bomb had a very
long fuse in order to enable the Grim.
inal to gain the plaza before the ex'
p%losion. 1t has been impossible to
trace him, and no n has any recol
lection of seeing a man who by his
movements might have aroused sus,
picion. 3,