The citizen., 1914-08-28

created him cardinal, and three days
later appointed him patriarch of Ven
ice. He was cardinal priest of the
title of San Bernardo allie Terme.
In his Office he had proved himself
a strong and competent administra-
tor. He had been venerated in his
diocese as sanity man, whose whole
life had been given to the care of his
flock.
While administering the affairs of
the Treviso diocese he began the col
lection of what has since become one
of the finest private libraries of Ven
ice.
During the nine years of his incum-
bency at Mantua Bishop Sarto led
life as abstemious as that of the poor
est parish priest. He devoted many
hours each day to scholarly applica-
tion. In 1880 he wrote several trea-
tises on the authenticity of relics of
the martyrs. He also prepared
manual of prayer and wrote a num-
Der of poems dedicated to the Ma
donna.
An Unwilling Pontiff.
Giuseppe Sarto was elected Pope
against his own voice on August 4,
1903. In the conclave it appeared that
he was the only member of the Sa-
cred College who did not realize that
he was the man to succeed that mas
ter of statecraft, the elegant and
scholarly Leo XIII. For four days the
vast Roman throngs had watched the
smoke that curled at intervals from
the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in
the Vatican palace, and when the
seventh ballot had been taken and
Giuseppe Sarto was declared Pope the
newly-elected pontiff swooned away
and had to be borne up by two of his
distinguished colleagues. He did not
desire the great religious Office; he
did not feel able to assume the cares
and responsibilities Of the, papacy. 1t
was his wish to go back among his
own people, with whom he had spent
more than half century, and by whom
| he was known and honored. Indeed,
with the firm conviction that he would
return Nto his archdiocese after the
conclave, he had bought a return tick
ct to Venice. But he never went back
to his people. Some of them have
journeyed in pilgrimages of the Eter-
nal City to see their former patriarch,
and they have gone away from the
audience full of confidence that Plus
X. would rather be in Venice as an
archbishop, doing the work of par
ish priest" than wear the triple crown
of the papacy.
The new Pope was crowned In the
basilica of st. Peters by Cardinal
| Machhi dead of the cardinal deacons,
on August 9, 1903. There were inn
portant questions to he settled, i'm
portant financial problems to be solv-
ed There was no trouble, no hitch
anticipated. So was Plus X. viewed
And while there might have been dis
appointment, there certainly was sur
prise.
Bomb for Modernism.
A highly significant pontificate had
been begun. Out of all the encycli-
Gals that have come from the Holy
See in decades it was generally con-
ceded that the condemnation of mod
ernism by Plus x. was the most far
reaching, the most sweeping. This en-
cyclical was issued on September s,
1907, and three years later another
order, renewing the condemnation and
laying down precise laws regarding
ecclesiastical and secular studies, was
sent out. There was an instant stir
of all so-called advanced thinkers,
and Plus X. was arraigned by many
preachers. professors and publicists
as an enemy Of progress and Of scien