The Irish standard., 1916-01-22
THE FIFTEENTH BENEDICT

the obsequtes of the ex-secretary of
Leo XIII should be celebrated in St.
Peters. And round the lofty cata-
falque, which was lighted by the ira
ditional hundred lights, were tribunes
erected for the occasion by the SAM
pietrini" to accommodate cardinals,
bishops, the diplomatic corps, the Ro-
man nobility, among whom sat the
Archbishop of Bologna with white,
drawn face-for he and the great dead
one had been as brothers. Look over
at Archbishop Della Chiesa,' said one
bystander to another Had Cardinal
Rampolla been elected Pope at the last
conclave instead of Plus x, he would
be LEO XIV" and he would have
Msgr. Della Chiesa as his Secretary of
State.
The Tiara.
How quickly Providence wrought
mighty changes. In a few months
Msgr. Della Chiesa was summoned to
Rome and sent back week after
wards as Prince OF the Church. Only
three or four moons later Plus x was
to die amid the clang of battle that
rang throughout Europe, and "Ignis
Ardens" was to vacate Peters throne
to the Pope of "Religio Depopulata"
And in his sixtieth year Giacomo Della
Ghioao oss,,mod tho poyoo ~ Dooo1To&
XIV in compliment to his diocese of
Bologna in which Benedict XIV had
been born.
Sit Nomen eenedictum.
"Per bellum 'Religio est depopulata;
Benedictus est Christi Vicarius, Papa
Benedictus sit Deus, Out Pacem dat
homini;
'Benedictus' qui VENT in nomine
Domini"
Personal Appearance Of Benedict XIV.
Some months ago Romagnoli, the
Florentine sculptor, was summoned to
Rome to make bust in bronze of the
Pope. Three brief sittings and no
more" would the Pontiff give the great
artist for his project. When all was
over the sculptor thus described the
appearance of his subject: His Holi-
ness has most interesting head
large forehead and Uranium character
istic of serene, well-balanced mind.
The aquiline nose and deep-set eyes
show force of character and intelli-
gence; the eyes. though short-sighted,
CLEAN with intelligence. The large,
well-shaped mouth shows constancy of
purpose. The chin is prominent, OF
the classical shape of Julius Caesars
and Napoleon's."
THE new Pope is a very serious
man." said Roman prelate to the
writer some time after the conclave Of
1914. He is always thinking, think
ing, and not given to imparting conf
dences." No wonder such is the case;
for probably never in the history Of
the Church has a pontiflcate opened
when clear, hard thinking was 80 nee.
essary.
My first impression on seeing Bene-
dict for the first time was that the
Church had obtained q ruler of i'm.
mense strength of character. On hear
Ing his Holiness speak, you find him
kindly and affable in the extreme,
quick as lightning to catch your mean.
ing, even though your Italian, French,
Spanish or Latin-the four languages
which Pope Benedict speaks-be halt
Ing. His appearance conveys an idea
OF how necessarily the Pontiff works.
From morning to evening he labors at
his desk, getting the most out Of every
hour that he possibly can. Certainly
his secretaries, private and public, eat
no idle bread. Only q few weeks ago
an artist of European fame succeeded
In obtaining permission to paint the
portrait Of Pope Benedict. 'The Pope
would give me only three short poses"
he explained afterwards, land part of
these were taken from his midday re-
pose. Catholic Union and Times.