The Irish standard., 1918-10-12
Pope Benedict In
Perfect Health
A correspondent writes:


the sixty-three years which are actual
ly his. His face remains unmarked
by time, his hair is very black, his
eyes are keen and extraordinarily ac-
tive He is lean and full of energy, a
small man, of that build which we call
"wiry." His voice is kindly, but not
vibrant. He emphasizes his remarks
with quick, rather graceful gestures.
He has perfect Roman profile. One
readily can imagine it as medallion
on an ancient coin or medal. In re-
pose his face is dignified and some
what cold; it is most attractive when
! he speaks, for the motion of his lips
thrusts into it benevolent and sympa-
thetic lines; it is extraordinarily en-
gaging when he smiles. Then it is
among those faces which make def
mite and strong heart-appeal even to
the stranger.
He became Pope on September 3rd,
ment of the Church at the most criti-
cal possible moment. He came to it,
not fresh from all environment of d.
plomacy and international politics, as
several Cardinals would have gone to
it, but from the quiet Archbishoprie of
Bologna, which was then a simple, al
most medieval old-world town, but is
now the headquarters of the Italian
army. He had been Cardinal for but
one hundred days at the time of his
elevation to the Papacy, and his choice
was a general surprise.
| The personality of the present Pope
is very winning, and any charge that
he has failed upon the diplomatic side
must be accompanied by the admission
that he has done, all that has been
possible upon the humanitarian side
of this war. He it was who started
| the exchange of disabled prisoners
among all belligerents; a year ago he
arranged for the exchange of those
who had been eighteen months or
more in captivity and were fathers of
three or more children. His treat
ment of the family, old servants and
other dependents of his predecessor,
| including his sister and his private
secretary, won the hearts of the 1tal-
ian people. He made the dead Pope's
nephew Canon of st. Peters; he gave
his two private secretaries the two
other best sCanonries in Rome, and
provided far more generously than
Plus X had suggested for the mem
bers of the immediate family.
| Career in the Church.
Pope Benedict comes from an an
cient Genoese family; the family of
his mother has produced several
Popes. He was born on November
81, 1854, and at his fathers desire was
educated for the law before his voca-
ton for the Church became irresisti-
BILE.
AS Monsignor Della Chiesa his first
important position was that Of Secre-
tary to the Papal Embassy at Madrid
4 Cdlulldl WIZ, LII
many years, was the close personal
friend of Pope Leo XIII, and for a
considerable time was his Papal Sec
rotary of State. Then Monsignor De-
LA Chiesa became Under-Secretary of
State, and remained thus until he was
made Archbishop of Bologna in 1907,
i'm the latter office gaining valuable
experience in the ministry and the
management of the See.
Notably he was, what French call,
"un homme de bureau for lie loves
working at his desk. In other words,
by taste he is principally an executive.
The fact that by nature he is seden-
tary has made him feel, far less than
did his predecessor, the strain of his
confinement as "the prisoner of the
; Vatican" So devoted is he to his
work that it is with difficulty that he
can be induced to give an hour or two
to driving in the Vatican Gardens.
The Pope's Day.
His whole day is spent between the
) library (where he received me) and
his private apartments just above.
He rises at dawn in the summer and
at five in the winter. The first two
hours of every day he spends at his
: religious duties. At seven O'clock he
} takes a roll and coffee. Then, till
nine, he works with his secretaries
! at his correspondence, after which
he receives the Cardinal Secretary Of
, State, who submits to him such mat
, tiers of import as have arisen. Then