The Topeka state journal., 1922-02-01
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, DirectOE.
WasElfngh0n, D. O.
TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY


washington. l.. As-s JAN. 80 AA0
new pope who will be elected in Rome
this week will be the 260th in the line
descending from Peter. Leo XIII
considered that he was the 263rd
pope, but since his deatho five names
! have been discarded from the list ow-
ing to the doubt of their being au-
/ thentic.
The pepes have sprung from all
walks in life. Sixtus V herded sheep,
| Leo X came from family who We're
masters of Florence because of their
/ riches. Adrian VI was the son of a
ship carpenter, Paul V was a noble,
Sixtus ~ was waif. and Plus x was
a peasant. The reign of Plus TX was
! the longest Of any pope, and that or
1 Boniface VI was the shortest, The
former ruled for over thirty-one years,
and the latter but fifteen days.
| Volumes have been written about
| the personalities and eccentricities of
the popes SiXtus was so aggressive
| that he changed the face of Rome and
| the world in five years. Plus TX was
( such a chronic speechmaker that ne
| delivered All addresses in a little
more than four years-an average of
two a week. Gregory XVI was hard
! headed and opposed the construction
| of railways because he believed that
mechanical industry would deprive
1
| lihood. Macaulay says that Leo X
| occupied himself with canoes, jewels,
/ antiques and new sauces. Nicolas
| V was fond of books and had a pas
sion for building. Leo XIII was cold,
! calculating and scholarly, and accom-
plished much by his masterful dipIo-
macy. The private character of some
| of the popes has been assailed, par
| ticularly that of Alexander VI, who
was in power when the news of
fN1IHq l.
| reached Rome.
Army Lost in st. Peters.
| There are so many churches in
Rome that to visit them at the rate
| of one a. day would require more than
a years time. These vary in size from
the small chapel capable of accom-
modating only few persons, to great
| ST. Peters which is so large that once
when the Roman army went there to
| attend mass, the assembled rank and
file fell SO far short of filling the vast
/ edifice that when the general arrived
! he looked about him hastily and con-
/ Guided that the army was late. There
are 10000 persons in Rome who de-
vote their whole time to ecclesiastical
matters.
| St Peters not only dwarfs all the
| other churches of Rome, but ranks as
| the giant edifice of the world A
famous author likened the surprise oc-
| casioned by the first view of its tower
ingJt proportions to the feeling one
would have If he met a man 40 feet
| tall. Figures and comparisons can
| only partially portray the real magni-
tude of this colossus. It covers six
| acres. Its main aisle is an eighth of
a mile long, and its dome is a twelfth
| of mile high. If st. Peters were.
| flooded the largest ship that sails the
| ocean could steam up the central aisle
| ana It's masts would scarcely reach
! above the top Of the high altar If it's
| capacity were taxed to the utmost a
| congregation Of 80. 600 people might
| assemble within its walls, and 100000
more could wait outside within the en-
| closure of the colonnades. In the lofty
dome there is a mosaic of ST. Luke
| with a pen in his hand. From the
great height the pen seems of or
/ dinary size, but in reality it is eight
| feet long.
On account of its age. and because
| it shelters the burial place of the
| apostle for whom it was named, St
| Peters has been called the parent
| church of Christendom. When Nero's
executioners led the old fisherman
away to his death, he was so infirn
| that he could not carry his cross, and
| they crucified him where he fell be-
meath its weight. The old chronicles
/ state that a few weeping Christians
| knelt there in the yellow sand that
same night to pray, and men have
-
First a little chapel marked the
spot, then a larger structure covered
| it for 1, LOO years, finally to give way
| to the present towering pile which was
commereed 466 years ago. Great toll
and great wealth were expended in
many of the earth's great dead are
asleep in its friendly shelter. It is
! hallowed by such sacred associations
| that all who enter instantly feel the
spirit of its majestic solemnity. The
| titanic proportions of everything, and
the age-long story that is woven in the
very woof of it. appeal to the senses
| in way that can neither be resisted
nor explained.
Vatican Has 1900 Rooms.
Adjoining st. Peters is the vatican,
the home of the popes and the largest
palace in the world. That this extra
ordinary structure is a worthy neigh
Dor of massive st. Peters may be real
| lied from the statement that it con-
| tafns II 900 rooms has thirty magnifi-
cent halls, nine galleries, seven grand
| chapeIs twenty courts, eight state
sides museums, libraries and archives.
1t is indeed a treasury of art. 1t is
| said that the contents of the Sistine
| chapel alone are worth billion dol
lars. Who could estimate the price
! that Michael Angeles Last Judgment
or RaphaePs TRANSPORTATION would
bring if they were offered for sale2
While no combination of circumstances
can be conceived that would dead to
such a possibility, if the contents of
| the vatican were ever offered for sale,
| there is not a fortune in the world
large enough to pay the price they
would command.
The tremendous extent of the vati-
| can, as well as the incompatible
/ amount of treasure it contains, is
| shown in the story about a room
which for some reason was walled up
and became lost for centuries. After
| a long search entrance to 1t was
gained thru a window overlooking the
| roof of the Sistine chapel, and the
rare decorations of its walls were
again brought TO light. It is known
that some valuable freseoes are hid
den by wooden wainscoating in an
| other room once occupied by lux
| uFious cardinal. and it is not unlikely
| that other art treasures have been