Apparently the number of the latter class is not extensive, as the visit
of the Pope attracted but little crowd, and the lines of French soldiers
who were drawn up on his way to salute him as he passed, were certainly
not collected in the first instance by a spirit of religious zeal. The
_Giornale_, however, views everything with the eyes of faith, not of
"pure reason." Mass was performed at the Holy Church of Humility, and
"from early dawn, as soon as the news of the holy father's visit was
circulated, an immense crowd assembled there which filled not only the
church, but the adjoining rooms and corridors. The crowd was composed of
the flower of Roman rank and beauty, and the _elite_ of the strangers
residing in Rome, both French, English, and American, who desired the
blessing of assisting at the bloodless sacrifice celebrated by the Vicar
of Christ, and who longed to receive from his hands the angels' food." I
am sorry truth compels me to state, that the whole of this immense crowd
consisted of some two hundred people in all, and that the only
illustrious personages of special note amongst the crowd not being
priests, were General Goyon, the American Minister and Consul, and the
Senator of Rome. The Pope arrived at eight o'clock, and then proceeded
to celebrate the communion, assisted by Monsignors Bacon, bishop of
Portland, U.S., and Goro, bishop of Liverpool. "The rapt contemplation,
the contrition of heart, the spirit of ardent faith which penetrated the
whole assembly, more especially while the holy father distributed the
sacred bread, were all things so sublime that they are easier to conceive
than to describe."
After mass was over the Pope entered the college. Above the door the
following inscription was written in Latin, composed, I can safely say,
by an Hiberno-Yankee pen:
"Approach, O mighty Pius, O thou the parent of the old world and the new,
approach these sanctuaries, which thou hast founded for thine American
children devoted to the science of the church! To thee, the whole
company of pupils; to thee, all America, wild with exultation, offer up
praise! For thee, they implore all things peaceful and blessed."
In the hall prepared for his holiness' reception there was hung up,
"beneath a gorgeous canopy, a marvellous full-length likeness of the
august person of the holy Pontiff, destined to recall his revered
features. Around the picture a number of appropriate Latin mottos were
arranged, of which I give one or two as specimens of the style of
adulation adopted:
"Come, O youth, raise up the glad voice, behold, the supreme shepherd is
present, blessing his children with the light of his countenance. Hail,
O day, shining with a glorious light, on which his glad children receive
within their arms the best of parents!
"As the earth beams forth covered with the sparkling sun-light, so the
youths rejoice with gladness, while thou, O father, kindly gladdenest
them with thy most pleasant presence!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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