THE

CHAPTER XXXII.

LEO THE GREAT.

'HERE remains very little more to be said. It might be mentioned, that the Holy Father is showing great affection towards the Jesuits, one of whom, and an American citizen at that, his Eminence Camillus Cardinal Mazella, he recently made a member of the Sacred College, while in the brief Dolemus inter alea he has given the Order a new pledge of his esteem, because in it he refers to the evils which have come upon the religious orders; and, to manifest his regard for the Jesuits, he confirms by his brief the letters given by the Roman Pontiffs from Paul III. to our own times. He confirms anew all that is contained in such letters of favors and privileges, and all that follows them in the way of indults, immunities, and exceptions, and in various other manners shows his affection for the devoted followers of St. Ignatius. Mention might also be made of the grand and elaborate preparations which are being made, not only in Rome, but all over the Christian world, to celebrate the approaching fiftieth anniversary of the entry into

the priesthood of the Holy Father. Reference might be made to the remarkable and varied talents his Holiness has shown since he ascended the Pontifical throne, proving himself as graceful a poet almost as he is skilful as a diplomatist; but the limits of this volume will not allow the admission of much more matter, and the author prefers to close this sketch of Leo XIII. by directing attention to the great work he has accomplished in the years of his Pontificate, by smoothing over so many of the difficulties that hitherto existed between the nations of the earth and the Holy See, in reconciling which powers the Holy Father has shown himself possessed of marvellous tact, which, without yielding one inch of the prerogatives of the Papacy, has known how to conciliate enemies and win friends where a less skilful ruler would have failed.

The Church has every reason to be proud of its present Pontiff, who is not ineptly styled Leo the Great; for though it has not fallen to his lot, during the few years of his Pontificate, to decree, like his saintly predecessor, any new dogma of faith, or to preside over an ecumenical council, like the unfinished one of the Vatican, which he may yet re-assemble, he has achieved many brilliant successes; he has glorified the Papal chair; and he has prepared, as far as in him lies, the Church to meet that subtler and more dangerous foe which she has to encounter in these modern days, that false science which makes the perverted

mind and will to revolt against the teachings of the true Church and the unchangeable doctrines of the Catholic religion. One need not wait for the coming golden jubilee of his Holiness' ordination, therefore, to hear his praises sounded and his name glorified. All over the Christian world, in both hemispheres, wherever the Catholic faith is known and taught—and few are the places on the world where it is not known and taught - Leo XIII. is hailed as the worthy successor of the sainted Pius IX., and proclaimed one of the greatest Pontiffs who ever occupied the Papal throne, while daily fervent prayers are offered up in his behalf, that his years may be many upon earth, and that the Church may long profit by his prudence, his piety, and his great abilities.

A more feeling ending to these pages cannot be found than the reproduction here of the following tribute to Leo XIII. from the pastoral letter of the Fathers of the last Baltimore Council.

"While enduring with the heroism of a martyr the trials which beset him, and trustfully awaiting the Almighty's day of deliverance, the energy and wisdom of Leo XIII. are felt to the ends of the earth. He is carrying on with the governments of Europe the negotiations which promise soon to bring peace to the Church. In the East he is preparing the way for the return to Catholic unity of the millions whom the Greek schism has so long deprived of communion with the See of Peter; and is following the progress of exploration in lands hitherto unknown or inaccessible, with corresponding advances