672 



ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



Verdi, the American students, the American resi- 

 dents without distinction as to religion, the 

 foreign embassies, and the papal court. The 

 voices were the finest in Rome, Dr. Dossert direct- 

 ing in person by the courtesy of Prof. Meluzzi, 

 the veteran organist of St. Peter's. This is the 

 first time that any composer other than an Italian 

 has enjoyed such a privilege, and it marks also the 

 first European recognition of American musical 

 genius. The expense of the production was de- 

 frayed by the following committee : Austin E. 

 Ford, chairman; Hon. William R. Grace, Rev. 

 Charles H. Col ton, Augustive Daly, Frederick R. 

 Coudert, Judge Morgan J. O'Brien, Judge J. F. 

 Daly, James S. Coleman, Patrick Farrelly, George 

 Ehr'et, Henry Amy, John B. Manning, Peter 

 Doelger, John A. McCall, Rev. J. H. Hayne, 

 Ferdinand Levy, Gov. Roswell P. Flower, Rev. 

 I*. M. Corr, and Mrs. Theodore Havemeyer, Mrs. 

 Eugene Kelly, Mrs. J. M. Hecker, and Mrs. T. A. 

 Emmet all of New York. A banquet was after- 

 ward tendered Mr. Dossert at the North Amer- 

 ican College, and a reception given him by Queen 

 Marguerite. Pope Leo, in congratulating the 

 composer, said that his love for America had 

 grown with his years, that his hope was to see 

 Italy equally happy and free, and that, in de- 

 parting from the rule in inviting him to perform 

 the mass in Rome, he had desired to emphasize 

 the character of the Church as the patron of art, 

 as well as to encourage its development in the 

 New World, where, in time, he believed it would 

 flower most beautifully. 



A review of Leo's pontificate to March 3 

 elicited the facts that he had erected 1 patriarch- 

 ate ; 27 archdioceses, 14 of which were bishops' 

 sees; 77 new bishops, 1 delegation, and 47 vicari- 

 ates-apostolic ; and 18 new prefectures a total 

 of 177 new titles, including the 53 cardinals. 



Beatifications. Three beatifications crowned 

 the year, viz. : Francesco Savero Bianchi, Bur- 

 nabite father, Jan. 21 ; Gerardo Majella, lay 

 brother, Congregation of the Most Holy Re- 

 deemer, Jan. 29 ; Antonio Baldinucci, Society of 

 Jesus, April 16. 



The Sacred Congregation of Rites, by decree of 

 Dec. 17, fixed the patronal feast of the Pious As- 

 sociation of the Holy Family for the third Sun- 

 day after the Epiphany. 



Vatican and Quirinal. The relation be- 

 tween the Church and the Italian Government 

 became more strained. It reached its intensity 

 on the elevation of Cardinal Sarto, Bishop of 

 Mantua, to the see of Venice by the papal bull 

 of June 17. This was held to be a violation of 

 the right of the Crown of Italy to this piece of 

 ecclesiastical patronage, claimed by it as the 

 representative of the former Republic of Venice, 

 which became extinct in 1797. A suspension of 

 the royal exequator and stipends left 30 Italian 

 sees without their pastors, with a promise of the 

 ensuing consistory adding to the number, as the 

 Pope absolutely refused to recognize the exclu- 

 sive right claimed by the civil power. There 

 was interference with the Catholic press by the 

 ministry, nearly all the leading papers suffering 

 suspension. 



The principal encyclical of the year was that 

 on the study of the Scriptures, Nov. 18, in which 

 the Pope urges upon ecclesiastics the mastery of 

 the Oriental languages necessary to a proper un- 



derstanding of the sacred text, explains the 

 Catholic doctrine of inspiration, and shows the 

 disposition with which the subject should be ap- 

 proached. 



The Eucharistic Congress at Jerusalem 

 (May 12-20), under the presidency of Cardinal 

 Langenieux, was welcomed by the schismatical 

 Churches of the East with an unlooked-for 

 warmth, and substantial progress was reported 

 to the Pope toward the ultimate reunion of those 

 Churches with Rome. 



The Benedictines gathered in Rome by order 

 of the Pope, April 16, to witness the reinstalla- 

 tion of their order as a favored institution of the 

 Church, and the laying of the corner stone of 

 the new International College of St. Anselm. 

 Six hundred abbots were present. Leo XIII re- 

 ferred to the order's vast achievements for learn- 

 ing and religion in the ages gone by, and urged 

 that the work of placing it once more in the 

 forefront be taken up in earnest. The Francis- 

 cans have taken possession of the Borghese 

 Palace as headquarters of the order. 



The United States. The development of the 

 Roman policy in the United States was the 

 marked feature of the year. The coming of 

 Archbishop Satolli in October, 1892, in the ca- 

 pacity of an appellant judge with extraordinary 

 discretion, caused considerable discussion, and a 

 disposition to resent his intervention as an un- 

 warranted interference in the conduct of Ameri- 

 can ecclesiastical affairs was manifested from 

 the outset. Newspaper controversy enlivened 

 the earlier part of the year, and in both the daily 

 and Catholic press the decision of Mgr. Satolli 

 restoring Dr. McGlynn, the support of Father 

 Corrigan as against Bishop Wigger. the order 

 annulling and superseding those of Bishop Matz 

 and Bishop Wigger, which had in the past pro- 

 hibited priests from ministering the sacraments 

 to children attending the public schools, were 

 freely criticised. In the Archdiocese of New 

 York so much feeling was exhibited and the 

 name of Archbishop Corrigan was so familiarly 

 used as a leading spirit in the opposition to the 

 papal representative, that it became necessary 

 for his grace to make a public pronouncement 

 of his loyalty, which was done in the presence of 

 Mgr. Satolli and a distinguished audience in St. 

 Patrick's Cathedral. This effectually disposed 

 of the dissensions which were fast dividing the 

 Church into two hostile camps, and thencefor- 

 ward a more peaceable tendency developed. 



The order from Rome silencing opposition to 

 Mgr. Satolli was evidence of the Pope's deter- 

 mination to sustain his delegate. This was fol- 

 lowed six days later (Jan. 14) by a Vatican de- 

 cree enhancing the title of the Monsignor, and 

 permanently establishing the American apostolic 

 delegation. Rev. Dr. F. Z. Rooker, Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the American College at Rome, who had 

 been appointed secretary to the delegate pro tem- 

 pore, was succeeded by Mgr. Sherrati. who be- 

 came permanent secretary and chancellor. The 

 rescript from Rome dated Jan. 24 declared that 

 the growth and good of religion here demanded 

 the action which the holy see had taken for its 

 " special care and provision," and defined the 

 great power of the delegate in these words : 



" We command all whom it concerns to recog- 

 nize in you [Mgr. Satolli]. as apostolic delegate, 



