OCR Text |
Show SEMH.HT ST. PETEEi'S IN EJOflE; NO f ATAUTY BOXIE, Nov, 19. A bomb was exploded ex-ploded in St Peter's Sunday. The edifice edi-fice was crowded, and an indescribable scene of confusion followed. There were no fatalities. As soon as the echoes of the- tre-mendons tre-mendons roar ceased a canon sought by reassuring .words to quiet the people, but in vain. They fled in all directions, and a number of women fainted. - Women Wo-men and "children screamed and men tried to protect their families in the crush. The church is so large, however, that there was ample room for the crowd to scatter, and no one was injured. in-jured. No trace of the perpetrator of the deed has been found. - Sunday was the anniversary of the dedication of the basilica to St. Peter, and it was beautifully decorated for the occasion. Holy relics were exposed and a large number of the faithful attended the services. Cardinal Bampolla, formerly for-merly Papal Secretary of State, was among those present. He took part in the service in the choir chapel. The last mass had just been concluded when the . explosion occurred, and only ' one canon, who had not quite finished, remained re-mained at the altar of St. Peter. - There was a tremendous roar, which echoed through the lofty arches of the immense dome like a thunderclap. At the same time a denso smoke spread throughout this portion of the basilica and a strong odor of gunpowder filled the air. Confusion ana panic at once seized the people. The canon at ' the altar tried to stem the tide of fear. He shouted: "Do not be afraid; it is nothing, noth-ing, merely the noonday sun." His words had little effect. They were refuted by the smoke and the pungent smell of powder, and the people continued con-tinued their headlong flight. Chairs were overturned, making the confusion more serious. Men and women fled, stumbling in all directions; the screams of children and cries of anguish were heard on all sides, and for a few minutes min-utes it seemed as though nothing could obviate a grave disaster. The vast size of the church, however, gave room for the crowd to scatter, and at the end of a few moments the people were surging toward the doors, excited and nervous, but orderly. . ' The Pope was engaged in his regular noon hour devotions when the bomb went off. He heard a muffled sound, which surprised but did not alarm him. Monsignor Misciatelli, sub-prefect of the Apostolie palace, and" Monsignor i BisletL major domo of tho Vatican, at once hurriedly entered the Pontiff's chamber. They were so pale that the Pope immediately asked: "What has happened t" "Do not be alarmed, holy father '' was the answer. "A bomb has exnlod-ed exnlod-ed in the basilica, but fortunately there are no deaths to deplore, and no one has been wounded." The Pontiff aeked anxiously if the church had been damaged. Upon being reassured he fell upon his knees, saying he must implore mercy for the misguided misguid-ed perpetrator of the deed. Every piece of the bomb that could be found was gathered up by the police and carefully examined. The bomb evidently evi-dently consisted of a large tin box i bound tightly together with wire of j two sizes. It must have contained more , than two pounds of gunpowder and ; three pounds of nails. The nails were of three sizes, some seven inches Ion" and so heavy that the force of the explosion ex-plosion threw them only a short distance. dis-tance. The nails were enveloped in newspapers dated November 16 and 17, proving that the bomb was prepared either Saturday or Sunday. |