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Show Pope Leo Enters j His Jubilee Year !1 Celebration Technically Began Last Thursday, But the Off i- 1 cial Date is Monday, JVlarch 3 Catholics Everywhere 1 May Participate in the Jubilee. I . If J Thursday last witnessed the hegin- I r.inc of the pope's jubilee year, tech- t nicilly speaking though not officially, f for his pontificate dates from Maivh ! :.. A prand Te Deum was suns in St. j pctcr's n Thursday, and immense jHrnnps attended the services. I The holy father appeared in Rood I jiVith and stepjed with considerable viper from Use sedan chair in which I vas . arried to the chapel. He mounted ! I dip throne without assistance and sus- 1 I tame.:! the fatiguing ceremonies in I v-hi'-h h took a rri ncipal part without J I Bppnrenl fatigue. s I The celebration in honor of the holy ! ! father's jubilee will not he confined to ! I the Eternal f'ity. Catholics everywhere 3 will have an opportunity of showing t fit ir love and veneration for the grand I old man. The committee appointed at j nm to make arrangements for the ju-I ju-I hilpe proposes as the first part of its programme prayer for the pope and I the church'. The restoration of the I sovereign pontiff's own Cathedral Yf church, the basilica of St. John Lateral Later-al flu. now in much need of repairs, is to j bo nne of the results of the jubilee. 1 The providing of vestments and other I sacred objects for poor churches is j specially recommended. If in God's providence twelve moons j nmre be addd to the far stretching; I I chaplet of a life of singula rly glorious I months, the venerable father of Ohrls-; Ohrls-; i l'-tsdom will have completed a pontifi-t pontifi-t I rate which has shattered for a second I time the belief in the old prophecy f I concerning: each incumbent of the pa- I r?'v. "Thou shalt not see the years of j ' V-tr." His venerable predecessor, I Pius the Ninth, was the first to break I J the seemingly irrefragable tradition. In ! j his rase the omen was accepted as a ! portent of such joy for the church that 1 pllcripiares from all the en.-" nf . tl ;i , " prth floctie-1 lo Home to pay honor to- 1 , the A'icegerent of Christ and thank I i";od for the'dawn of a better day aft- i J e- a prolonged and dismal era of out- i rsgp and persecution, j I Tho election of Leo XIII to tho ex- I r;t-rl position of sovereign pontiff took ; p'r-p twenty-five years ago on Feb. ; i '.'". fin Feb. IS. ISTR. ten days after j I the demise of Fope Fius IX. 61 car- : rni? entered into the conclave. The '-ardinals ere of the following na- t i lionality: 39 Italians. 7 Frenchmen, 4 ' r Spaniards. 1 Portuguese. 1 Pole, 4 Aus- tvian. 2 Germans. 1 Belgian and 2 I'r clishmen. The conclave was one of the shortest in history. When the f "first ballot was taken on the morning j r,f Feb. 1!. twenty-three votes were I ;ast for Cardinal tiioacchino Pecci, i "'nipriingo of the Holy Roman church. J vhile the next favorite candidate. Car- t dinal Franchi. received only seven. At Ithe second hallot. taken the same day. "ic ot.; for Cardinal P-c'i amounted to thirty-eight : the third ballot showed tint the election was consummated. '"a'dinal Pecei having received forty- j I 'nu i- -dtes. tiore than the necessary yvo-thi-ds. Cardinal Donnet. arch- 1 bisbnp f Kordeau. who sat by the side . "f ''ardinal Pecci during the voting, i l said that when the name of the car- j fJ '' "ai I'baiiiberlain was announced with j siiinliiig renetion. the future pontiff! 1 c-""d a hut nam tear's, and l'.is trembling I I 1 I refuse I to retain its grasp on j pen. The French cardinal picked! '' "i1. -'rd hanging it to his palled col- t V'lsur. wbif-pered: "Courage: This ""t a .jucstion of you: the interest of the church and the future of the world arc concerned." YVhen the moment arrived for his assumption of the name of which he was thereafter to be known in the annals an-nals of the church, the new pontiff assumed the nsme of Leo XIII. Theobald Chartran, the eminent French artist, who painted the best portrait of Lo XTI1 that exists, has recorded the impressions produced in his mind by the many successive sittings sit-tings to which the only half willing pontiff submitted: "When I was first received in private audience by Ieo XIIT a few days after his elevation to the pontifical throne. I was a pensioner pen-sioner of the Academy of France, and, 1'herefore. very young and quite prone to grand enthusiasms. And. nevertheless, neverthe-less, when 1 found myself again in the presence of this grand figure, after an interval of thirteen years, my emotions were more agitating than they had beer, on the previous occasion. Since 1X75 the personality of the great pontiff has swayed the world so powerfully, although genially, that I may defy his adversaries to refuse homage to his vast intelligence. r,u let us ppeak, at first, of the physical appearance of Leo XIII. His height, the supreme distinction of his entire person, his countenance at once energetic and mild, his spiritual and delicately drawn lips, his hands so thoroughly aristocratic, aristo-cratic, Tiis deep, melodious voice, anil, above all, those eyes so full of youth, life and will: in line, a very unique combination makes the wonderful pontiff pon-tiff the most completely interesting model that an artist could desire." The picture drawn by Justin McCarthy McCar-thy is even more interesting than that by the French artist: "Pope Leo XIII is a man of singularly graceful and imposing . presence. He is generally described as very tall, but his slender form gives him th anprprance of--- inxr mttcn -'vaueptnair Jft '1s: ' ts"a 1 man ijot much above the middle height, I but very slight and stately. His face j is bloodless as that of a marble statue. He dresses in white, and the white of his robes is only of a different tone from . the pallor of his face. Fven now. despite his advanced years, the pope moves with a quick and easy tread, which has no suggestion of creeping old age about it. He enters readily and pimply into conversation, and lias the native-born sympathy which enables him to come at once into a cordial and thorough understanding under-standing with his visitors. It can hardly be necessary to say that he is brought into constant communication with men and women from all parts of the world: and I have never heard of anyone who did not go away impressed with his geniality and his gracious-neFs. gracious-neFs. Among the many commanding figures in the Europe of our days, he is one of the most commanding. I have seen a good many great men in my time. I have been acquainted with Gladstone, and T have talked with Bismarck, and with Cardinal Newman: j 1 can recall to memory the presence of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, and I knew Charles Sumner, the great I American orator and abolitionist, and I have seen and heard the late prince consort. But no picture has impressed me more than that of Pope Leo XIII. I always think of Leo XIII as one of those figures which must have been more often seen in the days when s;:ints walked on earth as, indeed, some saints do walk the earth even i now." j . |