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Show POPE : EXCHANGES GREETINGS Rome. Dec. 23. The pope received all the cardinals and high prelates today and they exchanged the season's greetings. greet-ings. The function was unusually interesting, in-teresting, as it was the first of the kind under the present pontiff. The reception took place in the gorgeous gor-geous throne room of the private apartments of the late Pope Leo XIII. now renovated and used as Pope Pius' public reception room. The pontiff, in spotless white robes, was : seated on the throne, while the cardinals ranged themselves in front of him, according to precedence.- .Behind them were, the other church dignitaries in their order. The dean of the sacred college. Cardinal Car-dinal Oreglla, read a short, . happily worded speech, to -which the pope replied., re-plied., with, his, usual affability and modesty: .' The address of. Cardinal Oeglia was 0' a religious character. The pope, in reply, spoke of the need of humility and the detachment of all followers of Christ from the world and the redemption redemp-tion offered to- all -without reference to social or political position. The Lord, he said, came to; save all the! people, poor and rich, although he preferred to hide his glory in the stable at 'Bethlehem. 'Bethle-hem. ' : ' The assemblage then advanced and j kissed the pontiff's hand and broke up rinto small groups. Pope Pius speaking personally to each of them. The United States was represented at the reception by Mgr. Seton (titular archbishop of Heliopolis). of Newark, N. J., and Mgr. Kennedy, rector of the American college. |