THE CORONATION OF POPE LEO XIII ON MARCH 3, 1878

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THE CORONATION OF POPE LEO XIII ON MARCH 3, 1878
From "Catholic World," "The Coronation of Pope Leo XIII" [pp. 280-285] 
Rome, March 20, 1878
From Our Special Correspondent

        ...The Pontiff himself had resolved to make his appearance, and be 
crowned before the people, in the upper vestibule of St. Peter's. The Mass 
and other functions, prefatory of the coronation, were to have been performed 
in the Sistine Chapel. In fact, on the 1st of March the members of the Sacred 
College each received an intimation from the acting Secretary of State that 
the ceremonies preceding the coronation would be performed in the Sistine 
Chapel of the Vatican Palace. In the vicinity of the inner balcony of St. 
Peter's temporary balconies were erected for the diplomatic corps, the Roman 
nobles, and persons of distinction, native and foreign. The confession of St. 
Peter and the papal altar under the dome were surrounded with a strong 
railing to prevent accidents, while the central balcony itself was enlarged 
by extending it farther out into the basilica and back into the vestibule. It 
had been the intention of His Holiness to be crowned here, and afterwards to 
bestow the apostolic benediction upon the people below. But on Friday 
afternoon, March I, the workmen received orders not only to discontinue but 
to undo the preparations....

        At half-past nine o'clock on Sunday morning, the 3rd of March, Pope 
Leo XIII, preceded by the papal cross, and surrounded by the attendants of 
his court, by the Swiss and Noble Guards, descended from his apartments to 
the vestry hall. The two seniors of the cardinal-deacons, the penitentiaries 
of St. Peter's, and the archbishops and bishops awaited him there. When he 
had been vested in full pontificals, with golden mitre, a procession was 
formed, moving towards the ducal hall. A Greek deacon and subdeacon, in 
gorgeous robes, attended upon the deacon and subdeacon of honor. The 
cardinals were assembled in the ducal hall, where an altar was erected. His 
Holiness knelt for a moment in prayer, and then mounted a throne which stood 
on the gospel side of the altar. There he received what is termed the first 
obeisance of the cardinals, who approached, one by one, and kissed his hand. 
The archbishops and bishops kissed his foot. Having imparted the apostolic 
benediction, the Pope intoned Tierce of the Little Hours. Another procession 
was formed, preceded by the first cardinal, who bore the sacred ferule in his 
hand and chanted the Procedamus in pace. The Pope was carried in the 
gestatorial chair under a white canopy borne by eight clerics. The Blessed 
Sacrament had previously been exposed in the Pauline Chapel. Thither the 
procession moved. At the door of the chapel the Pope descended from his 
chair, entered the chapel bareheaded, and knelt for a time in silent prayer. 
It is to be supposed that in those moments he prayed for humility of self, as 
well as peace and benediction upon his reign. It is the fitting prelude to 
the significant ceremony which followed. Just as the procession was about to 
move from the chapel-door towards the Sistine Chapel a master of ceremonies, 
bearing in his hand a gilded reed, to the end of which a lock of dry flax was 
attached, approached the throne, and, going down upon one knee, gave fire to 
the flax. As it burned quickly to nothing he said: Pater Sancte, sic transit 
gloria mundi," Holy Father, thus passeth away the glory of the world." He 
repeated the same ceremony at the entrance to the Sistine Chapel, and again 
just as the Pope was approaching the altar - a sage reminder, for the Sistine 
Chapel at that moment presented a spectacle of glory and magnificence which 
has no parallel.

        Sixty-two cardinals, in flowing robes of the richest scarlet, the 
magnificence of which was enhanced beneath tunics of the finest lace - and as 
many attendant train-bearers in purple cassocks and capes of ermine; 
archbishops and bishops vested in white pontificals; clerics of the apostolic 
palace in robes of violet; Roman princes, gentlemen of the pontifical throne, 
in their gorgeous costumes; officers and guards in splendid uniforms; 
diplomatic personages ablaze with decorations; Knights of the Order of 
Jerusalem in their historic vesture; ladies in black habits and veils, 
gracefully arranged, and gentlemen in the full dress of the present day. 
Despite all this splendor, the most trivial worldling could not but be 
impressed with the sacred solemnity, the awful genius of the occasion. A Pope 
was to be crowned - "the Great Priest, Supreme Pontiff; Prince of Bishops, 
heir of the apostles; in primacy, Abel; in government, Noe; in patriarchate, 
Abraham; in order, Melchisedech; in dignity, Aaron; in authority, Moses; in 
judicature, Samuel; in power, Peter; in unction, Christ" [St. Bernard].

        The Mass has begun. The choir has sung the Kyrie Eleison in the 
inimitable style of the Sistine Chapel. The Pope has said the Confiteor. He 
returns to the gestatorial chair. The three senior cardinals of the order of 
bishops, mitred, come forward, and each in turn extends his hands over the 
Pontiff and recites the prayer of the ritual, Super electum pontificem. 
Cardinal Mertel, first of the officiating deacons, places the pallium upon 
his shoulders, saying at the same time: Accipe pallium, scilicet plenitudinis 
Pontificalis officii, ad honorem Omnipotentis Dei, et gloriosissimae Virginis 
Mariae, Matris ejus. et Beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et Sanctae 
Romanae Ecclesiae [Receive the pallium, that is, of the fullness of the 
Pontificial office, for the honor of Almighty God, and of the most glorious 
Virgin Mary, His Mother, and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul of of the 
Holy Roman Church]. Leaving the gestatorial chair, and ascending the throne on 
the gospel side of the altar, the Pope again receives the obeisance of the 
cardinals, of the archbishops and bishops. The Mass proper for the occasion 
is then celebrated by the Pontiff, and the Litany of the Saints recited.

        The solemn moment has arrived. The Pope again ascends the throne, 
while the choir sings the antiphon, Corona aurea super caput ejus. The 
subdean of the Sacred College, Cardinal di Pietro, intones the Pater noster, 
and afterwards reads the prayer, Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, dignitas 
Sacerdotii, etc. The second deacon removes the mitre from the head of the 
Pontiff, and Cardinal Mertel approaches, bearing the tiara. Placing it on the 
head of the Pope, he says: Accipe thiaram tribus coronis ornatam, et scias te 
esse Patrem Principum et Regum, Rectorem Orbis, in terra Vicarium Salvatoris 
Nostri Jesu Christ, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum [Receive the 
tiara adorned with three crowns and know that thou art the father of princes and 
kings, the ruler of the world, the vicar on earth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, 
to Whom is honor and glory for ever and ever].


        The Pope then arose and imparted the trinal benediction. This was 
followed by the publication of the indulgences proper to the occasion. From 
the Sistine Chapel the Pope, with the tiara still glittering on his brow, was 
borne in procession back to the vestry hall, whither the cardinals had 
preceded him.... His Holiness then retired to his apartments, and the solemn 
assembly dispersed.