LUMEN IN CAELO
HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIII
This
heroic Pope, born Gioacchino Pecci, who had one of the longest pontificates in
history of the Church, was born in Carpineto Laziale in 1810, where his family,
originally from Siena, had moved a few centuries before.
The
family belonged to the rural gentry. His father was a commissioner of war and
colonel. Already in his youth Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci distinguished himself
as a gifted boy with a particular fondness for the study of the Latin language.
He
studied under the guidance of the Jesuits. After earning a degree in theology
in 1832 and which was completed at the University of La Sapienza, he was ordained a priest in 1837,
beginning a very distinguished curial career. He distinguished himself with
great value in Benevento, in the relentless fight against banditry ...
In
Perugia, where he fought the Carbonari and the liberals. In 1843 he was elected Archbishop and went to serve the
Church as nuncio in
Brussels. Appointed Bishop of Perugia in 1846, in 1853 he was created a Cardinal, in 1877 Camerlengo of Holy Roman
Church, and finally after the death of Pope Pius IX he was elected Pope in
February 1878.
The only
opposition that Pecci had met in
conclave were not of a political nature ... Among his greatest opponents there
were the Cardinals Randi, Monaco, Oreglia and Sacconi. His “king maker” was
certainly the Cardinal Bartolini, since the time they had found themselves
"neighbours" at in the Palace
Falconieri of Via Giulia, and Gioacchino Pecci nursed Bartolini
during his illness there...
Cardinal Domenico Bartolini
After
he confessed at San Giovanni Laterano, Cardinal Pecci returned to the Vatican with all the his documents
prepared for the conclave. As being approached by Cardinal Consolini, the prelate
said to him: "My vote is for your eminence," and Pecci said:
"Don’t you think of my poor health? The papacy is too heavy for me."
Cardinal Consolini replied: "My lord, it takes a Cyrenian." Pecci
went away nervously.
Aeterni Patris: The restoration of the Christian pilosophy
His
position against socialism, liberalism and Protestantism was always firm.
He
wrote eighty six encyclicals considered as very rich sound and with timeless
teachings, including the famous Rerum Novarum and formulated the foundations of
the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The encyclical "Rerum Novarum"
The
encyclical expresses a condemnation of socialism, the theory of the class
struggle, the condemnation of freemasonry, preferring that the social question is
answered by the combined action of the Church, the State, employees and
employers.
The Domenican Cardinal Tommaso Maria Zigliara
The encyclical was made possible through the writings of the
precursors of economic personalism: the Jesuits Luigi Taparelli D'Azeglio and
Matteo Liberatore. The second was
one of the drafters of the
document along with the Dominican Cardinal Tommaso Maria Zigliara.
John Paul II signing Centesimus Annus
The ideas of Rerum Novarum were resumed, integrated and updated
during the twentieth century through Quadragesimo Year of Pope Pius XI, Mater
et Magistra of Pope John XXIII, Populorum Progressio of Pope Paul VI and
Centesimus Annus of Pope John Paul II.
The Leonine pontificate took place in a very hot climate, and
was faced with difficulties and attacks from all sides, the anti-Catholic
persecution of Bismarck, the 'anti-clericalism of the Third French Republic,'
the hostility of the Italian
government toward Catholics, etc. .. .
Leo XIII is also known for being the first Pope, after a
thousand years of history, not to exercise temporal power.
In this sulphuric atmosphere, full of evil attacks on the
Church, the Holy Father was found to be involved in a shocking fact that
occurred during the celebration of Mass on 13 October 1884, he heard a sort of
supernatural dialogue outlining the fate of the Church during the Hundred Years
from there to come.
Leo XIII heard two voices that seemed to come from near the
tabernacle, a serene and gentle one, the other rather hoarse and rough.
He recognized that the gentle and kind voice was that of our Lord and the other was
of the adversary.
Jesus and Satan
Here is the
dialogue.
The guttural
voice speaking with excessive pride to Jesus.
I can
destroy your Church.
The gentle
voice of our Lord:
Yeah? Then
go ahead, do it!
Satan
To do that I
would need more time and more power.
Our Lord:
How long and how much power?
Satan:
"From
75 to 100 years and a great deal of power to all those who will be at my
service. "
Our Lord:
You'll have
the time and you will have this power. Give them what they want.
Such was the dismay and the sense that Leo XIII hastened to
draw up a prayer to Archangel St. Michael for
the protection of the whole Church.
Jesus in His
infinite Mercy had clearly wanted to warn us.
St Michael the Arcangel
“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael
the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are
waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world
of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty
God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a
great price from the tyranny of Satan.
“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the
holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels,
Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was
there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is
called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss
with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken
courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the
multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name
of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition
souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as
a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and
corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent
breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.
“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with
gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have
laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself,
where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light
of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the
iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be.
“Arise
then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits
to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their
protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the
malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be
established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put
Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold
men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the
Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and
vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do
thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.
Amen.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile
powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered the root of
David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray.
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call
upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the
intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the
glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan
and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of
the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.”
The Pontiff wanted this powerful prayer to be recited at the end of each Mass,
unfortunately this essential provision was rejected with the advent of the
liturgical reforms of the sixties.
A few months before his death, the Pope engraved on a disc
some prayers and an apostolic blessing thanks to the invention of the
phonograph, the word of the Pope was able to get to Catholics all over the
world.
His pontificate lasted 25 years, even if at the time of his
election, he seemed to many as looking
old, tired, and sick. The
Pope was told: Among his
friends circulated a joke: "We thought we were electing a Pope, we have
elected an Eternal Father."
The tomb of Leo XIII - Archbasilica St John Lateran
Leo XIII was buried in the Archbasilica of St. John
Lateran.
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