The Pope’s Jubilee

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 18, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 11.

The Pope’s Jubilee

The Pope's jubilee, in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his coronation, was celebrated at Rome on March 3, with gorgeous display, pomp, and ceremony. Nothing was lacking to impress the beholder with the greatness of Leo XIII. The papal guards in strikingly handsome uniform, with polished arms and measured tread, the high dignitaries of the church with gorgeous and costly robes, did all they could to make a god of the frail form seated in the papal chair. Speaking of this procession, one of the reports says: “From his elevation on the sedia gestatoria carried by twelve men in costumes of red brocade, flanked by the famous spreading feather fans and surrounded by a white and gold canopy, the pope appeared to be more than a human being.” And that was the purpose of the great demonstration. It is notable, however, that Jesus Christ, whose vicegerent the pope claims to be, allowed none of these things. The ceremony was a lengthy one, and it is reported that fully 75,000 persons were in attendance. There had been an unprecedented demand for tickets, and when the gates were opened the report states that “an almost indescribable rush occurred, in which all present forgot the rules of holiness, and strove hard with push of elbows and feet to reach the interior of the sacred edifice, while on all sides were heard cries of fear and imprecations.” This ceremony in laudation of the human, and this striving of the human for the best places are strikingly in harmony. How much better the true plan of God, and how much better the dignity of His true service!