This week’s topic: The Daily Life
of the Pope
Then:
A day in the life of Pope Leo XIII (and popes before him):
 |
| Pope Leo XIII |
[Quote] As a rule, the higher the dignity
to which a man is raised the more weighty and difficult are the duties which
his position involves. I know that this is not generally believed or
understood, but it is none the less true. Life is often a weary burden to those
of high estate, and there is less liberty in the palaces of princes than in the
humble dwellings of the poor.
The greatest dignitary in the
world is undoubtedly the Pope, the supreme head of religion upon earth, the
High Priest of God, the bishop and pastor of all the faithful, the spiritual
father of monarchs as well as their subjects. There is also no man in the world
who leads a more trying, arduous, difficult, and laborious life. From the
morning till the evening, from the first day of the year till the last, he is,
to the very letter, the Servant of the servants of God, as the Sovereign
Pontiffs so justly entitle themselves in the Papal bulls and decrees.
Let us consider in what manner
the Pope passes the day.
Our Holy Father lives at Rome, in
an immense palace called the Vatican, adjoining the Church of St. Peter’s. The
vast halls of the Vatican are adorned with grandeur and simplicity; the walls
are uniformly covered with red hangings, and with the exception of the
pontifical throne the only seats are wooden stools. After a long suite of rooms
occupied by the servants and guards, according to their rank, then by the
prelates composing the Papal household, we reach the special apartments of His
Holiness.
These rooms are small and still
more simple than the others. And first comes the study of the Holy Father. It
is here that he gives, during the day, his numerous audiences, of which we
shall speak presently. The Pope is seated in an armchair of crimson velvet;
before him is a large square table covered with red silk, similar to the
hangings on the walls, and above the chair there is a canopy of the same color,
the insignia of royal and pontifical majesty. Seats for the cardinals and princes,
and two or three wooden seats, constitute the furniture of this apartment. This
first room communicates with a second of the same size, and exactly similar,
excepting that at the end there is a bed hung with crimson silk. This is the
Pope’s bed-chamber. Then comes a third room furnished in the same manner; this
is the dining room. The Holy Father has every meal alone, on a table covered
with red silk like that of the study. Lastly comes the library, which is a
large and beautiful room with four or five windows, and where the Pope is accustomed
to hold councils with his ministers.
The Pope is always dressed in
white. He wears on his head a small cap of white silk; his cassock is of white
cloth during the winter, and of thin white woolen or white silk during the
summer. His wide band is also of white silk, with gold tassels.
His shoes, or
slippers, are red, with a gold cross embroidered on the instep. It is this
cross which is kissed by everyone who approaches the sacred person of the Vicar
of Jesus Christ.
When he leaves his apartments the
Pope wears over his cassock a rochet of lace, a scarlet mantle trimmed with
white fur, and, lastly, a stole embroidered in gold. He covers his head with a
large red silk hat a little raised on each side, and timed, with a gold tassel.
The former custom of the Pontifical Court did not permit him to go out in the
streets of Rome excepting in a carriage; beyond the gates of the city, he often
took long walks on foot, stopping willingly to speak to the poor and to
children, and giving his holy benediction to those whom he met.* All who meet
the Pope uncover their heads and kneel down as a mark of the reverence due to
his character of Supreme Pontiff.
The Holy Father rises early.
After his prayers he goes into his chapel to celebrate the Holy Mass. This
chapel is small, and adjoining the Pope’s apartment. The Blessed Sacrament is
always preserved there, and the Holy Father, in his devotion to the Divine
Eucharist, attends himself to the two lamps which burn perpetually before the
tabernacle. His Holiness says Mass, slowly and with deep devotion; his august
face is often bathed with tears while he holds in his sacred hands the hidden
God of whom he is the Vicar.
Usually he says Mass at half-past
seven, and assists, as an act of thanksgiving, at a second Mass celebrated by
one of his chaplains.
Afterward he recites a part of the breviary on his knees
with one of the prelates of his household, and then returns to his apartments.
The Pope’s breakfast consists of a cup of black coffee. The sobriety of the
Italians is well known, and this is the first repast of almost all Romans.
Until about ten o’clock the Holy Father works every day with his first
minister, who is a Cardinal, and is called the Secretary of State.
At ten o’clock commence the
audiences, a laborious task, which would be trying and wearisome if the most
important questions and gravest interests of religion and society were not
there discussed. Cardinals, bishops, princes, ambassadors, missionaries, priests,
and great numbers of the faithful come from all parts of the world to lay down
at the feet of the Head of the Church their homage, their requests, and their
necessities. The Pope remains seated during these audiences. All kneel in his
presence, or stand with his permission. Cardinals and princes have the
privilege of sitting down.
On entering the Pope’s study three genuflections are
made; the first at the threshold, the second half way, and the third at the
Pope’s feet. Then his foot or his hand is kissed, and the audience commences.
As soon as it is ended, the Holy Father rings a bell, and someone else is
announced and immediately introduced by one of the resident prelates. Only men
are admitted in this manner into the apartments of the Pope; this is an
invariable rule. Ladies are received for an audience once or twice a week, in a
large hall forming part of the public museums of the Vatican.
The audiences of the morning
usually last more than four hours. When they are ended, at about half-past two,
the Pope passes into his dining-room and takes a frugal repast. Then he
recites, on his knees, the continuation of his breviary, and, after a few
minute’s repose, goes out to take a little exercise. When it is bad weather the
Holy Father contents himself with walking for a little time up and down the
library or in one of the covered galleries of the Vatican.
At the decline of
the day, indicated in Italy by the sound of the Angelus, and for this reason
called the Ave Maria, the Pope returns to the Vatican, recites with his suite
the Angelical Salutation, adding the De Profundis for all the faithful who have
died during the course of the day. Then the audiences recommence. Different
papers are also submitted to the Pope for his signature; the decrees of
different Roman congregations which preside over the religious affairs of the
whole Catholic world are submitted for his sovereign approbation and final
decision. These audiences last until ten or eleven in the evening, after which
the Holy Father takes a light collation, composed of fruits or vegetables; he
then terminates the recitation of his breviary and goes to take some hours of
that repose which he has so devoutly and laboriously earned.
Such, with rare exceptions, is
the daily life of the Pope, and such a life, notwithstanding the honors with
which it is surrounded, and even because of these honors, is a continual
subjection, an hourly self-renunciation; also when the Sovereign Pontiff enters
into the designs of God, as is so perfectly done by our Holy Father the present
Pope [Pope Leo XIII], his life is complete in the sight of God, and the merits more than any other
life the great and blessed recompense promised to the faithful servant. [End quote]
*Owing to the Italian spoliation
of the temporal power, the Pope never leaves the Vatican grounds.
[Source: The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge, copyrighted
by the Office of Catholic Publications, 1900;
pages 413-416]
~~~~~
Now:
A day in the life of Pope Francis:
[Quote] DAILY ROUTINE: Francis
rises on his own at around 4:30 a.m. and spends the next two hours praying,
meditating on the Scripture readings for the day and preparing his morning homily.
He delivers it off-the-cuff at the 7 a.m. Mass in the chapel of the Vatican's
Santa Marta hotel where he lives. After Mass, Francis greets the faithful in
the atrium outside the chapel, then walks a few meters into the hotel dining
room for breakfast. He often will have fresh-squeezed orange juice (a papal
indulgence since other diners are served only packaged OJ) and membrillo, a
gelatinous paste made from quince that is popular in Argentina.
After breakfast, Francis takes Elevator A up to the
second floor to his home: Santa Marta's Room 201, though he has actually
converted the entire second floor of the hotel wing into a home office. He then
gets to work, either staying in the hotel or heading to the Apostolic Palace if
he has formal audiences. Occasionally he takes a break to recite the rosary.
After a 1 p.m. lunch in the dining room, Francis takes a siesta of about 40
minutes to an hour and resumes working into the evening, often taking care of
correspondence. He tries to get in an hour of adoration before the Blessed
Sacrament before dinner, though he confesses to sometimes falling asleep while
praying.
Dinner in the dining room is self-service,
cafeteria-style at 8 p.m. and Francis has been known to microwave his own food
if it's not warm enough. Before taking the elevator back upstairs, he will be
sure to thank the Swiss Guard, Vatican gendarme and reception desk clerk on
duty in the hotel lobby, and say good-night. He's in bed by 9 p.m., reads for
an hour and is asleep — "like a log" — for the next six hours or so. [End quote]
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic
Corner
Sources:
red shoes: http://theratzingerforum.yuku.com/topic/2211/Pope-Leo-XIII#.V6Qo97grKUk
