The high-altar, a Papal one, has a rich baldachino resting on four columns of red porphyry, the gift of Benedict XIV. The mosaics of the Tribune, representing the Coronation of our Lady and other subjects from her life, were executed for Nicholas IV by Jacopo Tur riti in 1295. The Confession, or crypt-like chapel in front of the high-altar, has its walls and floor inlaid with beautiful and costly marbles. Beneath the altar is the body of St. Matthias, the Apostle. In the centre of the area is a kneeling figure of Pope Pius IX of great beauty, who first intended this as his place of sepulture; but after the sacrilegious invasion of Rome in 1870 he decided to be buried among the poor at S. Lorenzo. XII.-TWO PRINCELY CHAPELS IN ST. MARY MAJOR.-I. THE SISTINE CHAPEL. It receives its name Sistine from Sixtus V, who erected it in 1589, the architect being Fontana. The eye is dazzled by its splendor; the walls gleam with costly marbles and noble sculptures; the lofty cornice is garnished with figures of angels, and within the dome are frescoes of exquisite finish. In the centre of the chapel is the altar (1) of the Blessed Sacrament, with a large bronze tabernacle shaped like a temple, borne on the shoulders of angels. Beneath this altar is the chapel of the "Holy Crib," enshrining the relic of the Holy Manger, where our infant Saviour was laid. It is interesting to note that St. Ignatius of Loyola said his first mass at this altar on Christmas night, 1538. Bernini's statue of St. Cajetan embracing the Holy Child is a memorial of the privilege granted to that Saint, who, on Christmas night, 1517, received the Divine Infant in his arms on this spot. The shrine of St. Pius V (1565-1572), on the left side of the Sistine Chapel, is rich with decorations of verde antico and gilded bronze. The saint's body, still incorrupt, is exposed on his feast day. On the opposite wall is the monument of Sixtus V (1585-1590). The body of St. Jerome, the great Doctor of the Church, translated from Bethlehem in 640, lies somewhere in this chapel, but the exact spot is unknown. (1) A Papal one. This basilica has two Papal altars. 2. THE BORGHESE CHAPEL. MADONNA DI SAN LUCA. It was erected by Paul V (Borghese) in 1608 from the designs of Flaminio Panzio. It is said to be the richest and most beautiful chapel in Rome. In it "the splendor of the entire edifice is intensified and gathered to a focus. Unless words were gems, that would flame with many-colored light upon the page and throw thence a tremulous glimmer into the reader's eyes, it were vain to attempt a description of this princely chapel." (N. Hawthorne.) Marbles of the rarest kinds, precious stones, sculptures, bronzes, frescoes, shine from the walls and ceiling, presenting a splendor that seems almost visionary. scene of In the centre of the reredos of a noble altar is one of Rome's greatest treasures, the Madonna di San Luca, or miraculous painting of our Lady, attributed to St. Luke (1), which will be referred to presently, when we speak of St. Gregory the Great. How many saints have knelt before this picture-St. Francis Borgia, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Philip Neri, St. Charles Borromeo, St. John Berchmans, etc. Every night before retiring to rest, St. Stanislaus, in his room at S. Andrea, prostrated himself with his face turned towards St. Mary Major, and recited three Hail Marys as a mark of his love for her whom he cherished as his mother. Mater Dei est mater mea. During an epidemic of cholera in 1837, when thousands were smitten by the plague and whole families were swept into their graves, this picture was carried through the streets of Rome by Gregory XVI and exposed for veneration in the church of the Gesu. S. J. (1) Some think it is a copy made in the fifth century of a very ancient original painted by St. Luke. Theodorus Lector, writing in 518, relates that such a picture drawn by that evangelist was sent from Jerusalem to the Empress Pulcheria in the fifth century. When the Turks took Constantinople they dragged the picture through the streets and destroyed it. (To be continued.) SOME EDUCATIONAL TENDENCIES. IF "money talks," it is certainly eloquent at the present time of America's love of education. Munificent and magnificent donations are being showered on all sorts of educational establishments. A gift of a million now scarcely attracts attention; much greater sums are expected and given. Thus, for instance, during the year more than six millions have already been raised by the Methodist New York Conference alone, for educational purposes. "We have enough," says the Rev. E. Mills, "to buy the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., the universities at Boston and Syracuse; the six secondary schools in Massachusetts; to endow them and still have a million left. It would be a great thing," he adds, "if the Methodists of this country could raise $16,000,000 this year." Other religious bodies are proportionately generous, and individual benefactors of the various sects are multiplying. Evidently there are some people left who believe in religous education. Independently of what flows in from government sources, the total amount given for education in general during the last thirty years amounts, according to the United States Commissioner of Education, to $249,552,068. Up to the present, Catholics received very little in bulk sums, but they are now beginning to share in this universal beneficence at the hands of their wealthier coreligionists, as for example in Philadelphia, Washington, Peoria, Omaha and elsewhere. This we are sure is but the inauguration of a liberal movement in that direction. But greater than the millions of the rich for many years back has been that constant and full stream of contributions from the hard-earned and sometimes sorely needed pennies of the poor, who besides establishing and supporting their numberless charities, have built and maintained. schools which shelter more than a million children to-day, not only without assistance from the State, but while paying a tax for schools which conscientiously they cannot avail themselves of. There could be no more splendid evidence of the great sacrifices which the humblest Catholics are willing to make to attest their love of education. So accustomed are we to these exhibitions of enthusiastic generosity that the President of Columbia University of New York does not hesitate to inform the public that he wants $10,000,000 and wants them immediately. It is to be noted as an educational feature that $2,000,000 |