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 ROME

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ROME

church; and to the Spanish Bishops of Elna and Gerona, he confirmed the possessions of their sees. His coins bear the name of the Emperor Lambert, and his ovra monogram vrith "Scs. Petrus". The con- temporary historian Frodoard has three verses about him which argue him a man of virtue. It is possible he was deposed by one of the factions which then dis- tracted Rome, for we read that "he was made a monk", a phrase which, in the language of the times, often denoted deposition.

J.\FF^, Regesta Pont. Rom.. I (Leipzig, 1888), 441; Duchesne, Liber Poniificalis. II (Paris, 1892). 230; Mann, Aires of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, IV (London, 1910). 86 sq.

Horace K. Mann.

Rome. — The significance of Rome lies primarily in the fact that it is the city of the pope. The Bishop of Rome, as the successor of 8t. Peter, is the Vicar of Christ on earth and the visible head of the Catholic Church. Rome is consequent Ij^ the centre of unity in belief, the source of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the seat of the supreme authority which can bind by its enactments the faithful throughout the world. The Diocese of Rome is knowTi as the "See of Peter", the "Apostolic See", the "Holy Roman Church", the "Holy See" — titles which indicate its unique position in Christendom and suggest the origin of its pre- eminence. Rome, more than anj' other city, bears witness both to the past splendour of the pagan world and to the triumph of Christianity. It is here that the historj' of the Church can be traced from the earliest daj's, from the humble beginnings in the Catacombs to the majestic ritual of St. Peter's. At ever>' turn one comes upon places hallowed by the deaths of the martyrs, the lives of innumerable saints, the memoiies of wise and holy pontiffs. From Rome the bearers of the Gospel message went out to the peoples of Europe and eventually to the uttermost ends of the earth. To Rome, again, in every age countless pilgrims have thronged from all the nations, and especially from English-speaking countries. With religion the missionaries carried the best elements of ancient culture and civilization which Rome had preserved amid all the vicissitudes of barbaric in- vasion. To the.se treasures of antiquity have been ax^lded the productions of a nobler art inspired by higher ideals, that have filled Rome with masterpieces in architecture, painting, and sculpture. These appeal indeed to every mind endowed with artistic percep- tion; but their full meaning only the Catholic believer can appreciate, because he alone, in his deepest thought and feeling, is at one with the spirit that pulsates here in the heart of the Christian world.

Many details concerning Rome have been set forth in other articles of The Catholic Encyclopedia. For the prerogatives of the papacy the reader is referred to Pope; for the ecclesiastical government of the city and diocese, to Cardinal Vicar; for litur- gical matters, to Roman Rite; for education, to Roman Colleges; for literary development, to Academies, Roman; for history, to the biographical articles on the various r)f)p(«, and the articles CoN- STANTINE THE Great, Charlemagne, ctc. There is a special article on each of the religious orders, saints, and artists mentioned in this article, while the details of the papal administration, both spiritual and tem- poral, will be ffiund treated under Apo.stolic Camera; Audiences, Pontifical; Examiners, Apostolic; Holy See; Rescripts, Papal; Roman Congre(a- tionk; Roman Curia; Rota, Sacra Rom an a; States ok the Church, etc. Of the great Christian monuments of the Eternal City, special articles are devot*;d Ui St. Peter, Basilica of; St. Petkr, 'I'o.mh of; Lateran Basilica; Vatican; Chair ok 1'eter.

The pn«ent artiele will be divided: I. Topography and Existing Conditions; 11. Oneral Hislory of the City; III. Churches and other Monunu-nts.

I. Topography and Existing Ojnditions.— The

City of Rome rises on the banks of the Tiber at a dis- tance of from 16 to 19 miles from the mouth of that river, which makes a deep furrow in the plain which extends between the Alban hills, to the south; the hills of PalestrinaandTivoli, and the Sabine hills, to the east; and the Umbrian hills and Monte Tolfa, to the north. The city stands in latitude 41° 54' N. and longitude 12° 30' E. of Greenwich. It occupies, on the left bank, not only the plain, but al.<o the adjacent heights, namely, portions of the Parioli hills, of the Pincian, the Quirinal, the Viininal, the Esquiline (which are only the extremities of a mountain-mass of tufa extending to the Alban hills), the Capitoline, the Cirlian, the Palatine, and the Aventinc — hills which are now isolated. On the right bank is the valley lying beneath Monte Mario, the Vatican, and the Janiculan, the last-named of which has now become covered with houses and gardens. The Tiber, traversing the city, forms two sharp bends and an island (S. Bartolomeo), and within the city its banks are protected by the strong and lofty walls which were begun in 1875. The river is crossed by fourteen bridges, one of them being only provisional, while ten have been built since 1870. There is also a rail- road drawbridge near St. Paul's. Navigation on the river is practicable only for vessels of light draught, which anchor at Ripa Grande, taking cargoes of oil and other commodities.

For the cure of souls, the city is divided into 54 parishes (including 7 in the suburbs), administered partly by secular clergy, partly by r(^gular. The boundaries of the parishes have been radically changed by Pius X, to meet new needs arising out of topo- graphical changes. Each parish has, besides its parish priest, one or two a.ssistant priests, a chief sacristan, and an indeterminate number of chaplains. The parish priests every year elect a chamberlain of the clergy, whose position is purely honorary; every month they assemble for a conference to dis- cuss cases in moral theology and also the practical exigencies of the ministry. In each parish there is a parochial committee for Catholic works; each has its various confraternities, many of which have their own church and oratory. In the vast extent of coun- try outside of Rome, along the main liigliways, there are chapels for the accommodation of tlie few settled inliabitants, and the labourers and sliepheids who from October to July are engaged in the work f)f the open country. In former times mo.st of these chapels had priests of their own, who also kept schools; now- adays, through the exertions of the Society for the Religious .\id of the Agro Romano (i. e. the country districts around Rome), priests are taken thither from Rome every Sunday to say Mass, cat(>cliize, and preach on the Gospel. The houses of male religious number about 160; of female religious, 205, for the most part devoted to teaching, ministering to the sick in public and private hospitals, managing various houses of retreat, etc. liesides the three patriarchal chapters (see below, under Churches), there are at Rome eleven collegiate ch.'ipters.

In the patriarelial l);i,silicas there are confessors for all the prineii)al languages. Some nations have their national churches (Germans, Anima and Campo Santo; French, S. Luigi and S. Claudio; Croats, S. Girolamo dei Schiavoni ; Belgians, S. Giuliano; Portuguese, S. Antonio; Spaniards, S. Maria in Monserrato; to all whic^h may be added the churches of the Oriental rites). Moreover, in the churches and chapels of many religif)us houses, particularly the gen«'ralates, as well as in the various national col- leges, it is possible for foreigners to fulfil their re- ligious obligations. For English-speaking persons the convents of the- Irish Dominicans (S. Ci<'mente) anfl of the Irish Franciscans (S. Isidoro), the English, Irish, and American C>>Ileges, the new Church of S. Patrizio in the Via Ludovisi, that of S. Giorgio of the