Chapter 31. Translation of Cecilia's body by Clement VIII

The 22d of November at last arrived, and was greeted by the Eomans with the greatest enthusiasm, their joy being sensibly increased by the rumor of the numerous miracles* which Cecilia had wrought since the recent discovery of her body. In order to avoid accidents, a papal edict was published, forbidding the driving of carriages through the trans-Tiberian region, on the morning of the Translation. The Basilica was adorned with magnificence worthy of such a festival. The body of Cecilia, in her cypress coffin, covered with a drapery of cloth of gold, rested upon the altar, which had been enlarged for the occasion. The light of a thousand torches was reflected in the beautiful marble columns of the ciborium, and in the enamel of Paschal's mosaics. Clement VIII. escorted by tne Sacred College ard an immense crowd arrived at the gates of Cecilia's pal-

• Bosio. Relatio inventionis. S. Ccrcilur, page 103.

ace. He immediately repaired to the sacristy, where he blessed the casket; this was then carried to the crypt, and laid open upon the white marble sarcophagus, which was resting upon the tomb of Popes Urban and Lucius. Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus awaited Cecilia, who was soon to resume her place near them. The procession advanced towards the altar, where the Holy .sacrifice of the Mass was to be offered. Forty-two Cardinals, richly robed and mitred, followed the Prelates. In this august body, were Alexander de Medicis, who was destined to govern the Church after Clement, under the name of Leo XL ; Camille Borghese, who succeeded Leo, as Paul V. ; Caesar Baronius, the historian of the Church; Eobert Bellarmin, the conqueror of heresy, who was one day to be placed on our altars. France was represented by d'Qssat ; Literature, by Silvio Antoniani ; Faith, Piety, and Charity to the poor, by the dignitaries of the Church, among whom Paul Emilius Sfondrato was the centre of attraction.

Clement, robed in his cope, and crowned with the tiara, followed the Cardinals, walking under a splendid canopy, supported by the ambassadors of the Eepublic of Venice, and of the Duke of Savoy, and by Eoman princes.

The French ambassador held up the cope, when the Pontiff descended from the sedla gestatoria, and directed his steps to the altar. The Holy Sacrifice was celebrated with all the ceremonies used at St. Peter's, when the Pontiff* officiates. The assistant deacons were Cardinal Francis Sforza, and Cardinal Alexander de Montalto, a nephew of Sixtus V., whilst Cardinal Peter Aldobrandini, Clement's nephew, filled the functions of deacon of the altar. The Pope added the Collect of LUa. 'l lburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, to that of Cecilia.

After the communion, according to the ancient custom, they proceeded to the Translation of Cecilia's body. Sfondrato descended first into the Presbyterium, to be in readiness to receive the Virgin and the Pontiff', at their entrance into the crypt. After the Pope had incensed the body three times, four Cardinal Deacons, Odoard Farnese. Antonio Facchinetti, Peter Aldobrandini, and Bartholomew Cesi, raised the cypress coffin from the altar, and, preceded by deacons bearing the cross and seven gold candlesties, descended into the subterranean vault of the Confession. During the ceremony, Clement laid his hand on Cecilia's coffin, as if to take direct part in the Translation. The members of the Sacred College surrounded the Pontiff, and the choir chanted the following anthem:

"0, beata Cgecilia, quae Almachium superasti, Tiburtium et Valerianum ad martyr ii coronam vocasti P*

The distance between the altar and the tomb was very short. Clement, assisted by the deacons, deposited the virgin's coffin in the silver casket, and then, receiving from Sfondrato a plate of the same metal, upon which was engraved an account of this last Translation, he placed it in the inside of the casket. Finally, after again incensing the precious

• Happy Cecilia ! Thou didst triumph over Ahnachius ; Thou didst call Tiburtius and Valerian to the crown of martyrdom.

relics three times, the Pontiff prostrated himself, and with abundant tears and fervent prayers, bade adieu to Cecilia in the name of the Church ; he then closed the casket, and sealed, with his own seal, the marble slab which was placed over the sarcophagus ; and then, preceded and followed by his imposing retinue he returned to the altar, where he recited the concluding prayers of the Holy Sacrifice, and gave his apostolic benediction to the people, who crowded the church, the porch, and the adjacent squares and streets. The concourse of the faithful continued until night ; the day had been lovely ; the air balmy as that of spring. Such weather, extraordinary for the month of November, was the more remarkable, as the preceding days had been cold and rainy. *

The following is the inscription, engraven upon the silver plate presented by Sfondrato to be enclosed in the silver casket.

" Hie requiescit corpus S. Caeciliae. Virginis et Marty ris, quod a Paschali primo Pontifice Maximo ipsa revelante repertum, et in hanc Ecclesiam translatum, et sub hoc altari una cum corporibus SS. Martyrum Lucii et Urbani Pontificum, nee non Yaleriani, Tiburtii et Maximi reconditum,

Iterum post annos fere DCCO. Clemente VIII., Pont. Max. cum iisdem Sanctis Martyribus lucem adspexit, die xx. Octobris, anno Dominicae Incarnationis M. D. IC. Cujus S. Virginis corpus prasdictus

• At populi frequentia deinceps ad nocteni usque affluere non destitit, ccelo ipso obsecundante, quod, cum foedis imbribus per dies proximos exundasset, eo die ita placidum ac serenum afiulsit, ut hybernus rigor in vernam temperiem versus esse videretur. Bosio. Relatio inventionis corporis B. Ccecilice, page 167.

D. N. Papa Clemens veteri lignea capsa, in qua jacebat, argentese inclusa, intactum immutatumque, hoe eodem loco in quo fuerat collocatum, post peracta Missarum solemnia, maxima cum devotione et lachrymis, toto spectante populo, reposuit, xxn. Novembris, ipso festo Virginis die M. D. IC.

Ad cujus latus in alia seorsum capsa praedicti tres Martyres, Valerianus, Tiburtius et Maximus requiescunt ; nee non sub ipso Virginis corpore in alia similiter area praedicti duo Martyres, ac Pontifices Lucius et Urbanus, prout a Paschali Pontifice omnes in iis conditi sunt.

Ego Paulus Tituli S. Caecilse S. E. B. Presbyter Cardinalis Sfondratus, cui licet miserrimo peccatori praedicta corpora, quae diuturnitate temporis fere in tenebris jacebant, et invenire, et videre, et venerari a Deo Optimo Max. datum est memoriam hanc hisce litteris, consignavi. Anno Dominicae Incarnationis M. D. IC. die xxn. Novembris, sedente Clemente VIII. summo Pontifice, ejusdem Pontificatus anno VIII."*

• Here reposes the body of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, discovered by Pope Paschal I. who transferred it. to this Church, and buried it under this altar, with the bodies of the Holy Martyrs, Lucius and Urban, Popes ; Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus. Nearly eight centuries after, under the pontificate of Clement VIII., the body of this holy Virgin was again discovered on the 20th of October, a.d. 1599, together with those of the same holy martyrs. On the 22d of November, the same Pope, Clement the VIII., after solemnly celebrating the Holy Sacrifice 04 the Mass, restored, in presence of the people, and with great devotion and many tears, the Virgin's body to the place it formerly OCOUpied. He enclosed the coffin in a silver casket, and did not permit the body to be disturbed. In an adjoining tomb, the three martyrs Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus repose. Beneath the Virgin's

This short account, engraven upon a silver plate, buried in St. Cecilia's tomb, was not sufficient for posterity. The learned explorer of subterranean Rome, Antonio Bosio, determined to commemorate the last Translation of the Virgin's body, by publishing a new edition of the Acts of St. Cecilia. After having carefully collated the manuscripts of the Basilica with those of the Vatican Library, of St. Peter's Chapter, and of the Colonna Palace, he published in the next year a new edition of the Acts, accompanied with a number of notes. Ecclesiastical archaeology has doubtless made much progress since the time of Bosio, but this great man certainly merits to share with Baronius, the glory of having been one of the first to open the path of Christian erudition, and of having been rarely surpassed therein.

Bosio added to the Acts of St. Cecilia, the famous document of Paschal, which he enriched with many important notes. He concluded his work with a description of the last discovery of Cecilia and her companions, and the ceremonies observed at the second Translation. Bosio declares that he either witnessed himself, or heard from Sfondrato's lips, all the facts which he relates.* This work appeared in Rome, body, and in another tomb, are the two martyrs, Popes Lucius and Urban, in the very spot, where they were buried by Pope Paschal. I, Paul Sfondrato, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Titulary of Saint Cecilia, to whom although such a miserable sinner, Almighty God deigned to grant the favor of discovering, beholding, and venerating this holy body, which time seemed to have buried in darkness, — I have drawn up this inscription in remembrance of this event. The year of Our Lord, 1599, the 221 of November, under Pope Clement the VIII.— in the eighth year of his pontificate.

• Hsec sunt, quas in postrema corporis B. Coeciliae Virginis, in 1600, with a dedication to the Cardinal, who himself wrote an attestation, by which he certified Bosio's exactitude in the collation of the manuscripts, and his strict adherence to truth in his account of the discovery of the holy bodies.*