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He insisted that his priests should preach, and should
catechize not only the young but the grown up; and
for this purpose he wished one hour in the afternoon
set apart on Sundays and feast days, thus forestalhng
one of the regulations laid down by rius X in 1905 for
the whole Church. He brought out a new edition of
the diocesan catechism (1856), and for his clergy he
wrote a practical guide for the exercise of the ministry
(1857). He provided frequently for retreats and mis-
sions. After the Piedmontese occupation and the
suppression of the religious orders the number of
priests was greatly diminished; to remedy this lack of
ecclesiastical ministers, he established an association
of diocesan missionaries ready to go wherever sent
(1875). He sought to create a learned and virtuous
clergy^ and for this purpose spent much care on the
matenal, moral, and scientific equipment of his sem-
inary, wnich he called the apple of his eye. Between
1846 and 1850 he enlarged its buildings at considerable
personal sacrifice, secured excellent professors, pre-
sided at examinations, and himself gave occasional in-
struction. He introduced the study of the philosophy
and theology of St. Thomas, and in 1872 established
an Accademia di S. Tommaso, which he had
planned as far back as 1858.
In 1872 also he introduced the government stand- ards for studies of the secondary schools and colleges. When the funds of the seminary were converted into state bonds, its revenues were seriously affected, and this entailed new sacrifices on the bishop. With the exception of a few troublesome priests who relied on the protection of the new government, the discipline of the clergy was excellent. For the assistance of many priests impoverished by the confiscation of church funds, he instituted in 1873 the Society of S. Gioacchino, and for charitable works generally, con- ferences of St. Vincent de Paul. He remodelled many educational institutions for the young and bqgan others, for the care of which he invited from Belgium nuns of the Sacred Heart and Brothers of Mercy. Dur- ing his episcopate thirty-six new churches were built in the diocese. His charity and foresight worked mar- vels during the famine of 1854, consequent on the earthquake which laid waste a large part of Umbria. Throughout the political troubles of the period, he was a strong supporter of the temporal power of the Holy See, but he was careful to avoid anvthing that might give the new government pretext for further annoy- ances.
Shortly after his arrival in Perugia there occurred a popular commotion which his personal intervention sucoeeded in appeasing. In 1849, when bands of Garibaldians expelled from Rome were infesting the Umbrian hills, the Austrians under Prince Liechten- stein hastened to occupy Perugia, but Mgr. Pecci, real- izing that this foreign occupation would only increase the irritation of the inhabitants, set out for the Aus- trian camp and succeeded in saving the town from oc- cupation. In 1S59 a few outlaws set up in Perugia a provisional government; when the cardinal heard that, few as they were, they were preparing to resist the pontifical troops advancing under Colonel Schmidt he wrote a generous letter to try and dissuade them from their mad purpose and to avoid a useless shed- ding of blood. Unfortunately they spumed his advice, and. the result was the so-called " Massacre of Perugia " (20 June). In February, 1860, he wrote a pastoral letter on the necessitv of the temporal power of the Holy See; but on 14 September of that year Perugia and Umbria were annexed to Piedmont. ■ In vain he besought General Fanti not to bombard the town; and during the first years that followed the annexation he wrote, either in his own name or in the name of the bishops of Umbria, eighteen protests against the vari- ous laws and regulations of the new Government on ecclesiastical matters: against civil marriage, the sup- pression of the religious orders and the inhuman
cruelty of their oppressors, the " Placet " and " Exe-
quatur in ecclesiastical nominations, military service
for ecclesiastics, and the confiscation of church prop-
erty. But withal he was so cautious and prudent, m
spite of his outspokenness, that he was never in seri-
ous difficulties with the civil power. Only once was he
brought before the courts, and then he was acquitted.
In August, 1877, on the death of Cardinal de An- gelis, Pius IX appointed him camerlengo, so that he was obliged to reside in Rome. Pope Pius died 7 Feb- ruary, 1878, and during his closing years the Liberal press had often insinuated that the Italian Govern- ment should take a hand in the conclave and occupy the Vatican. However the Russo-Turkish War and the sudden death of Victor Emmanuel II (9 January, 1878) distracted the attention of the Government, the conclave proceeded as usual, and after the three scru- tinies Canlinal Pecci was elected by forty-four votes out of sixty-one.
Shortly before this he had written an inspiring pas- toral to his fiock on the Church and civilization. Ec- clesiastical affairs were in a difficult and tangled state. Pius IX, it is true, had won for the papacy the love and veneration of Christendom, and even the ad- miration of its adversaries. But, though inwardly strengthened, its relations with the civil powers had either ceased or were far from cordial. But the fine diplomatic tact of Leo succeeded in staving off rup- tures, in smoothing over difficulties, and in e8taJi>lisn- ing good relations with almost all the powers.
Throughout his entire pontificate he was able to keep on good terms with France, and he pledged him- self to its Government that he w^ould call on afi Catho- hcs to accept the RepubHc. But in spite of his efforts very few monarchists listened to him, and towards the end of his life he beheld the coming failure of his French policy, though he was spared the pain of witnessing the final catastrophe which not even he could have averted. It was to Leo that France owed her alliance with Russia; in this way he offset the Triple Alliance, hoped to ward off impending conflicts, and expected friendly assistance for the solution of the Roman ques- tion. With Germany he was more fortunate. On the very day of his election, when notifying the emperor of the event, he expressed the hope of seeing relations with the German Government re-established, and, though the emperor's reply was coldly civil, the ice was broken. Soon Bismarck, unable to govern with the Liberals, to win whose favour he had started the Kulturkampf (q. v.), found he needed the Centre Party, or Catholics, and was willing to come to terms. As early as 1878 negotiations began at Kissingen be- tween Bismarck and Aloisi-Masclla. the nuncio to Munich; they were carried a step farther at Venice be- tween the nuncio Jacobini and Prince von Reuss; soon after this some of the Prussian laws against the Church were relaxed. From about 1883 bishops be- gan to be appointed to various sees, and some of the exiled bishops were allowed to return. By 1884 diplo- matic relations were renewed, and in 1887 a moduM Vivendi between Church and State was brought about. In 1885 the question of the Caroline Islands arose, and Bismarck proposed that Pope Leo should arbitrate be- tween Germanv and Spain. The good feeling with Germany found expression in the three visits paid Leo bv William II (1888, 1893, and 1903), whose father also, when crown prince (1883), had visited the Vati- can. As a sort of quid pro quo Bismarck thought the pope ought to use his authority to prevent the Catho- lics from opposing some of his political schemes. Only once did Leo interfere in a parliamentaiy question, and then his advice was followed. In 1880 relations with the Belgian Government were again broken off k propos of the school question, on the pretext that the
Cope was lending himself to duplicity, encouraging the isnops to resist, and pretending to the Government that he was urging mcxieration. As a matter cMf fact^
