It would perhaps be an exaggeration to say that never before had a Supreme Pontificate been exercised with more distinction than by Leo XIII., but surely in no Pontiff has the world at large appreciated so well as in him the nature, duties, and prerogatives of the papal office; and this appreciation is due chiefly, if not entirely, to his Pontifical acts as a teacher, ruler, and high priest, whose teachings, authority and spiritual ministration have exercised an influence on all humanity, as well as on his own subjects.
As teacher, Leo XIII. was not content with recommending true doctrine, or urging reforms and improvements in Catholic universities and seminaries; but, setting an example, he issued, in season and out of season, his own instructions based on the soundest principles of reason and revelation about the family, liberty, socialism, the relations of the working man with his employers, the right use of political powers, the menace of secret societies to the governments that harbor them, the duties of Christian citizens and the constitution of Christian States. As ruler, he exercised a singular power over his cardinals and bishops, many of whom he was magnanimous enough to appoint when their views and policy did not coincide entirely with his own. By counsel, direction, and command, he was ever aiding them to govern their dioceses, and to impart to the faithful proper guidance in every matter affecting faith and morals. As priest and Pontiff, he was solicitous for the unity, integrity, and splendor of Christian worship, instituting many reforms in the observance of the liturgy and in ecclesiastical music, but he was more solicitous still for the interior holiness of the faithful, as appears by his Letters on Human Liberty, The Right Ordering of Christian Life, Marriage, The Holy Spirit, Christ the Redeemer, and by his zeal in raising to the altars the approved models of Christian perfection in every walk of life.
An ardent love of truth, an unwavering determination
