Rome.
I Have been witness to the beatification of a Saint; he was of the
order of St. Francis, and a great many brethren of that order were
present, and in very high spirits on the occasion. There are a greater
number of ecclesiastics beatified, and canonized, than any other order
of men. In the first place, because, no doubt, they deserve it better;
and also, because they are more solicitous to have Saints taken from
among men of their own profession, and particular order, than people in
other situations in life are. Every monk imagines, it reflects personal
honour on himself, when one of his order is canonised. Soldiers,
lawyers, and physicians, would probably be happy to see some of their
brethren distinguished in the same manner; that they have not had this
gratification of late years, may be imputed to the difficulty of finding
suitable characters among them. Ancient history, indeed, makes mention of
some commanders of armies who were very great saints; but I have heard of
no physician who acquired that title since the days of St. Luke; or of a
single lawyer, of any age or country.
A picture of the present Expectant, a great deal larger than life, had
been hung up on the front of St. Peter’s church, several days before the
beatification took place. This ceremony was also announced by printed
papers, distributed by the happy brethren of St. Francis. On the day
of the solemnity, his Holiness, a considerable number of Cardinals,
many other ecclesiastics, all the Capucin Friars in Rome, and a great
concourse of spectators attended. The ceremony was performed in St.
Peter’s church. An ecclesiastic of my acquaintance procured us a very
convenient place for seeing the whole. The ceremony of beatification
is a previous step to that of canonization. The Saint, after he is
beatified, is entitled to more distinction in Heaven than before; but
he has not the power of freeing souls from purgatory till he has been
canonized; and therefore is not addressed in prayer till he has obtained
the second honour. On the present occasion, a long discourse was
pronounced by a Franciscan Friar, setting forth the holy life which this
Expectant had led upon earth, his devotions, his voluntary penances, and
his charitable actions; and a particular enumeration was made, of certain
miracles he had performed when alive, and others which had been performed
after his death by his bones. The most remarkable miracle, by himself in
person, was, his replenishing a lady’s cupboard with bread, after her
housekeeper, at the Saint’s instigation, had given all the bread of the
family to the poor.
This business is carried on in the manner of a law-suit. The Devil
is supposed to have an interest in preventing men from being made
Saints. That all justice may be done, and that Satan may have his due,
an advocate is employed to plead against the pretensions of the Saint
Expectant, and the person thus employed is denominated by the people, the
Devil’s Advocate. He calls in question the miracles said to have been
wrought by the Saint and his bones, and raises as many objections to the
proofs brought of the purity of his life and conversation as he can. It
is the business of the Advocate on the other side, to obviate and refute
these cavils. The controversy was carried on in Latin. It drew out to
a great length, and was by no means amusing. Your friend Mr. R——y, who
sat near me, losing patience, from the length of the ceremony, and some
twitches of the gout, which he felt at that moment, whispered me, “I
wish, from my heart, the Devil’s Advocate were with his client, and this
everlasting Saint fairly in Heaven, that we might get away.” The whole
party, of which I made one, were seized with frequent and long continued
yawnings, which I imagine was observed by some of the Cardinals, who sat
opposite to us. They caught the infection, and although they endeavoured
to conceal their gaping under their purple robes, yet it seemed to spread
and communicate itself gradually over the whole assembly, the Franciscan
Friars excepted; they were too deeply interested in the issue of the
dispute, to think it tedious. As often as the Devil’s Advocate stated an
objection, evident signs of impatience, contempt, surprise, indignation,
and resentment, appeared in the countenances of the venerable
brotherhood, according to their different characters and tempers. One
shook his head, and whispered his neighbour; another raised his chin, and
pushed up his under-lip with a disdainful smile; a third started, opened
his eyelids as wide as he could, and held up both his hands, with his
fingers extended; a fourth raised his thumb to his mouth, bit the nail
with a grin, and jerked the thumb from his teeth towards the adversary;
a fifth stared, in a most expressive manner, at the Pope, and then fixed
his eyes, frowning, on the Advocate. All were in agitation, till the
Saint’s Counsel began to speak, when a profound silence took place, and
the moment he had made his answer, their countenances brightened, a smile
of satisfaction spread around, and they nodded and shook their beards at
each other with mutual congratulations. In the mean time, the Cardinals,
and the other auditors, who were not asleep, continued yawning; for my
own part, I was kept awake only by the interlude of grimaces, played off
by the Capucins between the arguments. Exclusive of these, the making a
Saint of a Capucin, is the dulled business I ever was witness to. I hope
the man himself enjoys much felicity since the ceremony, in which case no
good-natured person will grudge the tedium and fatigue which he suffered
on the occasion. I ought to have told you, that the Advocate’s reasoning
was all in vain; the Devil lost his cause, without the possibility of
appeal. The Saint’s claim being confirmed, he was admitted into all the
privileges of beatification; the Convent defraying the expence of the
process.
As we returned, Mr. R——y asked, if I recollected the Saint’s name. I
said, I did not. “We must inform ourselves,” said he; “for when I meet
him above, I shall certainly claim some merit with him, from having done
penance at his beatification[1].”
[1] I have been since informed, this new Saint is called St.
Buonavantura; he was by birth a Neapolitan.