The Rlection and Coronation of a Pope. of the work of Michael Angelo are to be found. Pope Julius II. commanded the ar tist to paint the ceiling with his own hand, and though the command was repugnant, the work was done and has been hidden from the world ever since. Michael Angelo, the greatest painter of any age, was but a mere slave, for after doing this magnificent work, he was sent to superintend the quarry ing of stone in the marble quarries. Treated no better than a laborer, this genius bore all with Christian humility.
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gold and silver keys, emblems of his superior position in the church. The diocesan church of the bishop is called "the mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world," be cause it stands on the first ground ever given for a Christian church. The palace and Church of St. John Lateran stand on the site of the splendid palace of Plantius Lateranus, which was confiscated in the year 66 A. D., and afterwards given to the Christians by the Emperor Constantine.
ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN FROM THE TIBEK. After the College of Cardinals has met in conclave and elected a successor to Saint Peter, the ceremony of enthronement has to be commenced. It is necessary that he shall be declared Bishop of Rome. A notice is sent him to be present in tht Church of St. John Lateran, in order that he may be inducted into the See. It is then, as senior bishop, or the direct successor of St. Peter, whom Catholics believe to have been the first bishop of Rome, he receives the
The church was originally dedicated to the Savior, but Lucius II., who rebuilt it in the twelfth century, dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. In the piazza of the church stands the sacred relic, called the "scala santa," or holy staircase, which is said to have been the very stairway in the house of Pontius Pilate, and which was used by Jesus on his way to judgment. The newly inducted bishop goes each morning, prior to his coronation as sover
