Rome—1781.
December 30.—At eight in the morning we went to the church of St. Louis to see the consecration of Monseigneur l’Abbé de Bernis as Bishop of Apollonia. A little before nine the Cardinal, the Abbé, and Monsignore de Bayane arrived, the organ playing as they entered, and soon after they went to the door to receive the Pope, whom they followed into the church, the organ playing, and the choir singing “Ecce Sacerdos Magnus.” The Pope, the Cardinal, and the new Bishop then went and prayed at the altar in the chapel of St. Louis; after which they walked up into the choir, where the Pope again prayed at the great altar. The Bishop was then presented to him and kissed his feet, and the Pope embraced him. The Cardinal de Bernis stood beside a small altar prepared for the Bishop on his left hand, and by his side were Monsignori Onesti, Doria, Stacy, Bayane, and other prelates, who now proceeded to dress the Pope. Cardinal de Bernis brought him the napkin to wipe his hands, and took it again from him. In the mean while the two assisting Bishops (the Archbishop of Athens, the Pope’s almoner, and the Bishop of Carpentras) had the new Bishop dressed, whose robes were very fine, white and gold, with white buskins, having a cross embroidered on them, &c. &c. He was then again presented to the Pope, and seated in a chair opposite to his Holiness, who read to him the Articles of Faith and the duties of a Bishop. After every interrogative, he had to answer and make a genuflexion. After this, the Pope anointed his hands and the tonsure at the top of his head, for which purpose a bandage was tied round his head, and another over his hands fastened round the neck—he himself kneeling all the time. The Pope afterwards put the cross on him, the mantle, and the ring (a very beautiful one); when he prostrated himself before the great altar and made his profession of faith and his vows as a Bishop. He then rose, and the Pope gave him his benediction, put a gold mitre on his head, and, placing the crosier in his hand, seated him in his own chair before the great altar, himself standing beside him, and the Bishops, who never quitted him, standing on the other side. Those wore mitres of white cloth, which alone are permitted to be worn in the Pope’s presence except by a new Bishop. Monseigneur de Bernis now rose, made a reverence to the Pope, and asked permission to give his benediction, which his Holiness granted, telling him only to go on the other side, that it might not fall upon him (the Pope). He then came down the church, giving the benediction, with his Bishops on each hand, and returned again to his chair at the great altar, the canons of the church singing the “Te Deum.” The Pope next gave him the Kiss of Peace, which went round to the two other Bishops; after which he was seated opposite the Pope, who delivered a discourse (called a homily) thirty-five minutes in length. In this he made compliments to the Cardinal de Bernis and the Bishop, who both rose and bowed in acknowledgment. He also gave a geographical description of Apollonia, and said it was probably so called from there having been a temple there dedicated to Apollo. He remarked how lamentable it was that it should be in the hands of infidels, but he did not intend to send the Bishop there, but only to Alby, which he must consider as another Apollonia. When he named St. Peter and St. Paul, he beat his breast, and sighed most vehemently. As soon as he had finished, the Cardinal went up and thanked him, and the Bishop did the same, adding that he hoped to acquit himself of his duty in the manner he desired. The Pope replied that he had no doubt about it; gave a general benediction, and went to a chapel, where he said another mass. In the mean time all the prelates, &c., congratulated the Cardinal and Monseigneur, after which his Eminence embraced his nephew in the most affectionate manner. The Pope having now finished his mass, the Cardinal accompanied him out, and shut the door of his carriage, while the Bishops, &c., kneeled down, and the ceremony thus terminated.
In one of the tribunes over the choir were three Cardinals, and in the opposite one the Pope’s niece and the foreign Ministers. The organ gallery was allotted for the French, English, and other strangers, but it was too far removed for them to see much. Most of the French and English gentlemen stood beside the balustrade of the choir, and we were in a grated tribune erected for the purpose, with the Princess Rezzonico, the Duchess of Lanti, Marchesa Castiglioni, a Milanese, and other ladies. The Pope ranted like a country comedian in the part of Othello. Cardinal de Bernis acted his part with his usual dignity, sense, and goodness, and Monseigneur de Bernis went through his fatiguing office with the decency of a good Christian and the propriety of a man of fashion, without affectation, negligence, or bigotry—extremes which appear to me very difficult to avoid in the midst of such a mockery of religion. The Maggiordomo, at the Pope’s expense, gave a grand dinner on the occasion, to which he invited the Cardinals of the palace, the Senator, the Ministers connected with France, and the principal Roman Princes, to meet the Cardinal and Monseigneur. The latter presented twelve crowns for a dinner to the Canons of St. Louis, three sequins each to the under people of the church, a crown to the sweepers, and half-a-crown to the domestics, besides five sous each to all the poor who were present.