Vatican City, Feb. 10. US XI, the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and spiritual leader of 400,000,000 souls, died today.
Baptized 1857 as Ambrose Damian Achi ihe Ratti, the Pontiff rose from peasant boy in the little Italian town of Desio to become a powerful international figure during a critical period in world affairs.
His death will be mourned by million: s of the faithful in every corner of the world.
Death came to the Pope six minutes after the last rites of the Church had been administered.
Dr. Aminta Milani, the Pope's personal physician, reached his bedside at 5 a.m, after the Pope's condition had suddenly turned grave.
Ten minutes later Mgr. Alfonso Camille de Romanis administered the last rites and he also received the Pope's confession at 5.25 a.m. Six minutes later' the soul of Pope Pius departed thi life. Lorenzo Cardinal Lauri, the Chief Confessor, who was to have received the last confession, arrived too late.
The Pope remained conscious to the very last.
'The Pope's last words.were, "we still have some things to do," semi officially reports said. 'Thirty' seconds before death he made the weakest motion of the sign of the cross, imparting the last Apostolic benedié- tion of his reign, Church dignitaries present in his! bedroom said the Pope met death most serenely. His face was relaxed and when death came the Pope in-lined his head toward the right side of his pillow.
Grave concern was felt for the Pope's life last night after the Holy Father had suffered another attack of cardiac asthma. At midnight he was reported to be resting easier, however, and Vatican circles expressed the hope that he might recover.
The Pope suffered yesterday's heart attack at 420 pin. and was tunable to speak for almost an hou. His first_words following the attack were the whispered desire that he could regain suflelent strength to tend ceremonies planned for this week-end in celebration of the anniversaries of his Coronation and the suming of the Lateran Treaty. with The heart attack was the Latest ince is Hines of last November when he suffered what was termed "weakened heart fibre,
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