But alas that a twenty-minutes' walk should take us from the Piazza di
Spagna to the Via di Sant' Uffizio!
The other ecclesiastical functions of government are performed in a
similar way: one congregation superintending the churches of Rome and
its district, under the title of _Visita Apostolica_; one, the
ceremonies of the Church; one, ecclesiastical immunities; one, sacred
rites; one, indulgences and relies. Questions relative to bishops,
bishoprics, and the regular orders are intrusted to four congregations,
under different and appropriate names. St. Peter's has a special
congregation for itself, and not the least dignified and important of
them; for, besides eight cardinals and four prelates, it commands the
official services of the Auditor of the Apostolic Chamber, the
Treasurer, a judge of the _Rota_, a comptroller, an attorney-general, a
secretary, and several counsellors-at-law. Not St. Peter's only, but all
the churches of Rome, come in for a share of their attention; and what
is more important, they form a court of probate, with exclusive
jurisdiction over all wills containing charitable bequests, or bequests
to heretics and strangers, fugitives, exiles, or the dead.
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