LEO, BISHOP

Servant of the Servants of God To all the Faithful who shall read these Letters, health and A postolic Benediction.

The sacred season which we closed yesterday with the solemnities of religion was a source o! joy to us while it lasted, and will leave many grateful memories behind it. For the Church's desire and her sole aim in renewing this celebration after a lapse of sev enty-five years was to vive a salutary stimulus to men’s minds, and this, with God's help, we are seen to have attained. The number of those who have with gladness and cage 8 striven to avail themselves of the extraordina privileges of gaining the sacred indulgence has not been small Sa has run into the hundreds “of thousands and has been made up of all classes of society. It is beyond all question that multitudes of souls have thus been cleansed by salutary penance and renewed to the life of Christian virtue, and w have every reason to believe that from this head and source the Catholic name has derived a fresh influx of faith and devotion all over the world.

Following the example set by our predecessors on such oecasions, we now intend to enlarge still further the bounds of Apostolie charity by offering a more ample opportunity for obtaining the favors of heaven. We have determined to throw open to the faithful in all parts of the world during the first six months of next year that treasury of sacred indulgence which has been ntrusted to us, and whieh has been put within the reach

UBILEE