|
Circular bronze medal with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with the head and shoulders portrait of Pope Leo XIII facing right, circumscribed ‘LEONE XIII PONTIFICE MASSIMO • ROMA’ (Leo XIII Great Pontiff • Rome); the reverse with a Latin cross, rays between the arms, clouds at the base, inscribed below ‘ANNUS MDCCCLXXXVIII’ (Year 1888), circumscribed ‘QUINQUAGESIMUS SACERDOTIO LEONIS XIII P•M•’ (Fifty (years) of priesthood Leo XIII Pope); surface discoloration and wear; on probably replaced ribbon in the colours of the Vatican. Pope Leo XIII (1810 to 1903) was ordained on 31 December 1837 and was Pope from 20 February 1878 to 20 July 1903 when, at 93 years of age, he was the oldest ever pope, as well as having the third longest pontifical reign. He worked to reconcile the Church with the modern world and to make the Papacy more open. An interesting medal.
|
