Peter, whom Christ appointed as head of the
Church; how the pious King, finding his kingdom in danger of invasion,
and his authority threatened, and not daring to absent himself, begged
the Pope to release him from his vow; how the Pope at once commuted
it, and bade him build a church instead, in honour of St. Peter; and
so forth. Then they would very likely visit the inmates of the Abbey.
The Benedictine monks who served the Abbey would entertain them, and
ask after their brethren in Italy. Some of these English monks would
in all likelihood have been educated at Subiaco, where St. Benedict
first lived, or at Monte Cassino, where he died, and where his body
still lies. In any case, these English monks were undoubtedly true
children of St. Benedict, and followed his rule, and were animated by
his spirit, and rejoiced to acknowledge him as their founder and
spiritual father. There was nothing of the modern Anglican, and
nothing insular about them!
In the meantime the great day arrives. It is the 4th of November in
the year 1366. The bells of the Abbey are ringing a merry peal. The
Faithful are flocking in to witness the Archbishop receive the
Pallium, the symbol of jurisdiction, and the sign that all spiritual
authority emanates from St.
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