History of the Papal States

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The memorable proceeding, which has left its impressions in effects the most lasting and beneficent on the face of the civilized world to the present day, was primarily occasioned by an atrocious attack on the Pontiff, Saint Leo III, as, in the third year of his reign, and, on St. George's day, he was proceeding from the Lateran to San Lorenzo in Lucina: the church where the procession was to form, in order to proceed thence to the station in the Velabrum - the valley between the Capitol and the Palatine - where stood the church of Saint George.<br><br>The names and offices of the two leaders of the conspiracy are known to us. The exact scene of the atrocity itself, we also know.