Papal Dining Etiquette

Pope Leo XIII, reigned as Pope from early in 1878, until his death in 1903. He was the oldest Pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind those of Pius IX and John Paul II.

Pope Leo's Habits

Most of the modern Popes, says The St. James's Gazette, have been ascetics, and Leo XIII is no exception to the rule. His holiness rises at 6 o'clock alike in summer and winter, and immediately he is dressed he says mass in his private chapel. Then he "assists" at another mass celebrated by a prelate of the household, and at 7 he breakfasts. 

The Papal breakfast consists of coffee and two boiled eggs. The midday dinner is as simple as the breakfast; soup, a dish which it pleases the Italians to regard as a beef steak, dessert, and one glass of Bordeaux—of course not the Bordeaux which common people drink. After dinner the Pope takes an hour's nap. The early supper is composed of salad and eggs, and a very admirable supper that is in a hot climate. 

It is etiquette for the Pope to take all his meals alone—a custom which must be very bad for the digestion. Leo XIII works as hard in his study as Queen Victoria does, but he enjoys splendid health for so old a man, and promises to wear the tiara for many a year to come. —1887

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