Facts of Faith

Testimony of Eye-Witnesses

That the title, Vicarius Filii Dei, has been employed elsewhere than in Roman Catholic canon law is also asserted by Rev. B. Hoffman: FAFA 227.1

“To Whom It May Concern: FAFA 227.2

“This is to certify that I was born in Bavaria in 1828, was educated in Munich, and was reared a Roman Catholic. In 1844 and 1845 1 was a student for the priesthood in the Jesuit College in Rome.

“During the Easter service of 1845, Pope Gregory XVI wore a triple crown upon which was the inscription, in jewels, Vicarius Filii Dei. We were told that there were one hundred diamonds in the word Dei; the other words were of some other kind of precious stones of a darker color. There was one word upon each crown, and not all on the same line. I was present at the service, and saw the crown distinctly, and noted it carefully. FAFA 227.3

“In 1850 I was converted to God and to Protestantism. Two years later I entered the Evangelical Church ministry, but later in life I united with the Presbyterian Church, of which I am now a retired pastor, having been in the ministry for fifty years. FAFA 227.4

“I have made the above statement at the request of Elder D. E. Scoles, as he states that some deny that the pope ever wore this tiara. But I know that he did, for I saw it upon his head.” FAFA 227.5

“Sincerely yours in Christian service,
(Signed) “B. Hoffman.
Webb City, Mo., Oct. 29, 1906.”

— The Review and Herald, December 20, 1906.

The author of this book has photostats of the papal passport held by Rev. B. Hoffman, and of a signed letter from him stating the same facts as are given in the above statement. His testimony is confirmed by that of M. De Latti and others. FAFA 227.6

Statement of M. De Latti to D. E. Scoles. - “M De Latti ... had previously been a Catholic priest, and had spent four years in Rome. He visited me when I was pastor in St. Paul, Minn.... He stated that he had often seen it [the crown with this inscription] in the museum of the Vatican, and gave a detailed and accurate description of the whole crown.... FAFA 228.1

“De Latti ... said the first word of the sentence was on the first crown of the triple arrangement, the second word on the second part of the crown, while the word Dei was on the lower division of the triple crown. He also explained that the first two words were in dark-colored jewels, while the Dei was composed of diamonds entirely.” — D. E. Scoles, in The Review and Herald, December 20, 1906. FAFA 228.2

Statement of Thomas Whitmore. - “‘Some time ago, an English officer happening to be at Rome, observed on the front of the mitre which the pope wore at one of the solemnities, this inscription: “Vicarivs Filii Dei.” It instantly struck him - perhaps this is “the number of the beast.” He set to work: and when he had selected all the numerals, and added them up, he found, to his great astonishment, that the whole amounted to precisely six hundred and sixty-six. What stress is to be laid on this I cannot say. FAFA 228.3

“	‘Vicarivs			Filii		Dei
	V	5	F	0	D	500
	I	1	I	1	E	0
	C	l00	L	50	I	1
	A	0	I	1		____
	R	0	1	1		501
	I	0		____		112
	V	5		53		53
	S	0				____
		____				666
		112

“Thus it will be seen, that by taking from the title Vicarivs Filii Dei [Vicar of the Son of God], the letters which are commonly used as numerals, they make up the number of the beast.” — “A Commentary on the Revelation, of St. John the Divine,” p. 231. Boston: 1856. FAFA 228.4

Testimony of Dr. H. Grattan Guinness. - “An English officer of high rank, who in the year 1799, by a special favour, was given the opportunity, while in Rome, to get a close view of the Pope’s jewels and precious things, discovered thereby, that the papal tiara bore this inscription: ‘Vicarivs Filii Dei.’ FAFA 229.1

“When you take out the Latin letters, which have numeral value, and which still are used to represent numbers, and which are: V, I, C, L, and D, these letters form the number given below. In these Latin words there are two V’s, which letter denotes 5, six I’s denoting 1, one C, which denotes 100, one L, which denotes 50, and one D, which denotes 500, thus: V,V= 10; I,I,I,I,I,I = 6; C = 100; L = 50; and D = 500, the sum 666.” — “Babylon and the Beast,” p. 141; quoted in ” Kyrkans Strid och Slutliga Seger,” Professor S. F. Svensson, pp. 126, 128. Stockholm: 1908. FAFA 229.2