Letter to his friend Mgr Foulon, Archbishop of Besançon in France (4 November 1886)
Reverend and Dear Monsignor,
Your friendship with me is always faithful to me, and we have now reached an age where old friendships are becoming dearer as they become rarer. We represent the first group of runners. What your Grace tells me about the cardinals of Lyon and Rennes touches me all the more since Roman tradition and the most respectable historical monuments prove as being fidei proximum, that the princes of the Church always leave three together.