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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
In its April 25 issue, The Bulletin
Tied extracts from letters to an
Icial of the Catholic Laymen’s
sociation of Georgia written by an
e-witness of the historic scenes
acted /in Rome after the death
late Pope, Benedict XV. The
esent article is a continuation
the one carried last month. The
■liter describes the scenes in Rome
. the vicinity the Catican while
populace, agumented by thou-
ds of people from countries for-
a to Italy, awaited work of the
J||tion of the hew successor to St.
Ugl-. He graphically depicts the
s*al joy of the waiting thousands
Sen the white smoke from the
St ion n sent forth to an eager
mrld the news that the Church
pin had a visible head. He draws
ipen-picturc of the first public
|iearancc of Pope Pius XI, on the
Jgia of the Vatican, where, for
: first time since the invassion of
e Papal States, over half a century
|b, a newly elected Bontiff in pub-
51 appeared to give his blessed to
| assembled faithful. Ed. The
llletin.)
At last the time came for the
;-st ballot. I say at last, because
i; were impatient to witness those
Jents of which we have read and
krd so much at other times, the
ger crowd, the smoke emerging
3m the Vatican, the acclamation
the new Pope, and all the other
identals which have played so
eat a part in history and romance.
The day was dark, threatening
'pppy and eventually the clouds did
ive vent to their feelings upon
>se gathered. Even the heavens
jined to be mourning the fact that
j? Christian family was still with-
it a father.
We arrived at the great piazza of
. Peter’s about 1(1:30, although we
■re told that the smoke, which
mid be white if the ballot were
ccessful and black if it failed to
set, would not appear before 11:-
and that there was little chance
his being named that day.
'he crowd, which numbered some
ousands, was almost entirely for-
(ii. English was the predominant
iguage, it seemed. The Italians,
t being prompted by the desire
see the smoke, which they had
tnessed so many times before,
d knowing that a nomination on
fi first ballot was well nigh im-
ssible, preferred to remain at
me during the rainy weather, and
us avoid the influenza which at
at time was said to be raging in
By.
I waited until 12:10, anxiously
■jperting to see the much heralded
fiokc arise from the narrow little
I inmey, which arose from the side
|| the Vatican walls and just lifted
i head above the roof, but in vain,
r I had to be back home at 12:30
,d we live about two miles away.
However, in the afternoon I re-
vd, and found the crowd much
ger. We waited until 5:20 he
re the sign appeared, declaring
at as yet the required number
votes had been received by no
might receive the first blessing of
the New Pontiff.
Notwithstanding the immense
crowd and the fine weather, the
Cardinals had not yet united upon
one man in the necessary propor
tions, and accordingly the > black
smoke ascended both morning and
afternoon.
The crowd, however, was more pic
turesque than it had been hereto
fore. All the seminarians from the
different colleges, each one wearing
the dress of his particular house,
were found sprinkled about, the
Germans in their bright red, the
Romans in purple, the Americans
in their black, with tinges of red
and blue on the border, and so on
almost indefinitely.
The next day, Monday, was raw
and rainy, among the students there
prevailed almost to a_ man the feel
ing that before the night the Church
would have a head. Accordingly
almost all braved the stormy wealth-
er and went over to await once
more the appearance of the smoke.
This time it seemed that great
numbers of strangers had remained
at home on account of the rain,
while the Italians, unlike the first
day, were present in thousands. /
“He Is Elected.”
Miscellany
About 11:30 the first little cloud
of smoke appeared. • It was white,
as each time previous; but on this
occasion it did not change; it con
tinued thin and clear while the ex
cited thousands rent the air with
cries of: “He is elected.”
A period of twenty minutes at
least elapsed before we were cer
tain that we were not miktaken. For
custom demands that the new Pope
should come to give his blessings
to the assembled multitude, wheth
er it be in the basilica, or from the
loggia outside.
Since 1870, in keeping with the
policy of passive resistance, this
ceremony has always taken place
inside. Those present, knowing
this, beseiged the doors, and then
having crowded as near to them as
possible, waited patiently.
There is also the custom of hav
ing the senior Cardinal Deacon come
to the loggia, before the blessing,
to announce the name of the new
Pope. When the glass doors of
the loggia opened and a Monsig
nor appeared, we knew we had not
waited in vain.
Disappointment.
As the smoke appeared at first it
:.s clear white. Immediately the
y went up from the crowd that
• had been elected. The Italians,
;ry much excited, called out loud-
s, “E Fatto.” But after a few see
ds, a thin black smoke appeared,
living no doubt in the minds of
lose present that there was no
< in waiting any longer.
(The next day was beautiful. The
bather was of the late opening
iriety at home, although it was
fly the month of February. The
»wd was bigger by many thou-
Inds, and as one walked along it
med that every language under
p sun was being spoken,
in the morning the smoke appear-
i, about 11:40, and in the afternoon
pj 5:20. But both times it was
lick, although each time as on
■ previous- occasion, the first little
fci-d that appeared was white.
gHjj> Sunday which was the next
pfthc great Piazza was filled to
.apacity, except in the extreme
Jrteast corner from which the
le chimney was not visible. The
Grounding buildings were also
ek with people who had sought a
!ce of vantage.
St' was not hard to go hack a few
ire of years, after seeing that
>wd, and nfter having witnessed
excitement that prevailed, to the
he when Rome called out one long
iday during the Conclave, for
SL
temporal King, as well as the
•ritual ruler of Christendom was
-tough the crowd and stopped here
1 there curiously, it was rot hard
observe that many WjgjMnere just
'‘ness those. • have
Cardinal Bisletti came to the rail
ing, and reading the anonuncement
according to the ritual in clear
tones said: “Annunito vobis guad-
uim magnum I hebemus Pajiam, re-
verendissimum ac eminentissimum
Dominum Achillcm.”
These words I have not read since,
but they have lingered in my mem
ory, without any effort on my part,
so solemn was the occasion. Of
course, there were more words said
afterwards, but they never reached
the crowd, not even the Pope’s
last name, Rati, for it seems there
was only one “Achilles” among the
Cardinals, and as he had been men
tioned prominently as # likely can
didate, the Italians, immediately up
on hearing the first name, started
to cheer, while we asked our neigh
bors whom the new Pope might
be. In hearing that it was the Car
dinal Archibshop of Milan, we re
called immediately the 3rd of No
vember when we heard him preach
in his beautiful Cathedral, the oc
casion being the day given over to
the honor of the unknown soldier.
One who did not hear the an
nouncement made cannot realize
fully the import of these words.
The real joy with which the Car
dinal sent forth that news to the
world was very necessary for a
fully intelligence of things. Nat
urally we, who have not known
what it is to have lost a father,
cannot appreciate the difficulties
that devolve upon those who must
assume the responsibilities, wheth
er it be the mother or the older
children. And so we who do know
what responsibilities and under
what difficulties the Cardinals labor
without a spiritual head cannot ap
predate fully the joy that is theirs
when they have again a leader to
whom they can look for direction.
These must have been the
thoughts that prompted Cardinal
Bisletti when he announced those
first words. It was the manner
in which he said them thkt conveyed
to me the full meaning of that last
word. The Christian family, mil
lions of children, had been without
a father, whom the little ones in
the affectionate way call “Papa.
And as there is nothing more pit
iable than little orphans without a
home, and nothing more consoling
than to know that someone lias been
found to take them in and replace
insofar as it is possible the one call
cd away—<«o it Iji easy to under-
—i.
Many cities and villages in the
United States enshrine in their
names a remembrance of Mary,
whose month this is. There are call
ed Mary, and others memorialize the
Blessed Virgin in names such as
Maryville (of which there are eleven
Maryville, Marysvale and Marytown.
The titles of thirty towns in this
country begin with Mary. Names
like Marianna, Maribel, Marietta,
Marion and Marigold were all in
spired by a desire to honor Our
Lady, Seven towns are called Mount
Carmel, five Carmel, eight Loretto,
and names such as these bear evi
dence of having been chosen in
honor of God’s Mother. There is
an Assumption (111.) with an Im
maculate, a Rosaryville, a Concep
tion, a Conception Junction, and
two Concepcions. A more thorough
search through the names of Ameri
can cities would reveul hundreds of
communities living under the patron
age of Our Lady. Strangely enough,
no city has chosen the beautiful
name Madonna. City-builders please
note.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has scored
his first success. A man read of the
happiness which awaited him beyond
contemplated the misery which as
sailed him here below and put his
faith in spiritism. He killed him
self. A London correspondent writes
to an Indian paper: “Our Lunatic
asylums, public and private, arc over
flowing with victims of this cult, for
all its devotees and in madness.” The
diabolical gospel of spiritism, .of
which Doyle is himself a victim, will
work much moral devastation unless
it is understood and resisted. Cath
olics are the only people who know
spiritism for what it is, and, there
fore, they are the only people who
can defeat this modern recrudes
cence of deviltry. One of the most
valuable textbooks which I have
seen on this subject—upon which
every Catholic should know some
thing—is “Spiritism the Modern Sa
tanism,” by the Rev. Dr. Thomas -F.
Coaklcy, a copy of which has reach
ed me from its publishers, Exten
sion Press, 180 North Wabash Ave
nue, Chicago. The price is $1.25 and
to meet the present need a new edi
tion has been printed.
The mind of the schoolboy is
something weird and wonderful. But
none of us can afford to adopt an
attitude of superiority in contem
plating the errors of the present
generation of juveniles, for we can
all look back to the time when we
thought that a synonym was a pre
historic animal, and had other ideas
which have been disproved by sub
sequent experience. For this reason
we must respect the efforts of . the
authors of the following passages,
which have been rescued and pre
served by the “Harrow School Maga
zine.”
“During the desert march of the
Israelites they were always break
ing God’s laws, so He wrote them
out for them on two tables of stone
which could not be broken.”
“Luther was a preacher in Ger
many who preached against the pope.
The pope sent him a papal legate,
but he tore it up and never read it.”
A GREAT LIBRARY OF MARIANA
Unique and Interesting Collection of Works
Written in Honor of Blessed Virgin.
By RT. REV. THOMAS J. SHAHAN, D. D.
Rector of the Catholic University of America.
(Written for N. C. W. C. Editorial Sheet).
The new Pope’s first blessing to
Catholic journalism is, I think that
which His Holiness gave to the Lon
don “Universe.” The claims of that
excellent journal to papal encour
agement were presented by Cardinal
Gasquet and so anxious was the
Holy Father to demonstrate his in
terest in the Catholic Press, that
instead of giving formal directions
for the dispatch of a letter from
the Secretariate. Pope Pius XI. sat
down and wrote this message in his
own hand: “When a journal conse
crates itself to the apostolate of
truth and virtue, for the good of
souls and for the greater glory of
God and His Church, there is no
blessing which it does not merit.”
Catholic editors all over the world
may take this encouraging message
to themselves.
Cliarmiari London has a new mis
sionary story in her book, “Jack
London,” A missionary, she writes,
was preaching in one of the islands
where mancating is practiced, and
was captured by a sceptical chief. To
his surprise he was immediately re
leased, but on the condition that he
carry a small sealed packet to a
neighboring mountain chieftain. The
missionary was so grateful that,
meeting a detachment of English
sailors from a battle cruiser, he de
clined to accompany them to safer
territory. The sealed packet should
be delivered as he had promised. But
an officer, in the midst of the dis
cussion, opened it. Therein, tucked
among some smniA^|^pns, was
St. John, at the end of his Gospel
says that if all the things which
Jesus did were written “the world it
self would not be able, I think, to
contain the books that should be
written.”
In a similar sense, it may be said
that if all writings about the Mother
of Jesus could be collected in one
library it would be of enormous size.
Every nation and race, every
language and written dialect, every
phase of Christian civilization, has
contributed to the immense hymn
of praise that goes up unceasingly
to heaven in honor of the Mother
of Our Redeemer. Every ecclesiasti
cal science has done her the highest
honor, from its embryonic condit-
tions to the fulness of its modern
growth.
All annals of human culture and
refinement abound with tributes to
her. Philosophy and poetry, all the
arts and crafts, architecture, music
travel and geograpahy all the social
arts, even political and economic
thought, have in turn recognized her
charm and influence, and paid her
due measure of praise.
In all Christian literature, taking
the word very broadly, hers is ,a
supreme place. Great interest at
taches, therefore, to every effort
made to ’ gatheT in one place the
various tributes of the minds and
hearts of men through all the Chris
tian ages to that Jewish maiden who,
after her Divine Son, was the great
est benefactress of mankind.
A LIBRARY THAT IS UNNIQUE
The “Mariana” Libreary of the Na
tional Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception is already one of its
most interesting features. It num
bers at present about two thousand
volumes, and is housed in the of
fices of “Salve Regina” where it is
daily consulted by theological stu
dents and the staff of “Salve Regi
na,” This unique library is a man
ifestation of the piety and the mun
ificence of Mr. George Logan Duval,
of New York who conceived the
idea of a great collection of writ
ings pertaining to Our Blessed
Mother, a$d provided for the pur
chase of the best *3 they appear
from year to year. Here are found
many well known lives of the Bless
ed Virgin, among them Gentilucci,
Gerbet, and otheis, including the
rare work of Moseli (Naples 6109)
There is a unique collection of the
old writers of the sixteenth, seven
teenth, eighteenth ceuturies whose
learned folios are now seldom met
with, Marioc, Cancelloti, DeCartha-
gena, Tromebli, Berlendi, Gravois,
all of them famous theologians well
known to students of. Marian writ
ings During- these centuries cmi
nent scholars of the great religious
orders, Dominicans, Franciscans,
Benedictines, Jesuits' and others,
vied with one another in exalting
the merits of the Mother of God.
and the best of their works are here,
including Saurez, St. Peter Canisius,
Novati, St. Alphonsus, and Benedict
XIV. The names of the De Zerda,
Dalmata, Morales, Celada, Sfondrati,
Paciuchelli, occur to every historian
of Mary Immaculate, as well as Jan-
mucci and Arnaldi, writers on the
Assumption. Their folios, in well
worn pigskin are in this collection,
forming part of a valuable lot of
“Mariana” in two hundred volumes
purchased at Rome two years ago.
THE CURIOUS AND RARE
A curious little volume is _ the
“Rosario Mistico,” of the Polish
Dominican, Justin Miechoviensis.
The famous Spanish work” of the
Franciscan nun, Maria d’Agreda, on
the “Mystic City of God” is here
also in Italian, French and English
versions. Close to it are the medi
tations of St. Theresa on the “Mag
nificat” and the celebrated “Visions”
of Catherine Emmerich. Among the
older works, one of the most in
teresting is the “Atlas Marianum”
of the seventeenth century Jesuit
Gumppenburg, a kind of Marian
geography in which are described
some twelve hundred pilgrim resorts
and shrines of Our Blessed Mother
in Europe and South America.
Closely related are many modern
works on Loreto and Lourdes and
the fine work of Father Beissel on
Marian pilgrimages, past and pres
ent.
Very interesting also is the “Al-
phabetum Marianum” published in
1692 at Naples, a little encyclopedia
of the Blessed Virgin in Catholic
Theology.
Among the newer works on the
Blessed Virgin, the three great fol
io'- Father Passtglia, S. J., on the
’ "Conception hold the^S
' -aruing, while vet-
collection of declarations sent to
Pins IX, about 1854, in favor of the
dogma of the Immaculate Conception
by bishops, religious orders, univer
sities, and individuals of rank and
influence in every part of the world.
MODERN MARIANA
The modern Catholic literature
on the Blessed Virgin is very ex
tensive. Many of its best works are
found in this library, unpaAlIeled
perhaps in the United States. Such
are Father Grou’s “Interior Life of
Jesus and Mary” and the valuable
works of Malou, Nillcs, Trlpepi, Hol-
week, Mullan, and a hundred others.
Very worthy of notice is the rare
little work of Bogdanovitz, “Mag-
nalia Dei,” being a complete set of
excerpts from the writings of St.
Bernard, all that he ever wrote con
cerning the Blessed Virgin.
Two extremely rare “curiosa” are
the work of de Albericis (1599 on
the history of the Church of Santa
Maria del Popolo at Rome, and the
work of Belli, “Gloria Messanen-
(1647), being a literary ac-
sium”
count and defense of the famous
medieval relic known as the “Letter
of the Blessed Virgin to the People
of Messina in Sicily.”
The very rare work of Turrecre-
mata on the Immaculate Conception
(1547) is here, also that other
work of the converted Jew, Ci.
tian Meyer (Amsterdam 1723)
“The Virgin Birth of Christ.” Quite
a series of works is devoted to the
fine arts in the service of the Mo
ther of God, from Astolfi’s history
of her miraculous images (Rome,
1623) down to the writings of Bas-
quin, Hofpernot, Roliault de Fleurj
Kenelin Digby Best and Mrs. Me-
nell. Many anthologies of Mai
Poetry and liymnoiogy are fou
here, among them the exhaust
“Carmlna Mariana” of Orby Ship
The Litany of the Blessed Vir
the Magnifcat, the Rosary, her si
eral feasts, her medals and be
her many special devotions,
created an extensive litera
many of the best specimen?
which are found in this library
gctlier with a very large collect
of devotional booklets in sev
languages for May and October.
Bibilographies of Our
Mother, accounts of modern er
tions of Marian art, enrich
lection and help to modern t v
uses. One of its gems is
Donald Macleod’s “History
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
in North America,” now
rare. The libarary possesses
several complete sets of
magazines and reviews such
“Ave Maria,” the Spanish
Maria,” and others.
A REAL TRESSURE
Its chief treasure is the „
in thirteen quarto volumes
1866) of the Abbe’ Bourasse',
as the “Summa Aurea” or
Collection of all kinds of
on the Blessed Virgin| W
in the course of ecclesiastical
ligious history pertains to t
tues, veneration, intercess'
praises of Mary is found in’
traordinary work. Tjie
collected here, with infi
whatever is to be found
the Blessed Virgin in th
of the Church, in the utt
the Fathers of the Church,
cardinals, and bishops, of
and kings, of founders of
orders, of noble secular
saintly nuns. It contains tl:
Marian writers of the seve
and eighteenth centuries, als
ever is found concerning til
ed Virgin in the writings
Thomas. The work of Bou
an immense mine of Mar'
ledge and piety, and is
seen, though once broadc
the Migne editions, of v
bright gem.
It is hoped that this
library will rapidly
alone in English wc
choicest materials fr
Christian lauguuu,
ture in ever
i- ci-
and due
of booksj
crease
infere
gun
Sh
ti