Newspaper Page Text
1
4
SIX
THE BULLETIN OP THE CATHOLIC L
AYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FEBRUARY 29. 1936
J. Carroll Payne Describes
Audience With Leo XIII
Thirty-five years ago, Mr. and
Mrs. J. Carroll Payne of Atlanta
and their two daughters on a visit
to Rome were received in private
audience by the Holy Father,
Pope Leo XIII, then ninety-two
years of age and nearing the end
of his illustrious career; Mr. and
Mrs. Payne and their family were
accompanied by His Eminence,
Cardinal Gibbons, a warm friend
of the Payne family from the
days of his earliest priesthood,
who arranged for the audience
at a time when the Holy Father
because of his age had practi
cally ceased receiving any but of
ficial visitors.
Mr. Payne wrote an account of
the audience to his sister, Mrs.
C. C. Shriver, immediately after
ward; "the visit made a more
profound impression upon me
than any one incident in my life,'*
he wrote. The account as writ
ten to Mrs- Shriver was subse
quently extended and appeared in
the Atlanta Constitution; the fol
lowing account is taken from
Mr. Payne’s Reminiscences pub
lished for his children and grand-,
children; and published with the
permission of Mr. Payne given
only a short time before he was
stricken with his fatal illness.
ROME. May 25th, 1901.
After receiving this morning an in
vitation to be present at a special
audience to be given by the Holy
Father, we had a visit from Cardinal
Gibbons of Baltimore this afternoon.
He came for the purpose of telling
us, in person, that he had arranged,
by virtue of an exceptional favor,
for'a private audience. As you know
there is a very great difference be
tween the two; a special audience
means to be presented with a hun
dred or more others, at which, of
course, you have no opportunity to
do more than see the Pope and him
bless you as he is borne, or walks,
around the circle, of which you are a
part. A private audience means a
special introduction, a conversation
more or less brief, and a full oppor
tunity for actual, personal acquain
tance, during which special requests
may be made by each without re
serve.
You can imagine our delight when
Cardinal Gibbons, told us he had ar
ranged for us to be with him the
following day at this private audi
ence. The only persons present were
the Cardinal, his Secretary, his Cham
berlain, two priests from the Holy
Land (who went out before our au
dience began), my wife, the two girls
and myself. We did not even have
the Pope’s physician present—lie oc
cupied the outer room. Of course we
were dressed “de rigeur”, my wife
and I in full dress, though it was ten
o’clock in the morning. We were in
structed to meet the Cardinal at that
hour at the great bronze gate of St.
Peter’s, and we were there when his
carriage, blazing with its purple
livery, came driving up to the ren
dezvous.
O-
i-
THE VATICAN
-□
-□
It is impossible to make that jour
ney from this splendid bronze door
of the Vatican, up its stairways,
along its echoing halls, through its
magnificent reception rooms, finally
to the presence of the great spiritual
head of the Catholic Church, the
temporal ruler of three hundred
millions <jf Catholics, the viceregent
of God. without being thrilled with
emotion, and greatly impressed with
the overwhelming dignity of the po
sition and the grandeur of the set
ting. It matters not who the person
may be, what his creed, or how great
his bias, he will be impressed in
delibly he will be moved profound
ly by the overwhelming suggestive
ness of that place, the solemnity of
the atmosphere, the quiet dignity of
the surroundings. Any student re
members, as he looks about him, the
wonderful history of the papal
dynasty, which alone unites the two
great ages of human civilization, the
Pagan and the Christian. No other
living institution remains amidst
the mutation and wreck of time
which carries the mind back to that
when the smoke of sacrifice
fied by the immortal genius of
Raphael, the tender colors of whose
brush still live and charm, glowing
in the soft light with wonderful
freshness; still on we went, through
the vast hall of St. Clement, with its
vaulted roof, where the dominating
and splendid figures of Justice, Faith
and Mercy look down today with the
same mysterous beauty of expresson
whch characterzed them when fresh
from the creating hand of genius.
Through one splendid chamber after
another we passed among historic
tapestries and princely trappings of
former pontiffs, until we reached
the throne room.
The great golden throne under the
royal canopy was the gift of the
workingmen of Rome to Leo XIII—
above it the triple crown and the
golden bees. The tapestried walls of
this room were magnificent, repre
senting scenes from sacred history.
Here the Cardinal left us, he having
an interview' alone with His Holiness.
While we waited, the Pope’s cham
berlain came in, and kindly showed
us the Holy Father’s private chapel.
It was very small, only about four
teen by sixteen feet, exquisitely dec
orated with appropriate-frescoes with
a small altar and a priedieu where
the Pope kneels after Mass. The
light in this chapel comes through
two high windows entirely covered
with yellow silk, so that the general
effect is a golden haze, peculiarly
soft and effective, as the frescoes are
all in very rich colors-
THE HOLY FATHER
-a
Shortly after another chamberlain
came and called us to follow him into
the private apartment of the Pope,
i'nus finally we came to a small, un
pretentious room, dhd there behind
a,l this pomp and ceremony, this
grandeur and magniiicence, sat a
gentle old man, whom age had only
oeautified and sweetened. There sat
tne quiet Shepherd of all Christen
dom, and I knew I was face to face
with one greater than kings or
princes. In a chair of crimson and
gold he sat, upon his head the usual
lound cap of white moire silk upon
his thin white hand there tlasned
a priniant and beautiful emerald, it
was the iisherman s ring; the sign
of apostolic authority, tne evidence
of an unbroken line of descent
ihrougn ail the centuries from Peter,
lie was dressed entirely in white
iamb s wooi, except his slippers of
red, ornamented with a golden cross.
inis audience was a rare favor; ow
ing to the extreme age of the Holy
Faiher he has ceased giving private
audiences save upon excepuonal oc
casions. As we entered tne room,
tne iloiy father and Cardinal Gib-
oons were the only occupants, the
Cardinal standing on the Pope s right,
the room, lurmsned in crimson and
upholstered in c. imson and gold, was
iiooaed with a soit white light, as the
sun was screened by heavy white
sUk cuitains entirely covering each
window, thus rendering the light very
sott and agreeable to tne eye.
THE AUDIENCE
-Li
hung like a purple veil over the
Pantheon; when the policy of the
whole world was dictated from the
Forum, when to be a Roman citi
zen was greater than to be a king.
What pride of race and lineage can
equal that which goes back to the
dawn of history? The proudest and
oldest royal houses are but of a
night in mushroom growth when
compared with the unbroken line of
Supreme Pontiffs. We read where
Pepin was crowned by the Pope in
the eighth century, and the great
Napoleon in the nineteenth; but be
fore France was, the august dynasty
of papal rules dictated the policy of
the world. Unbroken and unchang
ed, it extends back until lost in the
tv/ilight of history—it saw the com
mencement of all governments now
extant, the birth of every existing
institution today in the world. Such
were the thoughts which came un
bidden to me as we walked in the
shadows of history which had been
made here.
D- □
THE PAPAL GUARDS
J. CARROLL PAYNE, K. S. G.
-□
To reach this sovereign of
a spiritual empire, whose subjects
dwell in every country, in every
clime, we first passed the well
known Papal Guards with their
gaudy and brilliant uniforms, then
on, through halls and corridors glori-
Afier the Cardinal's secretary and
chamberlain bad advanced, ana,
Knceiing, nad received tneir olessing,
they letired; then came the two
priests trom the floly Land; they in
their turn gave way to us and with
drew. IVly wife ana i advanced, with
the two children immediately behind
us. She looked exceedingly well,
with her black lace veil Upon her
head, and the children, in pure white,
were loveiy. They knelt just behind
us and we immediately at the knee
of the Pope. The Holy Father, as
our names. were given him by the
Cardinal, 'smiled at the children,
beckoned to them, and said in French,
"Come here’’ , So we formed then
a semi-circle about him, the Car
dinal on his light, my youngest
daughter next, then my wife, next
my other daughter—and I was upon
his left.
The Cardinal at once addressed His
Holiness in French, stating where we
were from, that my family had al
ways been Cathouc, that he had
known me and mine tor many years—
nence the liberty of asking to bring
us with him. The Holy Father spoke
to the children each in turn, asKing
sweet little questions, and insisting
that they answer tor themselves, and
twice interrupting answers made for
them. He took the little girl’s face
in his hands and slowly caressed her
cneeks, and turning, did the same
with her sister, saying softly in
French: "Sweet children, dear chil
dren, with souls like their dresses,
so pure, so white. I love children,
but I see them not", all the while
caressing them. The tenderness of
his touch, of manner, or voice can
not be described; the sweetness of his
expression, the paternal love and gen
tleness were overpowering and almost
moved us to tears.
He spoke to me, asked where At
lanta was, knew Savannah, where he
had a Bishop, and praised our coun
try, “so young and strong and full
ot life and courage.” I received his
blessing to take all my family. He
rested his hand for a moment on my
head, and I kissed his hand which
I had held for some seconds. Our
interview had lasted several min
utes, and my opportunity for seeing
him closely was most excellent. He
looked very feeble, physically, but
mentally was very alert; as he sat on
his chair his posture was one of age—
he was ninety-two—but his eye was
bright, his glance penetrating, his
speech animated, and he took much
interest in details, asking questions
of each one of—us. His face wore
a smile, which came -and went as the
topic of conversation changed.
No picture does him justice, for the
change of expression on his counte
nance cannot be caught by the pho
tographer. His hair, quite thin, fine
of texture and very white, surmounts
a high forehead; his eyes, sunken
but very bright, are black and pene
trating, noticing everything around
him; his mouth is large, lips thin,
mobile and full of color and expres
sion; a smile lighting up his face
shows his interest in what was being
said. His tenderness of expression
was most beautiful and touching, so
gentle, so kind, so loving in his man
ner that one is almost overcome by
it, especially when we remember the
natural disinclination of age to be
entertained by those who are strang
ers having nothing in common.
His face was without a wrinkle,
save for two heavy lines on either
side of the mouth extending from
nose to chin. His color was like
translucent marble, the flesh tint
looking as though illuminated. Noth
ing reminds me more of this color
than an alabaster vase of great value
shown us in the Baptistry, a church
where Constantine the Great was
baptized. To display the translucent
beauty of this vase, the guide lighted
a taper and place it behind this ala
baster urn—so does the face of
the Holy Father look when he smiles;
it is illuminated from within, which
makes it glow with tenderness, gen
tleness, beauty of soul and benevo
lence of the highest order.
His soul shines in his face, the light
streaming through its windows, his
eyes. As we withdrew I saw this
gentle, saintly man for the last time,
with that pathetic expression of aged
resignation upon his face, and
thought: Here is the head and front
of the Catholic Church; three hun
dred millions do him reverence, and
yet no child were more simple, more
unassuming. The curtain fell, the
audience was over, we stood once
more in the ante-room, and my mind
was crowded with impressions; but
above all stood forth the fact that
we had been face to face with the
most exalted personality of all mod
ern history. For many days I re
membered that gentle sweet face, the
broad form, the penetrating eyes and
the benediction bestowed in the shape
ot the sign of the cross, made by
those bloodless fingers on the pulsing
air above our heads.
We saw the ancient gardens of the
Vatican, plucked leaves from its
orange trees, and my little girl had
presented to her a bouquet of blos-
some gathered therein.
J. Carroll Payne, K. S. G., of
Atlanta Dies in Miami at 80
Noted Member of Georgia
Bar Was Business, Cul-
turel and Religious Leader
(Continued From Page One)
erty, K S G, Former Governor John
M. Slaton, J. L. Dickey, Thomas B.
Paine, Clark Howell, Sr., Frank
Hawkins, Dr. W. S. Elkin, Edgar P.
McBurney, Charles F. Stone, James
D. Robinson and Dr. John F. Denton;
active, John K. Ottley, William J.
Davis, Thomas K. Glenn, Victor L.
Smith, J. N. Goddard, Robert T.
Maddox, Albert Thornton and Dr. C.
W. Strickier. The Georgia Bar Asso
ciation, the Knights of Columbus and
the Atlanta Bar Association were rep
resented by honorary escorts.
V One year ago this month Mr. Payne
was made a Knight of St. Gregory
by the Holy Father at the - request of
the Most Rev. Michael J. Keyes, D.D.,
then Bishop of Savannah, in recogni
tion of his qualities of mind and
heart and of his generous services to
the Church; the honor of Knighthood
was conferred on Mr. Payne at a
ceremony at Sacred Heart Church
here by Bishop Keyes the day after
the closing of the convention of the
Catholic Press Association, the last
Sunday in May. the Very Rev. Ed
ward P. McGrath, S. M., then pastoi;
of Sacred Heart Church delivering
the sermon.
JAMES OWEN REILLY
DIES IN WILMINGTON
Former Grand Knight - of K.
of C. There Was Civic and
Business Leader in State
(Special to The Bulletin)
WILMINGTON, N .C.—James Owen
Reilly, one of the most widely known
laymen in North Carolina, formerly
grand knight of Wilmington Lodge of
Elks, organist of St. Mary’s Church
and of its predecessor, St. Thomas’,
died suddenly after a stroke early in
February Four years ago Mr. Reilly
suffered a similar stroke while play
ing the organ on Easter Sunday at St.
Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, but he had re
covered to a large extent and was
again active in business.
Mr. Payne was born at Warrenton,
Va., September 24, 1855, _ and was
eighty years old at the time of his
death, a member of pioneer Virginia
and Maryland families. On his pater
nal side, he is a descendant of Capt.
William Payne who recruited the
“Fairmount Blues” during the Revo
lution; on his mother’s side he is de
scended in direct line from Governor
Thomas Green, second governor of
Maryland, who came to America with
the Calverts in 1634.
Mr. Payne’s mother was Anne
America Semmes, andh is father Ma
jor Rice Winfield Payne; his father,
a leading member of the Virginia bar,
became a Catholic many years before
his death.
After receiving his collegiate train
ing from the Jesuit Fathers at
Georgetown University, Mr. Payne
entered the law school of the Univer
sity of Virginia, transferring after
one year to Tulane University, New
Orleans, where he received his de
gree in law. He then became associat
ed with his uncle, Hon. Thomas J.
Semmes, in the practice of law in
New Orleans. On November 25, 1885,
he was united in marriage to Miss
Helen Fairlie Hill, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs W. Rhode Hill, of Atlanta,
and henceforth made his home in this
city.
Mr. Reilly was bom in Wilmington,
July 12, 1879, the son of John William
and Catherine Scott Reilly, members
of families active in the development
of the Cape Fear section; his grand
father. Major James Reilly, command
er of the 10th North Carolina Regi
ment of the Confederacy, a hero of
the defense of Fort Fisher. Mr. Reil
ly was educated in St. Mary’s and
Miss Alderman’s Schools and Cape
Fear Academy, then entering the of
fice of his uncle, Major Daniel O’Con
nor who in 1869 had established his
real estate business. In 1903 he and the
late William A. Dick bought his un
cle’s business; since 1905 he conducted
his own real estate, insurance and
buildnig and loan business.
Until recent years no man in Wil
mington was more active in civic af
fairs than Mr. Reilly; in addition to
his service for the Knights of Colum
bus, the Elks, for whom he was also
trustee, district deputy an,d for 16
years, lodge secretary, for his parish,
he formerly headed the North Caro
lina Association of Insurance Agents,
the Wilmington Board of Fire Under
writers and the Wilmington “Feast of
Pirates” organization, was for four
teen years secretary of the James
Walker Memorial Hospital Board, and
was active in the Wilmington Light
Infantry and the Wilmington Glee
Club. He served with the Wilmington
Light Infantry during the Spanish-
American War.
Two years afterwards we visited
Rome again, and there I had the
privilege of meeting Pope Pius X;
Pope 'Leo XIII having died a few
months after our audience with him,
but the profound impression did not
return to me, although I had the
great favor of attending Mass in the
private chapel of the Pope, and my
family and myself receiving com
munion from his own hands.
My wife and daughters since then
have had the opportunity of meet
ing Pope Pius XI, from whom I have
received the honor of Knighthood.
Mr. Payne soon won recognition at
the bar and in business and financial
circles; he became active in numerous
business enterprises, in many of
which he is still interested, and is
regarded as one of the group of men
largely responsible for the develop
ment of Atlanta from a small com
munity of the ’80’s and ’90’s to its
present position as the metropolis of
the Southeast and the South. He was
an influential factor in the advance
of the cultural life of the city, state
and of the entire South, and for sev
eral years was president of the At
lanta Art Association, and of the High
Museum of Art; .the Chamber of
Commerce of Atlanta not long ago
presented him with its award for the
year's most distinguished service for
his achievements in the development
of art and interest in art in the South.
C.P.A. Issues Book
on Catholic Press
Mr. Reilly was married to Miss Min
nie Irene Smithers in 1906; Mrs. Reil
ly, their daughter, Mrs. Arthur Rol-
let, New York, two sisters, Mrs.
Wynd Doerner, Cumberland, Md., and
Mrs. Ledley B. Symmes, Wilmington,
and several nieces and nephews sur
vive. The funeral was held from St.
Mary’s Pro-Cathedral with a Requiem
Mass, the Rev. James P. Manley, pas
tor, officiating. Interment was in Oak
dale Cemetery.
The local press commended Mr.
Reilly editorially as an exemplary cit
izen, “typically Irish, a genial and
lovable business man and civic lead-
. devoted to his Church, profi
cient in his business and loyal to his
friends, the world was a better place
for having sheltered him, and his ac
quaintances better for having known
him.”
Georgia two decades ago
Joseph J. Quinn, Associa
tion’s President, Its Editor
CHICAGO—“Selected Thoughts of
the Catholic Press” has just made its
appearance, marking the first time
that a convenient popular reference
work on the Catholic Press in the
United States has been made avail
able to its friends in handbook form.
The work, a 32-page booklet, is
edited by Joseph J. Qumn, editor of
The Southwest Courier Oklahoma
City, and President of the Catholic
Press Association. A foreword by
Mr Quinn expresses indebtedness to
the Rev. Dr. Edward Lodge Curran,
Editor of Light and President of the
International Catholic Truth Society,
“for gathering and arranging much
of the material in this booklet. Ac-
knowledgment is also made of the
contributions of Dr. Thomas P. Hart,
Editor of The Catholic Telegraph,
Cincinnati; of Frank A. Hall, Ihrec
tor of the N. C. W. C. News Service,
and publisher of The Catholic Press
Directory, . ,, , , ,
Copies of the booklet have been
mailed to Bishop of the United
States and to the members of the
Catholic Press Association through
Mr Meier’s office at 64 West Ran
dolph Street in this city.
When Mr. Payne came to Atlanta
there was but one parish in the city,
Immaculate Conception, of which the
future Bishop Keiley was for years
pastor in Mr. Payne’s early days
here. When the growth of Atlanta
and of the number of Catholics war
ranted the founding of Sacred Heart
parish, Mr. Payne was in the front
ranks of those assisting the Marist
Fathers in the pioneer work of con
gregation. in which the future Bishop
Gunn of Natchez made such an envi
able record.
M". Payne was among the foremost
in the erecting of the church, the
building of the rectory, the establish
ing of Marist College, the providing
of the parish school and rectory and
in every other parish activity. His
interest and assistance spread far be
yond the confines of his parish. St.
Joseph’s Infirmary, other parishes,
the orphans, Diocesan movements and
numerous Catholic activities of a
general nature have had his generous
assistance. He was one of the most
liberal contributors to the work of
the Catholic Laymen’s Association
throughout its entire period of exist
ence. His benefactions were accom
plished quietly and as privately as
possible, without letting the right
hand know what the left is doing.
The poor especially have been the
recipients of his bounty.
Mr. Payne’s devotion to his broth
er, Father William Gaston Payne of
the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who
died nearly two years ago after a
prolonged illness, was characteristic,
ilr. Payne was particularly known
for his rectitude of life, in which he
reflected the teaching of the Church
in his daily contacts with his profes
sional and business associates. The
example of men like Mr. Payne, in
high position and in the more hum
ble walks of lfe, did more than any
thing else to make the people of At
lanta realize the absurdity of the anti-
Catholic propaganda so prevalent in
St. Leo College Prep.
School
Accredited High School
Conducted by the Benedictine
Fathers
Ideal Location
SL Leo Pasco County, Florida.
'/The year 1935 was a most memor-
abe one in Mr. Payne’s life. It mark
ed the fiftieth anniversary of his mar
riage to Mrs. Payne, who survives
him, the fiftieth year of his coming
to Atlanta, the fiftieth year of his
practice as a member of the Georgia
Bar, the eightieth year of his life, and
the year of his appointment as a
Knight of St. Gregory by the Holy
Fatner and of his investiture as a Pa
pal Knight by Bishop Keyes. All the
Atlanta newspapers paid extended ed
itorial tribute to him, recalling his
contributions particularly to he cul
tural life of the city and state
through the Atlanta Art Association,
which acquired its present home dur
ing his presdency, to the professional
and business life through his prac
tice of law and leading part in en
terprises which developed Atlanta,
and to the religious life through his
devotion and assistance to things
Catholic.
Surviving Mr. Payne in addition to
Mrs. Payne are two daughters, Mrs.
Alex T Smith, Jr., and Mrs. Charles
T. Hopkins, Jr., eleven grandchildren,
and two great-grandchildren. His
grandchildren are Mrs. G. F. Willis,
Jr., Mrs. William Clarke, Miss Emily
Smith, Alex Smith, III, and Carroll
Payne and Joan Payne Smith, twins,
the sons and daughters of Mr. and
Mrs. Alex T. Smith, Jr., and Carroll
Payne Hopkins, Elizabeth Hopkins,
Helen Hill Hopkins, Charles T. Hop
kins, Jr., and Virginia Hopkins, sons
and daughters of Mr. and Mrs.
Charles T. Hopkins. The great
grandchildren are Charlotte and Hel
en Hill Willis, daughters of Mr. and
Mrs. G. F. Willis, Jr.