THE POPE GIVES AUDIENCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 March 1934, Page 12

THE POPE GIVES AUDIENCE

MAN OF MANY ANXIETIES.

Grace Ellison writes in the London “Daily Telegraph”:— Since my childhood the Vatican has always had a particular fascination for me, partly, no doubt, because my early education was in complete opposition to everything connected with it. In my student days , I listened with enthusiasm to the accounts of friends who had attended the brilliant ceremonies at St. Peter’s, and had audiences of the Pope. I met nuns and priests who, before starting their sacred calling, had gone as a matter of faith and duty to visit then 1 spiritual Chief. I met rulers and high functionaries who went to pay homage to the Sovereign Pontiff; sick people who visited the Pope in thankfulness for a recovery after a serious illness. Then there were the pilgrims, who came, as they are doing this year, from the other end of the earth to obtain a Papal blessing. Last, but not least, I met many brides — (this year the Italian . Government presents them with their fare) —who considered that the Papal audience was the best possible start in their new life.

Thus an audience of the Pope becomes an act of faith, duty, homage, thankfulness —curiosity, perhaps, with some. And after all it is as. natural for any practising Catholic to visit the Pope it is for Childre nto go to their parents. My own audiences of the Pope are so different from those of other people that it is difficult to class them. My first meeting with the present Pope Pius XI. will aways be t me a deep and lasting memory. It was in 1922. I was en route for Angora, waiting in Rome till some way could be found for me to slip over to Smyrna. ' The journey was not easy, and in those dreadful days travellers, like boats, were few and far between. My luggage, registered from Paris to Rome, had been opened en route, and my fur coat and warm clothes extracted.and replaced by stones. This abominable practice has ceased entirely since the advent of Mussolini to power.

To cross a country like Asia. Minor in mid-winter, and to sleep in a temperature well below zero, was not an easy feat. I had therefore to supply myself with extra faith and courage, so I asked for an audience with the Pope. Although I came with a letter from the late Cardinal Cerretti to the Cardinal Secretary of State, I did not for a moment imagine I could be of any interest to his Holiness, except as one member of a. large crowd. On the contrary, the Pope expressed a desire io see the Englishwoman who was going to Angora all alone, when England seemed on the brink of breaking off relations with Turkey. Why was I going? How was it possible that the Turks would allow me, not only to go to Angora, but to see tho Ghazi? I had to explain that my interest in Turkey did not date from 1922.

Ten yeasr earlier I had gone out to help the Turkish women organise a feminist movement, and my articles, published in “The Daily Telegraph,” were translated into Moslem languages, and made me a friend of the Moslems. I knew that wherever there were Moslems I was safe, so that my journey to Angora was not as reckless as might have been supposed. Even in the days of Turkish misrule the Turks had always been my friends.

I had been through one war, and hoped never to see another.

The Pope was intensely interested in all I could tell him, particularly as he had a message to send to Ghazi Mustapha Kemal, which he entrusted to me. He was much relieved that a Christian woman was undertaking this journey, and did not attempt to conceal his.anxiety for the Christians left, at the mercy of the Turks should trouble break out. WHEN WAR DIVIDES. The Pope’s anxiety, in spite of his faith, was a great revelation to me. and showed me something' of the terrible position in which a Pope must stand when his “children” of many races go to war. At such times he is no longer an Italian, but the Father of Christendom. Day and night he is haunted by thei horror of knowing that one Christian l nation is fighting another, and he must seek some way of stopping it. But what can he do? The terrible strain of this situation killed Benedict XV. The Germans accused him of being pro-Ally, and we accused him of being pro-German, whilst the truth was he was just Pope. 1 said to myself at this audience of the year 1922: If a Pope is as deeply moved as is Pius XI. at the thought of Christians and Moslems possibly coming into conflict, what must it be for a Pope when Christian nations go to war with one another!

The Pope received me in what appeared to be the last of the nine rooms. I passed by room after room, crowded with congregations of nuns and priests and pilgrims, all waiting for the Holy Father’s blessing, until I came to the fifth room. This is the ante-camera, and there I waited, until I was taken by courteous chamberlains to other rooms, and finally by the Papal Master of Ceremonies into the presence. The Pope was clad in a simple white soutane. He wore a thick gold chain and a. large cross attached to the third button of his soutane. His red leather shoes were embroidered with gold. A simple, dignified figure he looked; I recall that. I preferred him in this dress rather than in all his Papa] magnificence. The Pope, in spite of his strenuous life, and particularly in this present jubilee year, looks much younger than his age. Unless one knew, one would scarcely believe he was 78. He has particularly beautiful hands and his ring is a sapphire surrounded by diamonds. If only he could wear the Fisherman’s Ring! He is of medium height, not too stout, has a clear voice and speaks the cultured, simple Italian that is easy for foreigners to understand, but what strikes one most are his particularly intelligent and kind eyes. He has a deep affection for England, which he visited before he became Pope, and knows well, and it was with emotion that he welcomed the forty-ninth pilgrimage from England since the beginning of the Holy Year.

In sptie of the Pope’s 'superhuman energy, he says it is the prayers of his “children” which keep him going. He rises at five and retires very late, and he must be, although he never owns it, very tired. There is no chance of his ever resting. Imagine what the strain must be upon a Pope to pontificate at many ceremonies with the eyes of the world upon him, and when time serves is receiving Cardinals and Archbishops and exalted personages from all over the world almost all day long. , > Then there is also the business of the Vatican which needs attention, and

which he always must direct, with the help of the Cardinal Secretary of State. TOUCH WITH MODERN LIFE. As an international figure the Pope is very keenly interested in all international questions. His entourage tell me that he has a tendency to prolong audineces that interest him, whereas they would prefer to see him have his meal. He keeps in touch with all modern thought. He is a strong Head of the Church. Everything connected with the Vatican is interesting, for even so small an item as the removing of one’s, gloves is symbolic. It is a reminder of the days when Popes’ lives were threatened by people with daggers in their gloves. The Vatican authorities are very careful about the dress of an audience. In spite of the little design they send you, showing you how to wear your veil and the necessary length of your black dress, and your- obligation to wear a high neck and long sleeves, a sister comes to inspect you, and if you show your neck or arms or indulge in scent or conspicuous make-up,) she sends you back.

It seems incredible that people cannot; follow the rules on these occasions. I never mind waiting in the Vatican, for there is always so much to see — tapestries, frescoes, priceless gifts from all over the world, and there is an atmosphere which is unique and inI have seen the Holy Father at his own private Mass, to which it is a great honour to be invited; I have seen him pontificate at a High Mass; at a Canonisation and a Beatification. I have talked Euorpean politics with the Pope; I have seen him busily working at the foundations for the new Vatican City; I have seen him now receiving his “children” from all over the world, counting his forces and measuring their strength for the titanic struggle which has to be waged between Rome and Moscow. One hour spent with the pilgrims brings convincing evidence of what a vast organisation and world force the Vatican is. But I always think of the Pope as I saw him on the first occasion, ordering the prayers to be doubled for the safety of his “children.