MONARCH AND POPE

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 February 1940, Page 8

MONARCH AND POPE

ENTHUSIASM AT ROME - ROME-"December 28. Historic associations, never lacking in Rome, were strikingly felt to‘day when a triumphal welcome was accorded- to, Pope Pius _XII, ; _. oil./;his state visit to King Victor Emmanuel ■—the first visit of. a. Pope to an Ital!ian sovereign for 69 years. , . 1 In .spite of the overcast sky and intermittent rain, Papal,■; Italian \ and municipal -flags gave; the city a festive The.;;.balconies and , 'windgwsl of j every..' ; pala.ce; -and. housd ajiftjie; ~way.;fro.m the/Vatican to.fhe Quirinal were/hung- with ; tapestry.: and. flags- in, honourj;Of; the; EOpe’S: yisttil* I Early this; morning traffic;was:.stopped; along, the . route of. the Papal cortege;, and the. troops of the Rome garrison took up .their positions, with, colours ;atid bands. :<;! Artillery? ..detachments. had. their .guns with them.:■ - : -- /Outside the borders, of the Vatican City/the. Royal .mission,.headed, by the. King’s iprincipali:aides-de-camp,: wait? edlto es’cort the Papal cortege. On the newly opened avenue leading . to' -St. Peter’s/a stand: decorated, with'tapes 1 ?, try and the emblems of Rome - was provided for the - Governor, Prince Gian Giamoma Borgese, -who was- to welcome the Pope oh Italian territory;-

! The appearance of - the cortege in the square was delayed for a few minutes, because when theFope descended from his private-apartments and saw that a closed car had been provided for him he insisted on having it replaced hy an open one. - - ! “I am not afraid of the rain,” he said, “arid I want the people- to see me. Besides, I want to see them myself too.’”' ’, ‘ ‘ " ’TI ; The Pope wore his Pontifical robes, with a short cape of , red velvet lined With ermine and a cloth-of-gold stole. Over them he wore a red cloak, and a red hat. i .When the cortege of .18 cars reached St. Peter’s Square the *bells of the church pealed out. They were followed by those of Rome’s 400 churches. A salute of 101 guns was fired from the hill behind the Basilica. ■; The Pope was welcomed by the head df the Royal mission, which joined the cortege. When the stand of the Governor of Rome was reached it stopped and Prince “Burgese knelt In front of the car and delivered an address of welcome, homage and devotion.

The sight 'was' most impressive. The flags of the city wards surrounded the Governor’s stand; the city flunkeys, in red costumes and powdered wigs, stood around the car, and the band played the Papal Anthem. The cheering of the people drowned the bell-ringing. When the cortege reached the Quirinal’ Palace the King’s Master of Ceremonies assisted the Pope to alight from his car and a guard of honour composed of two battalions presented arms. . After blessing the guards the Pope, followed by his suite, proceeded up the royal stairway where the King, with the Prince of Piedmont, the Count of Turin and Dukes of Genoa, Pistoia and Pergamo, was waiting for him.

KING’S GREETING

The King attempted to kneel and kiss the Pope’s ring but, putting out both ariris, Pius XII. prevented him from doing so and afterwards gave his hand to be kissed by the Princes of the House of Savoy. The Queen and the Royal Princesses were waiting to receive the Pope at the head of the staircase, and they knelt to kiss the Pope’s ring. Members of the Royal bodyguard in steel breastplates and carrying drawn swords lined the stairs and later escorted the cortege of Pope and Sovereign to the Pauline Chapel, where the Pope and the King and Queen knelt in prayer. The relics of the saints of the House' of Savoy were exposed on the main altar. From the chapel they crossed several . .rooms of the palace, each ■of which was. filled with -ladies and gentlemen in waiting, court functionaries and aides-de-camp. In the throne room the Pope and the King and Queen remained in conversation for over half an hour.

. The Pope then came put and the presentation of the suite followed. The Pope was particularly cordial to Count Ciano, the Foreign Minister, who represented the Government. Before leaving the Pope made a remarkable speech. He said that in- the Quirinal Palace, which had almost replaced the' ancient Palatine in the new history of Rome, he wished, in the presence of the House of Savoy to express his deep gratification at the Christian spirit that distinguished the whole dynasty and at the happy conciliation between Chtirch and State. “The Tiber divides the Vatican' from the Quirinafe” the Pope, said, “but they are now united- by the ties of State and religion. The past is lost in the waters of the river and the sea and is. replaced by flourishing olive branches.” • He invoked God’s blessing on the Italian sovereigns, the princes,' the heads and members of the Government.

After his blessing the Popo left the Quirinal and. was accompanied to his car by the King and the Princes. He then returned to the Vatican.