Memories of Pope
Pius X
By

CARDINAL MERRY DEL VAL

Forewords by

CARDINAL HINSLEY
ARCHBISHOP OF WESTMINSTER

and
CARDINAL HAYES
LATE ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK

THE NEWMAN PRESS
Westminster, Maryland

1951

Property of the

LITURGY

PROGRAM

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

First Published 1939
Re printed by The Newman Press 1951

. COLLEGE
P. X UBRARV

M -" 4

NIHIL· OBSTAT :
Ernestus Messenger, Ph.D.,

Censor deputatus.

I

IMPRIMATUR:

J

E. Morrogh Bernard,
Vic. Gen.

'
iI
!, I

Westmonasterii,
die esa Junii Z939.

All rights reserved

1

CONTENTS
PAGE

Foreword

H.E. Cardinal Hinsley.

by

Foreword by H.E. Cardinal Hayes

I.

II.

III.

IV.
V.

VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.

X.

XI.
XII.

vii

.

ix

Editor’s Note

......

xv

Introductory

......

xvii

My

First Meeting with H.E. Cardinal
Sarto .......

My First Audience with Pius X

.

i

.

4

Pius X and his First Reception of the
Diplomatic Corps
....

Impressions
Pius X

8

Statesmen
concerning
......

13

My Nomination as Cardinal Secretary of
State .......

15

of

Pius X and the Great War
Characteristics of Pius X .

.

.

19

.

.

33

His Learning and Eloquence

.

35

Pius X and the Arts .....

43

Pius X and Music

.....

50

......

54

His Charity

The New Code

XIII.

His Humility

XIV.

Last Illness

XV.

.

.

of

Death

.

...

...

.

and

His Relatives

Canon Law

.

.

.63

....

......
v

58

70

77

FOREWORD
BY

CARDINAL HINSLEY
Archbishop of Westminster

In simple sincerity a man of God tells of his intimate
knowledge of another man of God, as St. Bonaventure
wrote of St. Francis of Assisi. The greatness of both
as men of high estate, spiritual and temporal, is
hidden in the simplicity of the one and of the other.
A Secretary of State looks at the Vicar of Christ
through the eyes of his admiring affection for his
saintly master. Cardinal Merry del Vai serves and
imitates Pius X.
This little book of personal memories will charm
and attract all who read it. The devotion and love
of the aristocratic secretary reflect the qualities of
the humble peasant who was raised to the highest
dignity on earth ; the two became united in the
service and following of their Divine Master.
Outwardly they were contrasted : their inward
spirit became more and more identified. The simple
epitaph on the tomb of Cardinal Merry del Vai in
the Crypt of St. Peter’s explains the bond of their
supernatural intimacy :

Da mihi animas caetera tolle.

vii

FOREWORD
BY

CARDINAL HAYES
Late Archbishop of New York
The paternal and saintly figure of Pope Pius X, of
blessed memory, looks out appealingly from these
pages as if his soul would continue his remarkable
influence on the children of men. No pen other than
that of his devoted Secretary of State, the late
lamented Cardinal Merry del Vai, could present
with such intimate knowledge the captivating per­
sonality of him who as Vicar of Christ left so inefface­
able an impression on his time.
The Pontiff was above all a supreme pastor of souls.
His entire being breathed a burning zeal and allconsuming love of the universal flock committed to
his care by Christ. Especially was he devoted to
children at the Communion Table and in the cate­
chism class. This was impressively illustrated in the
Decree on Frequent Communion, and Communion
to children of tender age. His memory will remain
endeared to the little ones of our day as well as
of centuries yet unborn. The Chief Shepherd of
Christendom boldly changed a fixed discipline of
the Church when he opened the Tabernacle to un­
cover the Ciborium that Christ’s innocent children
might come unto Him in the Eucharist and partake
of the Bread of Angels.
So absorbed was His Holiness in the exercise of the
pastoral office that his humility, simplicity, and
kindliness became dominant in a radiant splendour
ix

X

FOREWORD

which somewhat obscured other stirring, outstanding
endowments of his wonderful character that were less
present to the popular mind.
In a recent life of Cardinal Merry del Vai by
Monsignor Cenci, one of the photographs of Pius X
represents the Pontiff at his desk. It is significant
that alongside the Crucifix is seen a statue of
St. John Baptist Vianney, Curé d’Ars, the simple
parish priest who evidently was a beloved patron of
the Holy Father. Rather one might look for the
image of a great apostle, an outstanding doctor of the
Church, or some illustrious pontiff.
It may be remarked here that the yearning ambition
of Cardinal Merry del Vai was not to serve in a
diplomatic career or exalted office in the Church.
His ardent prayer was that God would give him souls
and cast his life as parish priest among the poor.
This spirit with regard to the pastoral ministry was
one that made the Pope and his secretary closely
akin.
The affectionate attachment of Pius X to his gifted
secretary sets a notable value on the short sketches
of the Holy Father herein written by the Cardinal,
who proved to be to the Pontiff a most devoted
son, an indefatigable servant, and an eminently
understanding co-worker. Of the secretary, the
Vicar of Christ did say that he 4 did not know how
to thank God sufficiently for the priceless gift of his
co-labourer.’
The Cardinal within the covers of this small volume
unveils a portrait of Pius X that more completely
presents the full figure of the Pontiff than the preva­
lent idea of him held by the faithful.
The Pope had a very large, broad and comprehen­
sive ideal of the pastoral office of the Vicar of Christ.
His apostolic spirit endowed him with a searching
vision that enabled him to see, understand and

FOREWORD

xi

appreciate the world over which he ruled, at its proper
estimate with regard to faith and morals. His mind
was keenly alert to detect error in its first manifesta­
tion, and his heart was courageous to act promptly.
Truly, Pius was a vigilant watchman in the citadel
of Divine Truth. His vigorous and successful attack
on Modernism bears testimony to this historic
fact.
A rare quality of exalted leadership was inborn
in Pius X as his remarkable pontificate reveals.
His Holiness would have manifested in civil govern­
ment a most impressive statesmanship had he been
called to a secular career. He made an abiding,
monumental contribution to ecclesiastical legislation
in the codification of canon law. It is not easily
realized that the present compact volume, containing
the body of law for the Latin Church, is a practical
epitome of centuries of legislative action of popes,
councils and synods, presented with such marvellous
clarity of exposition and simplicity of arrangement
that the Code is made available for the humblest
parish priest. This work alone is sufficient to place
the Pontiff among the great popes of history.
Pius X was ever occupied with a variety of abiding
interests and practices of Holy Church because of
an all-consuming zeal. He showed exceptional
solicitude for higher biblical studies to offset the
destructive criticism of Sacred Scripture by scholars
outside the faith. With regard to Divine Worship,
he reformed the Roman Breviary and restored to the
Liturgy the venerable sacred chant of the Church.
Rare was the cultural side of the Pontiff. * He
loved beautiful things.’
Architecture, painting,
music and even the art of making Venetian lace
appealed to his delicate sense of beauty.
The Cardinal’s testimony corroborates what we
know from many other sources of the inspiring and

xii

FOREWORD

lasting impression Pius made in his public utterances
and during liturgical functions. No uncommon
occurrence was it that those privileged to see or
hear him were moved to their very soul by the mani­
fest all-embracing affection of the Universal Father
of Christendom, the humility and simplicity of the
common shepherd of the faithful the world over,
and the unction of his apostolic heart stirred by the
Holy Spirit. I personally in audience witnessed a
prominent American official, a non-Catholic, in
tears as he knelt for the blessing of the Holy Father.
An aura of spiritual majesty surrounded this great,
noble, but humble Vicar of Christ. To the majesty
of this humility the Cardinal beautifully calls atten­
tion by stating that it had become to Pius a second
nature. 4 Ubi humilitas, ibi majestas
*
(St. Augustine.)
The spirit of poverty was closely united in the
Pontiff with humility and simplicity. The climax
of the Cardinal's tribute herein set forth, it seems to
me, is the reference to the Last Will and Testament
of Pius, who wrote : 4 Born poor, having lived poor,
and certain to die poor/
An American gentleman asked the Cardinal on one
occasion the reason of the apparent delay with regard
to the beatification of Pius X, since by almost uni­
versal acclaim among the faithful he was held to be
a saint. Moreover, the canonization of the Little
Flower within a comparatively short period was cited
to justify a speedy process for the holy Pontiff.
His Eminence replied that it was not difficult to
canonize a child entering Carmel at a tender age and
observing cloister for the rest of her life, but it was
no easy matter for the Church to raise to sainthood
one who had lived to his eightieth year. His long life,
holy though it was, demands a searching scrutiny
of every thought, word and deed over three-quarters
of a century. The fact that as Vicar of Christ he

FOREWORD

xiii

had the burden of terrifying responsibilities makes
the investigation all the more imperative.
May the year of the Lord in the Providence of
God soon arrive that will give glory to God in the
highest and joy unbounded to the faithful on earth
by reason of the canonization of Pope Pius X !
This brief review of the Cardinal’s tribute to the
Pontiff may be happily concluded by referring to His
Eminence’s own tender piety and saintliness of life.
To those privileged to observe the Cardinal closely,
the very humility of Pius was mirrored in his secre­
tary. The exalted office the latter occupied with
such rare distinction, served to emphasize the lowli­
ness of his devout soul with regard to personal
evaluation of the invaluable service he rendered the
Church.
Is it too presumptuous to pray and hope that the
beloved secretary of Pope Pius X may have been
inspired so spiritually under the influence of Christ's
Vicar that one day not far distant another St. Raphael
may be raised to the Altars of the Church !

EDITOR'S NOTE
*
The publication of the Memories of Pope Pius X in
this year, the tenth anniversary of the death of ILE.
Cardinal Merry del Vai, is due to the kindness of
H.E. Cardinal Nicola Canali, who was the close
friend of the saintly Cardinal for thirty years, and
was named as his executor in his will. He carefully
treasured all the manuscripts of the dead Cardinal,
among them these Memories. In response to many
requests from distinguished admirers of Cardinal
Merry del Vai in England and America he has now
given his kind permission for their publication.
Our thanks are also due to H.E. Cardinal Hinsley
for the foreword to this little volume. His friendship
with Cardinal Merry del Vai dates from his seminary
days at Ushaw, and continued until the day of the
Cardinal’s death. At that time Cardinal Merry del
Vai was Cardinal protector of the Venerable English
College, Rome, of which Monsignor Hinsley was
Rector.
The foreword of H.E. Cardinal Hayes was written
some time before his death for a future American
edition of the Memories. It is added here because of
its great interest. The venerated Cardinal Arch­
bishop of New York, the * Cardinal of Charity ’ to
his American children, testifies to his devotion to the
Pope of charity, Pius X, and to that other 4 Cardinal
of Charity,’ his great namesake, Raphael Cardinal
Merry del Vai.
The editor is responsible for the English translation
of the article from the Revue Pratique d’Apologétique
on page 25 and of the extract from the Lettre Pastorale
of Cardinal Mercier on page 27.
j; p. q
*Written in 1939, when Memories of Pope Pius X was first
published,
XV

INTRODUCTORY
In 1905 Monsignor Marchesan published a life of
His Holiness Pius X, extending from his birth and
early years up to the time of his election as Sovereign
Pontiff.1 With abundant material at his disposal,
and in constant touch with all those who had known
Giuseppe Sarto from his youth and later on when he
became a priest, Bishop of Mantua and Cardinal
Patriarch of Venice, Monsignor Marchesan has
compiled a remarkable history which, I fancy, it
will be difficult to surpass in accuracy and complete­
ness. Since then, in 1918, F. A. Forbes has given
us a brief life of Pius X, written with the ability and
charm which distinguish the author of The Standardbearers of the Faith.2
A real history of the pontificate of the late Holy
Father has still to appear and I presume that most
people will agree that it is too early in the day and
hardly possible to attempt the task at present.
The following sketches, for they do not claim to
be more than that, may be of interest to those, and
they are many, who venerate the memory of the great
and saintly Pontiff. I have been persuaded to publish
them by friends who have assured me that I can do
so without indiscretion. They narrate simple facts
that I am able to vouch for, and I have carefully
refrained from going beyond the limits of personal
reminiscences.
1 Papa Pio X nella sua Vita e nella sua Parola. Studio storico
del suo vecchio allievo, il sac. Dott. Angelo Marchesan. hsenziger,
Einsiedeln, 1905.
_
.
2 Life of Piiè X, by F. A. Forbes. Burns Oates & Washbourne
Ltd., London, 1918.
B
xvii

,â

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
I
MY FIRST MEETING WITH H.E. CARDINAL
SARTO

Strange it may seem, but it is nevertheless a fact,
that I had not met His Eminence Cardinal Sarto
before the end of July, 1903, when the Sacred College
assembled in Conclave after the death of His Holiness
Pope Leo XÎII. I knew every other cardinal present
then in Rome, by sight at all events, and I could
recognize each one. During the eight years I had
spent in the Vatican in attendance on Leo XIII, I
had frequent occasions of approaching nearly all the
members of the Sacred College, but somehow or
other I had always missed Cardinal Sarto. It was on
Monday, August 3, 1903, that I enjoyed the privilege
of speaking to him for the first time.
The day before had witnessed the odious4 veto ’ raised
by Austrian politicians against Cardinal Rampolla.
It is my certain conviction that the latter would
have never been elected in any case, for the majority
of the electors was firmly intent upon choosing some
other candidate. But he ran a good chance of obtain­
ing the necessary votes precisely when the great
indignation aroused by the act of Cardinal Puszyna
in the name of the Emperor of Austria produced a
reaction of sentiment and an impulse to protest
at any cost in defence of the liberty of the Conclave
and of the rights of Holy Church.
I

2

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

The Cardinal Dean, Oreglia di Santo Stefano, on
the morning of Monday, August 3, immediately
after the first session in the Sixtine Chapel, spoke
to me very seriously and at length of his increasing
anxiety regarding the election. There seemed to be
no chance, he said, of a prompt issue if Cardinal
Sarto, whose votes had steadily increased, continued
in his attitude of resistance and were absolutely to
refuse his acceptance of the Papacy. His Eminence
felt bound in conscience not to allow things to drag
on indefinitely and he therefore bid me wait upon
Cardinal Sarto and convey the following message.
I was to ask him in the name of the Cardinal Dean
whether he persisted in his opposition to his election
and whether he wished and authorized His Eminence
to make a final and public declaration to that effect
before the assembled Conclave, during the afternoon
meeting ; if so the Cardinal Dean would call upon
his colleagues to consider the advisability of selecting
some other candidate.
Accordingly I went in quest of Cardinal Sarto. I
was informed that he was not in his room and that
probably I should find him in the Cappella Paolina,
whither I hastened to carry out my orders.
It must have been about midday when I stepped
into the dark and silent chapel. The lamp before the
Blessed Sacrament burned brightly and there were
candles lighted high above the altar, on either side of
the picture of our Lady of Good Counsel. I noticed a
cardinal kneeling on the marble floor in prayer before
the tabernacle, at some distance from the communion
rail, his head in his hands, with his elbows resting on
one of the low wooden benches, and I do not recall
the presence of anybody else in the chapel at that
moment. It was Cardinal Sarto. I knelt down
beside him and addressing him in a whisper I secured
his attention and delivered my message.

>î«ÎBK Kfe".

MY FIRST MEETING

3

His Eminence raised his head and slowly turned his
face towards me as he listened to the question I
laid before him. Tears were streaming from his
eyes and I almost held my breath awaiting his reply.
4 Si, si, Monsignore,' he gently answered, 4 dica al
Cardinale che mi faccia questa carità.’ (Yes, yes,
Monsignor, tell the Cardinal to do me this act of
charity.) He seemed to be echoing the words of his
Divine Master in Gethsemani : 4 Transeat a me
calix iste.’ The 4 fiat ’ was still to come. The only
words that I found strength to utter in reply and which
rose to my lips as if dictated by another, were :
4 Eminenza, si faccia coraggio, il Signore Vaiuterà.'
(Eminence, take courage, our Lord will help you).
The Cardinal looked fixedly at me with that deep
gaze of his which I learnt to know so well ; 4 Grazie,
grazief he repeated, and that was all he said.
Once more he buried his face in his hands to resume
his prayer and I left him. Never shall I forget the
impression produced upon me by this first meeting
and by the sight of such intense anguish. It was the
first occasion on which I had come in contact with
His Eminence and I felt that I had been in the
presence of a saint.
A few hours later and before the Dean could carry
out his request, Cardinal Sarto gave way in presence
of the urgent and persistent appeals made to him by
many members of the Sacred College to desist in his
opposition, and after the evening session it was
manifest to all that he would be elected on the morrow
by a large majority.

II

MY FIRST AUDIENCE WITH PIUS X

The Conclave was over. After paying homage to
the newly elected Pontiff according to the established
ceremonial, the Cardinals had left the Vatican to
return to their residences in various parts of the
city, and during the last hours of that memorable
day I sat at my table in the * Sala Borgia,’ sorting
papers and despatching urgent business which it
was incumbent upon me to finish before going
home.
When the Pope was elected that morning of
August 4 I had accompanied him from his place in
the Sixtine Chapel to a little room on the gospel
side of the altar, where he donned the white cassock
and where I had the privilege of placing the white
zucchetto on his head. He then proceeded to take
his place on the chair in front of the high altar,
and the Cardinals went up in turn to bow in obeisance
to the newly elected Pope in the customary way.
In the interval the senior cardinal deacon, Cardinal
Macchi, had left the Sixtine Chapel to go and pro­
claim the election of His Holiness from the balcony
overlooking the great Piazza of St. Peter.
Immediately afterwards it is usual for the Pope to
give his first solemn blessing urbi et orbi, and the
Master of Ceremonies, Mgr Riggi, asked him
whether he intended doing so from the loggia within
the Basilica or from the one outside facing the city.
Whereupon the Holy Father turned to me and
inquired what the opinion was in that respect of the
Sacred College. By order of the Cardinal Dean, to
4

MY FIRST AUDIENCE WITH PIUS X

5

whom I communicated the Pope's question, I in­
formed His Holiness that the College of Cardinals
had discussed the matter before the Conclave in a
meeting at which he had not been present, and whilst
expressing the view that the Papal Blessing should
be given within the precincts of the Basilica, following
in this the example of Leo XIII, they did not wish
to curtail His Holiness’ freedom and left the decision
to him. * I shall be guided by the judgement of the
Sacred College,’ was the Pope's answer. Upon my
asking him whether he wished to proceed at once to
St. Peter’s for that purpose or would prefer to leave
it for later on in the day, he replied that it was in­
different to him and that he would do whatever
appeared most suitable. I ventured to express the
opinion that perhaps it would be better not to put off
the ceremony and he acted accordingly.
When the blessing was over the Holy Father
announced his intention of paying a visit to the aged
Cardinal Herrero who, owing to illness, had not been
able to assist at the election, and we accompanied His
Holiness to the Cardinal’s room on the way to his own
apartment.
But it was not until the evening that I saw him
privately and, as I then thought, to take leave. For
my task as Secretary to the Sacred College in Con­
clave had come to an end and there only remained
my last duty that night of presenting for the Pope's
signature the letters addressed to the Sovereigns
and heads of States to announce officially his election.
I went up to his private room on the third floor, the
one he had occupied during the Conclave, as the clock
in the court of St. Damasus struck half-past eight,
and I found the Holy Father sitting at his table
reading his Breviary. I thoroughly realized how
weary he must have been after that long and eventful
day and I was loath to trouble him. He welcomed

6
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
me with a smile and when I knelt to kiss his hand
I begged him to excuse my adding to his fatigue.
I was well aware, I said, how tired he must be feeling,
nor should I have ventured to intrude except for the
necessity of despatching these official letters without
delay. ‘ Ma si, si, Monsignore,f he replied in his
gentle voice, * e Lei forse non è stanco ? Ho veduto
quanto ha fatigato in questi giorni ' (Why yes, yes,
Monsignor : and are you not tired ? I have seen
how much you have worked during these days.)
This unexpected answer revealed to me a charac­
teristic feature of his which I often noticed in after
years. It seemed incredible, especially in such over­
whelming circumstances, that the Holy Father should
so forget himself and stop to contrast his position
and fatigue with mine, all the more so that I had
only done what others would have done under similar
conditions. But this was precisely one of the most
attractive sides of his nature ; he constantly thought
of others, very rarely or at all of himself.
He then asked me to show him how he should
sign, and on a slip of paper before him he wrote out
a sample of his first signature as Pope : Pius P.P.X.
When he had passed all the letters I gathered them
up and begged for his blessing, for I was about to
return home to my little community at the Accademia
Ecclesiastica. The Holy Father made a slight gesture
of surprise, apparently startled by my few words,
and resting his hand on my shoulder, he said almost
reproachfully : 4 Monsignor, do you want to abandon
me ? No, no, stay, stay. I have decided nothing yet.
I don’t know what I shall do. For the present I
have no one. Remain with me as Pro-Secretary of
State : later we will see.’ How could I withstand
an appeal of such tenderness coming from the Vicar
of Christ ? I could but bow to what appeared to be
almost an invitation from our Lord Himself. His

MY FIRST AUDIENCE WITH PIUS X 7
Holiness bid me take courage and blessed me, adding
that he would expect to see me the next morning.
Such was my first private interview with Pius X
on the day of his election and the first of those daily
audiences which I was privileged to enjoy for eleven
years.
On returning to my room I met Monsignor Della
Chiesa, who was particularly eager to see the Pope's
signature and pointed out its resemblance to that
of Pius IX. How far he must have been then
from imagining that the next Pontiff to sign similar
documents would be himself as Benedict XV !

ni
PIUS X AND HIS FIRST RECEPTION
OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS
Almost immediately after his election the Holy
Father had to receive the Diplomatic Corps, and the
senior member or Dean, Monsieur d'Antas, the
Portuguese Ambassador, applied for the audience.
In view of the excessive heat, in order to spare His
Holiness unnecessary fatigue and also to meet the
convenience of the Envoys who were anxious to
leave Rome for their usual holiday, it was decided to
hold a general reception. Monsieur d’Antas under­
took to read a short address on behalf of his colleagues,
offering homage to His Holiness in the name of
their respective Sovereigns and Governments. The
audience was fixed accordingly for August 6.
On that morning at eleven o’clock the Ambassadors
and Ministers arrived at the Vatican in full uniform,
accompanied by their staffs of secretaries and attachés.
One of the latter confided to me later that as they
ascended the great staircase in groups, several of
them expressed the curiosity they felt regarding the
manner in which the new Pontiff was likely to meet
them. The undertaking would prove an ordeal for
him, no doubt, they said ; he would be embarrassed,
unaccustomed as he must be to the display of a court
ceremony ; unlike his illustrious predecessor Leo
XIII, this new Pontiff was of humble birth and reports
had described him as pre-eminently a country
priest. This forecast reminded me of the words of
Nathanael : 4 Can any thing of good come from
Nazareth ? Philip saith to him : Come and see.’
8

RECEPTION OF DIPLOMATIC CORPS

9
I was not present at the reception, for I had no
place there ; and I was at work in the * Sala Borgia ’
when my chaplain came to inform me that the
Diplomatic Corps intended calling on me as the Pro­
Secretary of State immediately after the audience
with His Holiness. The vast Borgia rooms afforded
ample facilities for even a much larger gathering,
and I quickly prepared to welcome my visitors.
They all arrived shortly afterwards in brilliant,
array. The Envoys sat round in a semi-circle and
their secretaries stood behind them.
After the first words of mutual greeting there
followed a silence and I noticed that they all looked
somewhat grave. Conversation drifted on labori­
ously. I asked them whether they were pleased with
their audience, whether His Holiness had addressed
them, and the like. The replies came almost in
monosyllables. Yes, they were very pleased. Yes,
the Holy Father had said a few words, he had received
them very cordially and so on. Then there super­
vened another lull and I began to feel uncomfortable.
I wondered what had happened upstairs ; had there
been some unpleasant hitch or unfortunate blunder,
or what else was it that caused this marked restraint
and grave demeanour? Thereupon quite abruptly
the Prussian Envoy broke the spell : * Monsignor/
he exclaimed, * tell us, what is it about this man which
attracts us so much ? ’ 4 Yes, tell us,’ echoed several
others.
Somewhat surprised, I asked them whether any­
thing unusual had occurred during the audience
and what reason there was for the question addressed
to me. No, nothing exceptional had happened.
His Holiness, they said, had not detained them very
long and at the close of his brief reply to the address
presented by their Senior the Holy Father had gone
round to greet each one and then had withdrawn,

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

but he left them sous le charme de sa personnalité.
All I could remark was that I had met His Holiness
only a few days since for the first time, that I myself
felt impressed by his character and by the charm of
his personality. I did not volunteer any explanation.
But when the visitors took leave their words remained
in my mind and to the question : 4 Why does he
attract us so much? ’ I seemed to hear the answer—
sanctity, for he is a man of God.
Far from diminishing, this sense of deep veneration
and esteem for Pius X continued and increased, as
time went on, amongst the members of the Diplo­
matic Corps. Nor were these sentiments confined to
representatives professing the Catholic faith. They
appeared to be equally shared and intensely felt
by all alike. Even when grave divergences and con­
flicts arose between the Holy See and their Govern­
ments, the special regard and reverence which they
entertained for the Holy Father personally was
always manifest. He invariably inspired their
confidence on every occasion and they gave constant
proof of the trust they placed in his unfeigned
sincerity and in the elevation and purity of his aims.
They realized to the full that when he acted strenu­
ously on behalf of the Church and even showed
severity in the measures which he adopted in her
defence, he did so without bitterness and purely
from a heartfelt sense of his great responsibility.
This was particularly noticeable at the time of his
death, and rarely, I fancy, has the death of a Pontiff
caused such genuine grief, or such an impression
of personal loss among the members of the Diplo­
matic Corps, as was the case on that occasion.
I saw several moved to tears ; and I well remember
how one of the Envoys, not a Catholic, speaking of
the Holy Father the morning after his death and
expressing his great sorrow, went on to say that he

RECEPTION OF DIPLOMATIC CORPS n
intended to ask his Government for another post else­
where, for whoever the new Pontiff might be, Rome
would no longer be the same to him without Pius X.
Another of the plenipotentiaries that day, referring
to the troubled state of Europe and to the outbreak
of the Great War, exclaimed in my presence :
* The last light and hope of peace is extinguished now
that Pius X is gone and all is dark on every side.’
* We have had our disagreements and trying moments
under the rule of the deceased Pontiff,’ said one of
the non-Catholic representatives, ‘ but one always
realized the lofty purpose of His Holiness, his
appreciation of the difficulties of others and the
rectitude of his intentions.’

TW*

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IMPRESSIONS OF STATESMEN
CONCERNING PIUS X
Prince von Bulow, as is well known, after retiring
from the chancellorship of the German Empire, was
in the habit of spending every winter and spring
in Rome, where he owned the Villa Malta, and he
never failed to ask for an audience with the Holy
Father each year on his arrival in the Eternal City
and on his departure. He was always immensely
struck by his interviews with Pius X and after his
reception he invariably expressed to me his admiration
for His Holiness, who had astonished him by the
shrewdness of his remarks and by the accuracy of
his judgement upon men and things. I often heard
him comment upon his audience in the following
words : 4 All that His Holiness said to me this morning is so true, so just. I have met many monarchs
and rulers, but I have rarely come across in any one
of them such remarkable insight into human nature
or the knowledge His Holiness possesses of the forces
that govern the world and modern society?
I have heard it confidently asserted that Prince von
Bulow was opposed to the Great War and to the
policy which led up to it ; I am not in a position
to know whether this be true or not ; what I can
assert beyond doubt is that neither he nor others
ever gathered from the lips of Pius X a single word
to favour or to justify the tendency to provoke an
aggression or the outbreak of violence and that
the saintly Pontiff would have given his life-blood
to prevent the dreadful conflict and to protect
ia

IMPRESSIONS OF STATESMEN

13

humanity from the untold suffering brought about
by the war.
Emile Olivier, the distinguished French statesman,
who had occasion to converse at length with the Holy
Father in the early days of his pontificate, expressed
his appreciation almost in identical terms and then
went on to say as was reported in the Press : ‘ He
has not the official majesty of Leo XIII, but he has
that of an irresistible gentleness and goodness.
What struck me most are the superior gifts of his
mind. His intelligence is made of clearness, lucidity
and precision. He is a wonderful listener, he rightly
understands what is said to him, he goes straight
to the decisive and delicate point of a question, which
he sums up in a few precise words ; no dreamings,
no vagaries, but the sense of reality and the know­
ledge at a glance of what is possible and what is not.
And what impressed me even more than the charm
and intelligence of Pius X is his fearlessness. He
possesses true courage, gentle, calm and free from
vaunting. He will never shout a non possumus,
but when he is compelled to utter it, he will do so
in a low voice and then maintain it inflexibly. If
difficult circumstances arise, you may expect great
things from him. He will be on occasion both a
hero and a saint?
Count Goluchowski, Count Sturza, Sir Wilfrid
Laurier, Mr. John Redmond and other prominent
statesmen and politicians of Europe and of America
were hardly less explicit in giving utterance to a
similar estimation of the gifts and character of the
late Pontiff.
Archbishop Bignami of Syracuse in Sicily, lately
deceased, called upon me in December, 1917/
to relate a very long conversation he had had a few
days previously with one of Italy's best known
Ministers, then in power, whom he happened to

14

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

have met a few days previously during a journey
through the island. That distinguished member of
the Government, after discoursing eloquently upon
the merits and attainments of Pope Pius X, did not
hesitate to declare that in his opinion the general
sentiment of the Holy Father’s goodness had caused
many to overlook his other eminent qualities, which
he considered place Pius X deservedly amongst the
greatest Pontiffs of the Catholic Church. He himself,
he added, had never had occasion to meet His Holi­
ness and therefore had not personally experienced
the charm of his goodness, but he judged him by his
acts which in many instances he personally had been
able to appreciate. This statement I took down in
writing from the lips of Monsignor Bignami.

V

MY NOMINATION AS CARDINAL
SECRETARY OF STATE

It is wFh great reluctance that I touch upon this
event which is so personal to myself, and I should
certainly have omitted any reference to it had it
not been brought long since to public notice and more
or less accurately described by others. Moreover,
owing to the indiscretion of an old friend, the text
of the letter which His Holiness condescended
to address to me on that occasion has already appeared
in print, and therefore I have thought that I should
not hesitate to tell the story myself, especially
as it may further illustrate a characteristic manner
of acting on the part of Pius X.
Few perhaps will readily believe the fact, but during
the two months and more that elapsed between the day
of his election and the morning when he handed me
my nomination, Pius X never once gave me an
inkling of what was passing in his mind in this con­
nection. The wildest rumours were afloat regarding
the person whom it would seem probable that the
Holy Father would call to the office of Cardinal
Secretary of State and the choice he was most likely
to make. Occasionally, I believe, my name was
suggested in the Press together with several others,
though for cogent and obvious reasons it appeared
evident that His Holiness could not possibly be
thinking of me, and I must candidly confess that I
did not find it within me to consider such a strange
and unexpected issue.
The busy weeks passed by. The heavy burden of
c
15

16

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

daily work left no time to think of aught else and could
only inspire the wish of being relieved from the crush­
ing responsibility of a temporary office that no
reasonable person could surely desire to see pro­
longed. Later on I learnt that the Holy Father
during all that lapse of time had frequently sought
the advice of several of the most prominent and
experienced members of the Sacred College on this
matter and had made it the subject of constant
prayer.
On the morning of Sunday, October 18, 1903, I
despatched business with His Holiness as usual for
about an hour, and when I stood up to take leave
he handed me a somewhat bulky envelope addressed
to me in his own handwriting, saying quite casually,
as if referring to something he had all but forgotten :
4 Oh, Monsignor, this is for you.
*
On previous
occasions he had done the same at the end of an
audience and more than once he had given me closed
envelopes of this kind-similarly addressed containing
documents that required special attention. I there­
fore felt no surprise, nor did I attach any exceptional
importance to the fact. I slipped the packet into
my papers and replied : 4 Very good, Holy Father,
I will see to it and report to-morrow.’
I was passing along the loggia on the way to my
rooms when I was stopped by Cardinal Mocenni,
who, it appears, had spoken to His Holiness earlier
in the morning and knew what was coming. His
Eminence had always been very friendly and kind
to me during the eight years I spent in the Vatican
under Leo XIII and he was accustomed to treat me
familiarly. * Well, what news have we this morn­
ing ? ' he said, in his rough and ready way. 4 Who
is going to be the new Cardinal Secretary ? ' 4 I am
sure I don’t know, Your Eminence,
*
was my reply,
4 the Holy Father has never made any mention

CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE 17

of the matter in my presence.’ The Cardinal’s
face fell and he drew himself up with a gesture of
surprise. 4 How is that ? ’ he exclaimed rather
abruptly. 4 Come into my room.' I followed him
into his study where he made me sit down and then
proceeded to ply me with questions. He declared
it impossible that I should be unacquainted with
the decision His Holiness had come to. I repeated
my assurance that nothing exceptional had marked
my interview with the Pope, that not a word had been
said of the future Cardinal Secretary, and that I
had come away as usual with my papers and an
envelope of documents which the Holy Father had
given me a moment before. 4 An envelope 1 ’ he
exclaimed. 4 Where is it ? Why don't you open it ? '
I proceeded to do so and I glanced through the letter I
found there. Is it too much to say that I felt dazed
and staggered by its contents ?
The old Cardinal looked on with a knowing smile
and affectionately patted me on the back. Together
with the Pope’s autograph there was enclosed a
considerable sum in bank-notes, which explained the
thickness of the envelope. In his fatherly kindness
His Holiness wished me to accept this bounty no
doubt because I had hitherto received no salary
of any sort and also because he wanted to contribute
to the expenses I should incur by my promotion.
The letter ran as follows :

4 The opinion of the eminent cardinals who chose
you as Secretary of the Conclave, the kindness
wherewith you consented to undertake, during this
time, the duties of the Secretariate of State, and the
devoted care wherewith you have filled this most
delicate office, oblige me to ask you to assume
permanently the post of my Secretary of State.
4 For this reason, and also to satisfy a heartfelt

i8
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
need of my own, and to give you a little token of my
warm gratitude, in the forthcoming Consistory
of November 9 I shall give myself the pleasure of
creating you a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.
4 For your comfort, I may further add that by so
doing I shall accomplish an act very acceptable to
the majority of the cardinals, who share my admira­
tion of the eminent gifts with which God has enriched
you, and with which you will certainly render signal
service to the Church.
‘ To this end, with particular affection, I impart
to you the Apostolic Benediction.
' Given at the Vatican the 18th October, 1903.
‘ Pius P.P. X.’

After recovering to some extent from my dismay,
I went up to see the Holy Father, who welcomed me
with great affection but firmly set aside any attempt
to gainsay his resolution, or to obtain release. He had
made up his mind, he assured me, with due delibera­
tion and I must bow to the will of God as he himself
had done before me.

VI

PIUS X AND THE GREAT WAR
I am in a position to-day to testify that His Holiness
Pope Pius X repeatedly foretold the outbreak of the
Great War in Europe long before the storm actually
burst and at a time when few, if any, as far as I am
aware, ventured beyond expressing in general terms
the fear that sooner or later the growing hostility
between preponderant and mighty nations would
inevitably result in violent warfare with all its dreadful
consequences.
As far back as the years 1911 and 1912, the Holy
Father would frequently speak to me of the approach­
ing conflict and he did so more than once in a manner
which was almost alarming. On several occasions
during the course of those years, four or five times
to my recollection, as I entered his room for my
morning audience at nine o’clock, His Holiness would
open conversation with the following remark :
* Eminence, things are going badly ’ (Eminenza,
le cose vanno male). Usually at that hour he had
looked through the newspapers and telegrams of
the previous evening or early morning, and before
dealing with the business of the day, he often made a
survey of the general situation and expressed his
views regarding the trend of public events. He would
draw out historical parallels and dwell upon the
unlearnt lessons of the past, upon the similarity of the
factors constantly at work at all periods of the world's
history with those discernible in our own times,
in spite of the ever changing circumstances, whilst
above all the restless cravings of the human passions
19

iâfa

20

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

the ruling hand of Providence was perpetually
manifest. When the Holy Father discoursed on
these subjects, he was at his best.
But he very rarely volunteered any definite forecast.
Hence when he so emphatically asserted that
4 things were going badly/ I naturally sought to
discover the reason of the particularly unfavourable
impression he had gathered from the Press or from
other sources.
Without attempting to question the fact that there
had often been cause for anxiety, I asked the Holy
Father on those occasions what it was that had so
especially drawn his attention and given rise to the
fears he thus expressed. 4 Things are going badly/
he invariably replied,4 the Great War is approaching ’
{Le cose vanno male, viene il guerrone). 4 I do not
mean this war/ he added, at the time of the Italian
expedition in Lybia and during the Balkan conflict,
4 not this, but the Great War . . . il guerrone/ Who
indeed could deny the possibility of a general con­
flagration in Europe ? Yet, I ventured to point out
that it hardly appeared to be in sight in the immediate
future : it might still be put off for a long time and
perhaps avoided in our day ; that in spite of several
narrow escapes, those who held the reins of govern­
ment and who were in a position to control in some
measure the course of events, showed undoubtedly
how much they hesitated to launch the world along
a path of which it was impossible for any man to
foresee the final issue.
The Holy Father after listening attentively to my
somewhat optimistic remarks, would then raise
his hand as if in warning and make the following
reply with unusual gravity : 4 Eminence, things
are going badly, we shall not get beyond the year
1914 ’ {Eminenza, . . . non passeremo il T4).
As I have stated, this occurred several times during

PIUS X AND THE GREAT WAR
21
those years and I remember how on returning to my
room I pondered over the words of His Holiness.
I sat wondering what grounds he had for thus fixing
definitely upon 1914 as the year of the coming war ;
nor could I find an answer.
I never breathed a word of this to anybody then,
for I felt that I was bound to keep the matter to
myself. I see no reason now for not acquainting
others with this remarkable announcement made to
me by the saintly Pontiff and I leave it to them to
define its character.
That this forecast was not merely a passing thought
is obvious, not only because it was repeatedly uttered
in my presence, but also because it is corroborated
by another testimony which has come quite recently
to my knowledge.
Dr. Bruno Chaves, the Brazilian Minister to the
Holy See for many years, resigned his office in 1913.
Pope Pius X had always shown him affection and
spoke freely to him. In a letter addressed to me
from his residence in Pelotas on October 24, 1917,
Dr. Chaves refers to his last audience with the Holy
Father on May 30, 1913, during which His Holiness
said to him : 4 You are fortunate, sir, to be going
back to your home in Brazil ; you will not witness
the world-wide war/
4 I thought/ writes Dr. Chaves, 4 that His Holiness
was alluding to the Balkans, but he went on to say :
44 The Balkans are the commencement of a great
conflagration which I am powerless to avoid and
which I shall be unable to resist/’ I transmitted
this apprehension of His Holiness confidentially to
some of my friends over here, in the month of
August of the same year 1913. Twelve months later
it became a sad and cruel reality/ Dr. Chaves'
letter is written in Portuguese and the above is a
literal translation.

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
It may well have been in connection with the same
foresight that the Holy Father about that time,
one day in the Vatican Gardens, as he stood before
the shrine of our Lady of Lourdes, exclaimed in the
presence of his private chaplain, Monsignor Bressan :
41 pity my successor. I shall not see it, but it is
only too true that the Religio depopulata is at hand/
22

VII

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X

The lovable character of Pius X and the kindness of
his heart are attested by all who ever came in contact
with him, and there is but one voice to extol what is
generally spoken of as his * goodness.’ Nor is this
indeed to be wondered at. So striking a feature of his
individuality could not fail to impress the minds of
the thousands who approached him during the
eleven years of his pontificate, not to mention all
those who had experienced the unfailing charity and
sweet devotedness of the humble village curate in
Tombolo, of the parish priest in Salzano, or who had
known him intimately when he laboured in their
midst as Chancellor of Treviso, Bishop of Mantua
and Cardinal Patriarch of Venice.
Add to this his fatherly interest in every case of
trouble or of suffering that happened to come before
him, the generous help of his advice and counsel
even in matters that might well seem trifling except
to those concerned, the material assistance and liberal
subsidies that he lavished both in public and in
private, with such extreme delicacy of regard for the
feelings of those he benefited, and it will be readily
understood why the 4 goodness ’ of Pius X will
never be forgotten and why so many are content
to speak only of this conspicuous lineament of his
personality, which so truly reflected the love of the
Divine Master.
But to imagine that this attractive characteristic in
Pius X describes the man or in any way sums up his
gifts and powers would be an utter misapprehension ;
23

24
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
nothing could be further from the truth. Coupled
with that 4 goodness ’ and happily blended with the
tenderness of a father’s heart, there was in him an
indomitable strength of character and an energy
of will to which all must testify who really knew him,
but which not infrequently surprised or even
startled those who had only experienced the constant
proofs of his habitual gentleness and restraint.
He held himself in complete control and quelled the
impulses of his ardent temperament. He was quick
to give way in matters which were not essential
and ever ready to consider and accept the opinion of
others where no principle was at stake ; but weakness
in him there was none.
When one or other grave question arose in which
the rights and liberty of the Church required to be
stated and upheld, when the purity and integrity of
Catholic truth stood in need of assertion and defence,
or ecclesiastical discipline had to be maintained in the
face of laxity or worldly influence, then Pius X would
reveal the full strength and energy of his character
and the fearless vigour of a great ruler conscious
of the responsibility of his sacred office and of the
duties he felt called upon to fulfil at any cost. It was
idle then for anybody to endeavour to shake his
constancy ; every effort to intimidate him by threats
or to cajole him by specious pleas and appeals to
mere sentiment was inevitably doomed to failure.
On such occasions, after days of anxious thought
and many a sleepless night, I have seen him slowly
close his hand as it rested on his desk, until it was
firmly clenched, and then raising his head, with a
severe and dauntless look in his eyes that were
habitually so calm and gentle, he would express his
definite resolution or deliver judgement in few and
measured terms. One knew then that there was
nothing more to say.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X
25
Lest it should be thought that perhaps I have over­
estimated this side of the Holy Father’s character
and that my appreciation may be biassed by my affec­
tion, it will not be out of place to recall here the
testimony of others, who, though undoubtedly
much less in contact with Pius X than I have been,
were however in a position to form an opinion
deserving of attention, based upon their personal
knowledge and experience. Monsignor Baudrillart,
of the French Academy and Rector of the Catholic
Institute in Paris, writes as follows in an article in
the Revue Pratique d’Apologétique which is well worth
reading in its entirety :

4 His look, his word, his whole being express three
things : goodness, firmness, faith. Goodness was
the man himself ; firmness was the leader ; faith
was the Christian, the priest, the pontiff, the man of
God. 44 Tu autem, O homo Dei.” This exclamation
of the apostle rushed to one’s lips from the heart,
when one was admitted to this Pope’s presence.
How far away one was from human manœuvres and
political devices ! How sure one was that one would
hear nothing but the word of God from his mouth !
How impossible one knew it would be to resort
to the slightest equivocation or diplomatic ingenuity
in his presence 1 One told him things just as they
were, quite simply, and waited for his reply, with
the firm resolve to do whatever he should say, to
the best of one's power.
4 There were times when that answer seemed
somewhat hard 1 With what energy would the Pope
order us to root out the weeds from that part of the
Church which he had entrusted to our care ! We
looked at him ; we read in his sad gentle eyes, light
in their depths but veiled with a shadow, words
such as these : 44 I, too, suffer, I suffer more than

20
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
you do, for I have to act in every direction to repress
and to strike, I the father, the father of all ; but that
is the duty of my office, the duty I cannot escape ;
the Church’s peril urges me on, peril from without,
and yet worse peril from within ; have I any right
to consider whether I suffer ? ” . . . Pius X was the
most supernatural of men ; that Deus providebit
(God will provide) which was for ever on his lips is
the very expression of his whole religious and moral
being. And that is why, once he was certain that his
duty was to act in this or that way, he paid no further
heed to the consequences, confident that God would
draw a greater and lasting good from a lesser and
passing evil.
‘ He had the clear vision of the upright ; and a clear
vision that no falsehood or sophistry or hypocrisy
could manage to deceive. . . . Quietly with unshaken
calm he denounced and condemned evil wherever he
saw it ; no consideration could make him bend. . . .
Pius X showed himself a ruler. His name will remain
for ever linked with the reorganizing of the Roman
Courts and Congregations, and the codifying of
Canon Law, a colossal work soon completed, which
will bring simplicity, light, strength, and unity
into the government of the Church.
4 No Pope was ever more a reformer, no more
modern, than this fearless adversary of Modernist
errors. Faithful to his watchword, he undertook to
restore and renew everything in Jesus Christ.
4 Governments may have feared or set themselves
against him. He was loved, tenderly loved by the
people, by all the good and simple faithful, because
he was a saint, because he was a father.’1

Not less striking or emphatic in this respect are
the words of His Eminence Cardinal Mercier in his
1 Pevue Pratique d’Apologétique, 15 Août-i Septembre, 1914.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X
27
Lenten Pastoral of February 2, 1915- I may be
allowed to quote the following extract :

4 The winning kindness of the Holy Father had
none of the soft sentimentality of the weak. Pius X
was strong. It is currently reported that he was the
writer of a short prayer which priests have to say
at certain times for their bishop. It runs as follows :
44 Oremus pro Antistite nostro N (Let us also pray
for our Bishop). Stet et pascat in fortitudine tua,
Domine, in sublimitate nominis tui (Strong in Thy
strength, O Lord, let him stand and feed the flock
in the sublimity of Thy name)/’
4 And this, unless I am mistaken, is the charac­
teristic note of the late Pope—a wonderful combina­
tion of fatherly tenderness with a force of character
that made him master of himself and imparted to his
soul steadiness of equilibrium, filling his expression
with that blending of gravity, serenity, condescension,
and almost of playfulness, which so strongly attracted
everyone by its charm.
4 The public looked on with wonder, sometimes
with anxiety, and admired the virile Pontiff in his
hand-to-hand struggle with Modernism.
4 In the days of Luther and Calvin, had the Church
possessed a Pope of the temper of Pius X, would
Protestantism have succeeded in getting one-third
of Europe to break loose from Rome ?
4 Pius was a man of keen insight and decision. He
would not let himself be seduced by the cajoleries of
reformers, naïvely ambitious of infusing the veins
of the Church with new blood, and dreaming of
modernizing her to suit the fancies and errors of
up-to-date Protestantism and Rationalism. True
to Catholic Tradition, he blazoned forth the axiom
that in the fifth century, St. Vincent of Lerins,
himself the disciple of a martyr-bishop of the third

ΙΜ*Μ*11111.......... 'f

....................

28

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

century, St. Cyprian, used against those who favoured
a doctrinal advance which the Christian conscience
would have felt to be not an improvement but a
revolution, wherein all the treasures of the past
would have disappeared : Nihil innovetur nisi quod
traditum est (No innovations : cleave to tradition).
4 His plan once laid down, the Pope pursued it,
both as a whole and in detail, in the sphere of doctrine
and also of discipline, in scientific works, in the Press,
in literature, in the teaching of Seminaries and of
Universities and even in the persons of those whom
he loved most ; he pursued its fullest realization,
I say, with an energy and perseverance that were
sometimes disconcerting.
4 When we survey from afar this line of action,
many-sided yet one, broad - and yet penetrating,
we are unanimous in our admiration of our great
Pope’s force of character, and in thanking Providence
for saving Christianity from an immense peril,
not only of a single heresy but of all heresies com­
bined, amalgamated together in a more or less
treacherous way/1
We have evidence of this spirit and strength in
weighty Encyclicals and in various enactments issued
by Pius X during the whole course of his pontificate,
in his public allocutions, in his frequent addresses and
exhortations of all kinds, and also in his private
correspondence.
It is well to state here that the Holy Father very
often wrote out the minutes of important documents
or furnished copious notes and material for their
compilation. Several of these neatly penned auto­
graphs, as well as many private or unpublished
letters of his, are in my possession and I am able to
quote from his own manuscripts.
1 Lettre Pastorale et mandement de Carême de 1915.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X
29
Remarkable among others is the short and charac­
teristic exhortation which he addressed to the French
Bishops whom he himself had consecrated in
St. Peter's, at the altar of the 4 Cathedra,' on February
25, 1906, after the rupture of the Concordat by the
French Government. Unrecognized and unassisted,
they were going forth to fight their battle and
nobody could foresee what awaited them, Pius X
received them privately in his library, where he wished
me to be present, and spoke as follows :

* I was anxious to see you all assembled in order to
address a word of confidence and affection to you,
under the seal of secrecy, and to tell you how much
I value the great sacrifice that you have undertaken
of facing poverty, privations, and even, which God
forbid, of not only seeing your authority discarded,
of being persecuted.
4 This very day you will receive instructions
regarding the line of action you are to adopt on your
impending return and on taking possession of the
dioceses confided to your care. I do not urge the
exact observance of what will be suggested to you,
for I should be doing injury to your sentiments of
obedience and reverence towards every direction of
the Holy Apostolic See.
4 In due time you will be called upon to attend the
general assembly of all the French Bishops, to express
your judgement upon the law, as soon as the Regula­
tions are published, viz. : whether and under what
conditions it is suitable to endure the law, whether
and how the law should be resisted, etc.
4 It is not improbable that during your present
stay in Rome you may have heard mentioned or
even received suggestions upon the subject. I
recommend that you should take no notice of this,
because the Pope, who hitherto has refrained from

30
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
revealing his judgement to anybody, before uttering
the last word, wishes to hear the views of all the
Bishops, free entirely as they are to express their
mind upon what they deem best for the glory of
God, for the salvation of souls, for the honour of
the clergy and for the security of religion in France.
‘ All that I recommend to you is that in the coming
conference of Bishops, when giving your vote in
reply to the questions submitted to you, (i) you
should conform yourselves to the spirit of Jesus
Christ, quacumque humana postposita. (2) You should
reflect that we are born to strife : non veni pacem
mittere, sed gladium. (3) In forming your judgement
you should consider the spirit of true Catholics in
your country. (4) You should safeguard the essential
principles of justice and defend the rights of the
Church, which are the rights of God. (5) You should
bear in mind not only the judgement of God, but
also that of the world that has its eyes upon you,
if ever you were to belie your dignity or fail in the
duties it lays upon you.
4 And here I conclude with the assurance that I
envy your lot, that I would fain come with you to
share your sorrows and anxieties, to be ever at your
side to comfort you. But though absent in body,
I shall be constantly near you in spirit, and we shall
meet each day in the divine sacrifice of the Mass,
before the holy Tabernacle whence we derive strength
in battle and the sure means of victory.’
There was nobody else present besides myself at
this meeting which the Holy Father held in his
private library, two days after the grand ceremony
of the Consecration in St. Peter’s. In contrast
with his usual practice, he had committed this short
address to memory, but he read it from his own
manuscript in a solemn tone, and dwelt upon each

»«Î»âBSaaaB8M»

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X
word to emphasize the importance of what he wished
to convey to his hearers.
Though the same energy and strength of character
were not absent by any means from his dealings with
individual cases in which he could not avoid adminis­
tering reproof or punishment without failing in the
accomplishment of a solemn duty, the severity of
Pius X on such occasions was ever coupled with
the tenderness of his fatherly affection, and, when
obliged to cause distress to those at fault, he felt
for the guilty and their pain was his.
As an instance, among several others, I can well
remember how one morning the Holy Father con­
fided to me that he was about to receive in audience
a person who had very grievously erred and had
betrayed his sacred duty. It was a sad story. The
Pope's direct intervention had become inevitable,
for the delinquent had thrown off all restraint and
seemed little inclined to repent or accept correction.
I found His Holiness looking very sad and tired.
He acknowledged to me that he had spent a restless
night thinking over the approaching interview and the
necessity of his speaking with the utmost severity.
He was however determined to carry the matter
through, he said, but it would cost him a great deal,
for he realized what a blow it would undoubtedly
be for the unfortunate culprit. 4 Say a Hail Mary for
me, Eminence/ he added, 4 in order that God may
bless this audience and that the poor fellow may not
rebel and force me to go further/
A few hours later the Holy Father was beaming with
joy. 4 Do you know, all went well/ he exclaimed, with
a smile. 4 The unhappy man ended by acknowledging
the truth of all I said. I did not spare him, but, thank
God, he has submitted and now we must do what we
can to help him on/
When he thus inflicted correction, the severity of
D

32
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
his countenance and the solemn resonance of his
voice were most impressive and generally produced
an overwhelming impression upon the person who
had incurred his displeasure, but his was the anger
of the lamb, the anger that sinneth not.
Sickness, fatigue or pain endured by others,
especially by persons whom he knew more intimately
or whose services he employed, even in menial
offices, infallibly aroused his deepest sympathy, nor
did he seem to rest until assured that they had found
relief. 4 Do not worry over the . . he would write,
4 you have made good provision for that, and worry
still less over me, for, enjoying sufficient health, as I
do, I always live contented and happy in the well­
being of those who are dear to me ; whereas the fear
alone that they should suffer causes me anguish.
Therefore be of good heart/ Or again : * You must
not be anxious on account of the fears expressed by
the Rev. N. N. The choice was made after full
consideration and let us trust that the Lord will bless
his apostolate. In any event, however, the respon­
sibility is not solely yours, but mine also and we
shall share it in peace. Therefore be of good heart/
And yet, though nothing could surpass the sensibility
of his affectionate temperament, in Pius X there was
no trace of weak sentimentality or of unreasonable
emotion. As Cardinal Mercier rightly says, Pius X
had a strong character. If others lost control over
their feelings and gave way in his presence to an
excessive display of mere sentiment, 1 Esto vir . . .
be a man,' was the reply which rose constantly to
his lips and which he accompanied with a firm and
energetic gesture. Indeed it is my opinion that the
sheer sense of humour, which he certainly possessed,
would alone have sufficed to prevent him from
allowing his emotions to gain the mastery beyond
the limits of reason.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIUS X
33
I may illustrate this remark by an anecdote. In
igi2 the restored Campanile of Saint Mark's, Venice,
was to be solemnly inaugurated. The Holy Father
had naturally taken the keenest interest in the recon­
struction of this historic monument, so dear to the
heart of every Venetian. He had himself laid the
first stone of the new building and, no doubt, many
cherished memories lingered in his mind in connec­
tion with the old Campanile. He had carefully
followed the progress of the work through all its
stages and he had made a gift of one of the new
bells.
Shortly before the joyful celebration that was to
commemorate the completion of the great enterprise,
a report went about in the Press that the Italian
Government intended setting up a direct telephone
wire between Venice and the Vatican, in order to
enable His Holiness to hear the chime of Saint
Mark's. Then followed the announcement that the
Pope’s medical advisers had intervened and put an
end to the proposal on the grounds, it was asserted,
that the Holy Father would experience too intense
emotion and that this might prove detrimental to his
health. He was very much amused by all this gossip.
As a matter of fact the idea of asking the Italian
Government to provide a direct telephone line from
Venice to the Vatican had been suggested by some
eager friends of the former Patriarch, but Pius X set
the proposal aside, so he told me himself, nor had the
doctors held it their duty to interfere, nor had any
fear been expressed regarding the impression likely
to be produced upon His Holiness’ feelings.
He laughed heartily over the whole story and com­
menting upon it, with a merry twinkle in his eye, he
said : * Do they take me for a young lady ? I did
not consent to the suggestion made by those good
folk, among other reasons, to tell the truth, because

Wrtir"·”"-"··"- - - - ----------------

34
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
in all probability I should have been the last person
to hear anything distinctly. You may be sure
that the line would have been tapped and I should
have heard little or nothing. Moreover, I have to
listen to bells enough in Rome, and indeed too
many. ’
When making this remark, the Holy Father was
alluding perhaps to the endless tolling of the bells of
St. Peter’s, in close proximity to his own rooms
and which on certain occasions proved somewhat
trying. But those familiar with the Italian expression
sentire troppe campane will realize that he was referring
chiefly to the inevitable conflict of opinions, appeals
and complaints with which he had constantly to
deal.
He had a cheerful, loving heart, a strong and manly
will, and it was this disposition, supported by his
confidence in God, which helped him to bear so
bravely the weight and worry of his arduous office.

VIII
HIS LEARNING AND ELOQUENCE
We need hardly wish for more reliable information
regarding the early years and education of the late
Pontiff than that which Canon Marchesan of Treviso
has carefully collected and published in his Life
of Pius X.
There the author bears testimony to Giuseppe
Sarto's proficiency in the study of the classics and to
his literary attainments, which won for him the praise
of his teachers, and of which he subsequently gave
abundant proof in numberless discourses, addresses,
sermons and pastoral letters, as well as in his private
correspondence.
Pius X was far too deeply engrossed in the pastoral
work for which he lived, as a parish priest, as Bishop
and as Supreme Pontiff, to be able to dedicate any
considerable portion of his time to literary or artistic
pursuits ; nevertheless, when occasion arose, he
revealed the gifts and tastes of a cultured mind both
in literature and in art. He had read extensively.
Holy Scripture, theology and history seemed to be
the subjects he preferred, and even amidst the daily
cares and incessant labour of his exalted office, he
managed, I could see, to peruse many a volume and
to keep in touch with modern thought. Time and
again he surprised me by his accurate knowledge of
distant nations and peoples, of their traditions,
customs and special character ; hence the facility
with which he could gauge a situation and appreciate
the views and feelings predominant in countries
so different from his own and which he had never
35

?6
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
visited. To say nothing of nations regarding which
information is more generally within reach, his grasp,
for instance, of the intricate questions connected
with the Slavs, their liturgy and national aspirations
was often remarkable, and this no doubt was due in
great measure to the knowledge he had acquired by
coming in contact with many representatives of those
nationalities during the nine years he spent in
Venice.
Recent publications in Italian or French on various
subjects were constantly before him. French he
could read without any difficulty and with real
pleasure, though he was always shy of speaking in
that language, chiefly, I imagine, because he could not
master the pronunciation and accent. Nevertheless
on some occasions I have known him to carry on a
private conversation in French, and once, just after
the solemn Beatification of Joan of Arc, when
hundreds of French pilgrims assembled in St.
Peter's for their great reception, he agreeably sur­
prised them by delivering a lengthy reply to their
address of homage, in their own tongue. He had
written the original text in Italian and ordered a
translation.
In the hope of inducing His Holiness to overcome
his reluctance to speaking in French and to be more
confident in his ability to do so I remember telling
him what had occurred to me a few days previously.
One of the Envoys accredited to the Holy See, who
was certainly not a French scholar, wishing to
impress upon me that feeling was running high in
his country in regard to a hotly debated question,
assured me that Zes animaux sont très agités là bas.
He had evidently got hold of the Italian expression
gli animi sono molto agitati and had translated animi
into animaux instead of esprits. Of course it was as
much as I could do to preserve my gravity. I

HIS LEARNING AND ELOQUENCE 37
argued that after all if a Minister could afford to
make such blunders in an official interview, surely
the Holy Father need not feel shy of an occasional
slip in private conversation. But far from convincing
His Holiness or encouraging him not to be deterred
by the casual mistakes he might commit in the use
of a foreign tongue, my argument led him to draw
the opposite conclusion. Laughing heartily at the
anecdote, he exclaimed : * Now you see why I do
not run such risks. It would be rather dreadful,
you know, for a Pope to talk such nonsense.’ I
could not say that he was wrong.
Monsignor Sarto's funeral oration on the death of
Monsignor Rota, Bishop of Mantua, is an excellent
specimen of his style and of the care and precision
with which he wrote. I think that if some at least of
his numerous other compositions were published
and more widely known, Pius X’s command of
language and literary taste would be further
appreciated.
He handled his pen with remarkable ease and
rapidity. His handwriting was particularly neat
and he would draw up whole pages of a minute
with very few corrections. In the midst of other
work, frequently between one audience and another,
he would send me a note, either to transmit or
to ask for urgent information, to make a suggestion
or to give his orders. Very many of these autographs
are still in my possession. They are all neatly
written, without an erasure, accurately punctuated,
dated and addressed. It was indeed a mystery to me
how he managed to pen and despatch them with
such rapidity in the course of a morning, when he
had not a moment to himself and whilst audiences
and work of all kinds crowded in upon him without
interruption. I ventured more than once to remon­
strate with him and to beg that he would ring or

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38
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
send for me in order to save himself unnecessary
fatigue : 4 No/ he replied, 4 we are both of us too
busy to waste time and it is quicker for me to write?
The admirable Exhortatio ad Clerum, which the
Holy Father dedicated to the clergy throughout the
world in memory of his sacerdotal jubilee, he wrote
out page by page during intervals of spare time in little
over a fortnight.
As day by day the work progressed, he condes­
cended to read it to me and to invite criticism.
It was exclusively his own personal effort and it
was truly a labour of love. In the short preface to
the English edition Cardinal Bourne most aptly
declares : 4 The words of the saintly Pius X, written
to his fellow Priests on the’fiftieth anniversary of his
own ordination to the priesthood, should be held in
constant remembrance by all who have been called
to the service of the Altar. They are the outpourings
of the heart of a true Priest fashioned to the likeness
of his Master as Priest and Bishop, and under the
burden of the Supreme Pontificate. May the
burning words of the holy Pontiff, for eleven years
Christ's Vicar upon the earth, restore, strengthen
and make permanent in the hearts of all His Priests
the fundamental teachings which these words set
forth?
What may be styled the more formal and official
pronouncements of His Holiness, such as Allocutions to the Sacred College, Apostolic Letters
and the like, were not habitually drawn up by
him, though in fact for the compilation of these
weighty documents he would frequently write out
drafts or furnish notes, and he never failed to give
precise instruction or to carefully revise every portion
of the work prepared for him by his subordinates.
But, for instance, the stirring address of Pius X to
the newly elected Cardinals in the Consistory of

HIS LEARNING AND ELOQUENCE 39
May, 1914, subsequently published in the Acta
Apostolicæ Sedis, was his own composition from start
to finish and written in his own hand. I possess the
manuscript of this his last oration, delivered immedi­
ately after bestowing the red ‘ biretta ’ upon the
recently appointed members of the Sacred College,
among whom stood the Archbishop of Bologna,
Cardinal Della Chiesa. The memory of this telling
allocution, within three months of his death, so
manifestly inspired by his apostolic zeal and worthy
of a great Pontiff, must be fresh in the minds of many,
for it produced the deepest impression upon all
present.
The same may be said of a number of other speeches
directed to public bodies of different kinds. On such
occasions the Holy Father would either read the
written document he had prepared, or speak with his
manuscript in his hand, though he hardly did more
than glance at it in the course of delivery.
Not a few are inclined to think that as a speaker
Pius X was often at his best when extemporizing,
which he frequently did. His words came fluently
in correct sentences and in language full of signifi­
cance, bereft of all artificial rhetoric or empty
phraseology. That he felt intensely everything he
said, none of his hearers could ever doubt; and it
was this earnestness, together with the rich harmony
of his voice, with the dignity of his gestures and the
light of his countenance that riveted attention, lent
exquisite charm to his diction and renewed the
convincing force of familiar argument.
Monsignor Touchet, the distinguished Bishop of
Orleans, himself a brilliant speaker, did not disguise
his sincerest admiration for the Holy Father's oratory
which he had many opportunities of appreciating
during his visit to Rome. He loved to hear him speak.
Moreover, he made a point of sending his chief

40

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
discourses and writings to Pius X and delighted in
the shrewd criticism of them which the Holy Father
used to make and often communicated to him in a
friendly correspondence. An extract from the reply
of His Holiness to an address read by Monsignor
Touchet in the Sala del Concistoro at the time of the
Beatification of Joan of Arc will not be out of place
here.
I take it from the rough copy, just as it flowed from
the Holy Father’s pen, and I endeavour in my transla­
tion to leave untouched as far as possible the charac­
teristic features of the original text. It was on
the morning of April 20, 1909, before a large assembly
that the Pope after some preliminary passages went
on to say :

* O venerable brethren and beloved sons, who in the
accomplishment of the duties of your profession,
preach and practise without human respect the
teachings of the Catholic Church, and, for this very
reason, not only endure contempt and scorn, but are
held up to public censure and branded as enemies
of your country, cast back in the face of cowardly
slanderers this libel that so deeply wounds the hearts
of Catholics and which it requires the full power of
divine grace for you to forgive in those who so basely
offend you.
‘ If Catholicism were an enemy of our fatherland
it would not be a divine religion. Fatherland is a
sacred name that recalls to mind our dearest memories
and, whether it be because we are of one blood
with those born in the same place, or because
of the nobler similarity of affections and traditions,
our country is worthy not only of love but of predeliction. And if this be the case everywhere, tnuch
more must it be so when our country is linked by
ties indissoluble to that fatherland which is not

1

HIS LEARNING AND ELOQUENCE

41

restricted within the boundaries of any ocean or
encompassed by mountain ranges, which speaks
not one but all tongues, the fatherland which com­
prises in its latitude the visible world and the world
beyond the grave—the Catholic Church ! To politi­
cians who detect an enemy in the Church and there­
fore perpetually oppose her, to sectarians who with
all the hatred inspired by Satan unceasingly calum­
niate, vilify and attack her, to the false champions
of science who by sophistry of every kind strive
to render her objectionable, as if she were a foe to
liberty, to civilization and to intellectual progress,
reply that the Church, mistress of souls and ruling
the hearts of men, exercises her supremacy throughout
the world because she alone, being the bride of
Christ and having all in common with her divine
spouse, is the depositary of the truth, she alone can
win from all nations veneration and love. Thus he
who rebels against her authority for fear lest it should
encroach upon the dominion of the State, sets up
barriers to the truth ; he who proclaims her authority
to be foreign to a nation, wishes truth to be foreign
to that nation also ; he who dreads that her authority
may diminish the freedom and greatness of a people,
manifestly believes that a nation can be great and free
without the truth. Hence if a State, a Government,
an Authority, whatever be its name, wage war
against the truth, it cannot hope to inspire love
whilst opposing the most sacred of human sentiments.
That Authority may maintain itself by sheer force,
it may be feared because the sword of punishment
compels obeisance, it may be applauded out of
hypocrisy, interest or servility, it will even be
obeyed, because Religion ennobles our subjection
to earthly powers, provided they do not exact any­
thing contrary to the divine law ; in which case
everyone must withdraw without thereby becoming a

43
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
rebel. Nevertheless, though this duty of submission
in that which is not opposed to the duties prescribed
by Religion will render obedience more meritorious,
it cannot suffice to make obedience affectionate,
joyful and spontaneous, such as to deserve the name
of love and veneration.
* We feel veneration therefore for the fatherland
which in sweet union with the Church provides
for the true welfare of humanity. And that is the
reason why champions and saviours of a country
have always sprung from the ranks of the best
Catholics and that the Saints are invoked in the hymns
of our Sacred Liturgy as Fathers of their country ;
they followed the example of the Saint above all
Saints, who, whilst He obeyed those in authority and
paid the tribute to Cæsar, on approaching Jerusalem
and foreseeing her coming ruin, shed tears in abun­
dance over her, because, beloved and favoured by
God, she had not availed herself of so many graces
and of the visitation He Himself had made in order
to bestow every kind of blessing upon her.’

gUffi

uastjigai.')

IX

PIUS X AND THE ARTS

The Church has always granted generous patronage
to art wherever her influence has extended. Rome
bears eloquent testimony in that respect to the
traditional munificence of her Pontiffs and to their
enlightened efforts, not only to preserve the monu­
ments of antiquity and the countless relics of past
ages, whether pagan or Christian, but also to encour­
age the activity of artists who afforded proof of genuine
talent. And this has been noteworthy even during
troubled periods of history whilst Pontiffs were
harassed by financial straits and overburdened by
the cares of their apostolic ministry.
Nevertheless it is obvious that, taken individually,
not every Pope has been gifted personally with an
artistic temperament, nor always inclined by educa­
tion to entertain any special interest in art.
I have already remarked that Pius X was too
entirely absorbed, as a priest and pastor, by his zeal
and activity for the welfare of souls, to spend any
considerable portion of his time in other pursuits,
however much they might arouse his interest.
But he loved beautiful things, and he had seen many
in the course of his life at Mantua, Padua and Venice,
and also during his occasional visits to Rome. He
enjoyed the friendship of several distinguished
artists, whom he always gladly welcomed with a
view of improving his knowledge, and his relations
with them, together with what he had read, contri­
buted no doubt to educate his taste, which was
excellent and refined, at times almost severe.
43

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
The Exhibition of Sacred Art held in Venice, in
the beautiful church of SS. John and Paul, owed its
origin to the initiative and encouragement of the
Patriarch, Cardinal Sarto, who took infinite pains to
ensure its success.
In this connection I may place on record his habit
of recalling how wonderfully the teachings of the
Catholic Faith are illustrated in the priceless treasures
of ancient Christian art, so lavishly scattered through­
out Italy, and how the Masters of old were imbued
with the true spirit of the Church. ‘ In modern
Italy,' he frequently said, ' the life and feeling of
that sublime language is dormant and requires to be
awakened once again.'
He strongly deprecated any negligence in the proper
custody of artistic and historical treasures. The
circulars he repeatedly issued or suggested to the
clergy in Italy and abroad, giving precise instructions
and practical rules in this direction, deserve more
attention than I fear they have always met with.
That museums and art galleries are indispensable
for the preservation of priceless heirlooms, which if
lost or deteriorated can never be replaced, he readily
granted. But he looked upon them as an objection­
able necessity, which he fain would see supplied if
possible in a different way. For he held that artistic
and historical works should be left in the framework
to which they properly belong and that to detach
them from it often mars the effect which their
authors had in view. Moreover, in his judgement,
the distribution throughout the country of the in­
spired products of human genius and the records
of the past, served to cultivate, more than anything
else, the taste of the people and to call forth the
natural gifts of born artists in our own day. When the
lesson, he said, has to be sought within privileged
walls of a museum, chiefly in large towns, on rare
44

PIUS X AND THE ARTS
45
occasions, entailing trouble and expense, few can
really benefit by it, and the gradual process of un­
conscious assimilation that prevailed in the past
can no longer exist in our own time.
On March 28, 1909, Pius X opened the new gallery
which he had taken so much pains to erect for the
better and safer custody of the celebrated pictures
of the Vatican collection. Many must still remember
the old 4 Pinacoteca ' on the third floor of the Palace.
Often, of an afternoon, during the brief intervals of
rest or recreation which the Holy Father allowed
himself, especially at the beginning of his laborious
pontificate, he would wander into the picture gallery,
situated then, as will be remembered, on the upper
loggia of the Vatican, on a level with His Holiness'
private apartments.
Pius X was impressed at once by the fact that the
gallery as it then existed, did not afford sufficient
space for all the pictures, many of which were
crowded together, and that it could not be considered
worthy of so important a collection. Moreover,
looking due north and exposed to the cold 4 tramon­
tana ’ winds, the low temperature of the rooms proved
detrimental to several of the older and more delicate
panels, and their proximity to the roof and to living
apartments did not provide proper security in case
of fire or of other accidents.
The Holy Father spoke to me repeatedly of all
this with the deepest concern. He had, however,
a further object in view when he determined to erect
the new 4 Pinacoteca.’ The many valuable paintings
to be found either in the Vatican Library, in the
Lateran Museum or in various halls throughout the
Palace, where they almost escaped notice, had
attracted his attention. He accordingly suggested
the plan of gathering them together, with the purpose
of affording wider facilities for the study of the great

ÎÎiMUE

46
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
Masters and of forming a picture gallery more in
keeping with the best traditions of the Roman Pontiffs.
Such was the idea of Pius X, and the perseverance
with which he carried it into effect furnishes evidence
of his intelligent interest in the cultivation and
progress of art.
Let me mention here that he had very definite ideas
regarding the decoration that he considered admis­
sible in churches of real artistic value. Benedict XIV
in his classical treatise on the Beatification and
Canonization of the Servants of God discusses under
the heading Ornatus Vaticani Templifi the temporary
adornments with which it is usual to deck the great
Basilica. That illustrious Pontiff justifies the estab­
lished custom by remarking that the exceptional
character of these ornamentations helps to impress
the onlooker with the solemnity of the celebration.
For our interest is naturally less awakened by what
is constantly beneath our gaze, however beautiful
it may be, ab assuetis non fit passio ; and undoubtedly
we realize better the full significance of a festival
when we see some unwonted decoration adopted for
the occasion. Pius X showed no inclination to
question this view as a general principle, but he very
strongly objected to its indiscriminate and exaggerated
application.
4 For goodness’ sake, respect the architectural lines
of our churches and the harmony of their design :
do not ruin their beauty with your red rags (stracci
rossi}.’ This remonstrance I have often heard
repeated by Pius X in relation to the excessive use
of cheap draperies and flimsy hangings, frequently
1 ‘ Quia tamen minus animum movent quæ praeocul is semper
sunt, templa consuevimus, etsi arte et materia apprime nobilia,
cum statæ quædam aut extra ordinem celebritates inciderint,
adscito cultu et temporariis ornamentis excolere, ut novitas com­
mendet quod assiduitate quomodo viluerat.' (Bened XIV Op :
de Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Canonizatione, t. VII.)

PIUS X AND THE ARTS
47
conspicuous in churches and chapels, even in Rome,
on the occasion of great festivals. He frankly
censured the extensive covering up of marble walls,
stately pillars and fine arches of our sacred edifices,
which have little to hide and so much to admire.
He held it inconsistent in a way to disguise their
splendour with tawdry trappings precisely during
those solemn days which afforded the best oppor­
tunity for cultivating the taste of the multitudes
and for leading them to appreciate the genuine
beauty of the house of God.
During the eleven years of the reign of Pius X, a
considerable number of new churches were built in
and about Rome. Several of them were erected
entirely at the expense of His Holiness ; to all he
contributed munificently, and the plans of their
design were in most cases submitted to his criticism
and approval. The urgent requirements of the vast
and densely populated quarters in the suburbs of
the city, or of the rural districts, made it absolutely
necessary to provide places of worship and new
parishes for the people. * There are plenty of fine
churches in Rome and yet they do not suffice by
any means/ the Holy Father was wont to say.
41 wish I could remove a dozen of them from the
centre to the outskirts of the town, for then we should
not stand in need of new ones. ’
When discussing with the architects, he would go
into every detail of the plans they brought him and
study them at length and with the greatest care
before allowing them to begin the construction.
His experience as a parish priest served him in good
stead in regard to the practical arrangement and right
accommodation of the buildings. With the object
of facilitating the work of the ministry ever present
in his mind, he made a point of erecting a presbytery
attached to the church, and wherever possible
£

48
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
he insisted upon having a school in the neighbour­
hood, a hall for parochial meetings, club work
and the like. He did not encourage new ventures
in the style of church building, especially in Rome,
and he showed a marked preference for the best
samples of classical architecture, which Im urged
should be copied within the limits of reasonable
adaptation and expense. ‘ Why look so far for new
designs?’ he would exclaim. * Take some of
the old basilicas for a model ; there are such splendid
churches here around, and there are many more
all over the country which it would be difficult to
rival ; better reproduce the old ones on a larger
I or smaller scale than waste time in devising ugly
novelties of an eccentric or indefinite style.’
But besides painting and architecture other crafts
and industries of skill and beauty appealed also to
the artistic inclinations of Pius X and gave him
opportunities to reveal his powers of observation
and the refinement of his tastes. The art of lace­
making was one of these, nor indeed can we wonder
that he should have been attracted to it, Venetian
as he was, and considering the keen interest he felt
in all that shed lustre upon the land of his birth.
Canon Marchesan has published the text of an
autograph left by the Patriarch, Cardinal Sarto, at
Murano on the occasion of a visit he made to the
lace factory there on January 12, 1898. He set him­
self to encourage the enterprise with the twofold
object of favouring its progress and of providing
for the moral improvement and spiritual assistance
of the many destitute girls he came across in different
parts of the city. The Latin circular he issued to his
clergy shortly after taking possession of the patri­
archal see affords evidence of this, no less than the
characteristic autograph which may be rendered
in English as follows : * On visiting the school for

PIUS X AND THE ARTS
49
lace-making at Murano, I am surprised at the beauty
of the work, so kindly shown me, and truly
satisfied with the discipline of the establishment,
where nearly four hundred girls, in the midst of
their difficult and arduous labour, practise the
virtues of Christian life. I express the hope that
the directors and patrons of the school may find
the means of selling this marvellous work and thus
provide for the welfare of the artisans and for the
needs of this very poor locality.’
An extensive knowledge of the various schools and
methods of lace-making at home and abroad enabled
him to discourse with proficiency upon the intricacies
of merletti a piombino, punto in aria, panto tagliato
or punto a reticella ; nor did he experience any
difficulty in detecting at a glance the merits or
defects of lace which happened to come under
his notice, for instance, when altar linen, a rochet or
an alb were presented for his acceptance. I cannot
help thinking that the donors, would often have felt
embarrassed had they realized how accurately he
could appreciate and criticize perhaps the exact
merit and value of the gifts they offered him.

X
PIUS X AND MUSIC
That Pius X loved music, for which he possessed a
natural talent, is not open to doubt. He had managed
to acquire considerable knowledge of the technicalities
of the art, and to have achieved this during the course
of his busy life warrants the conclusion that he was
gifted by nature in that respect, for all the absorbing
duties of the ministry allowed him little or no leisure
for cultivating his taste. Not many people realize, I
imagine, how great the sacrifice often is for a priest
to be cut off by his vocation from the enjoyment
of hearing really good music. I am sure the Holy
Father keenly felt the loss, though he probably did
not stop to dwell upon it more than on any other
of the advantages he had willingly foregone in the
service of the Divine Master. Bad and noisy music,
in and out of church, he undoubtedly was obliged
to endure all the year round wherever he lived ;
hence it is surprising that in spite of that he preserved
such excellent taste and entertained marked preference
for the best style of musical composition, whether
sacred or profane.
I recollect how intensely he enjoyed listening to
Perosi's great oratorio, ‘ The Last Judgement,’
which by his own wish was executed under the
personal direction of the author in the Sala Regia.
Flow he commented upon the inspired rendering
of the Scriptural texts, the richness of the orchestral
parts, without failing to point out the qualities or
deficiencies he had noted here or there either in the
composition itself or in the singers. He experienced
50

ns

PIUS X AND MUSIC

51

even more pleasure in the glorious chant of several
hundred voices during the solemn Pontifical Mass
which he sung in St. Peter's for the centenary of the
great St. Gregory ; many will long remember that
memorable day.
It would not be in keeping with the limited scope
of these sketches for me to dwell at any length
upon the efforts made by Pius X to re-establish
sacred music according to the time-honoured tradi­
tions and spirit of the Catholic Church ; it would be
superfluous, too, for his public utterances and
instructions on this subject have been widely circu­
lated and a great deal has been written to illustrate
their importance. I cannot omit however some
mention of his ideas and guidance in that respect
inasmuch as they came to my personal notice.
Here again the foremost aim of his life inspired his
judgement and directed his action. He appreciated
good music of every kind, but sacred music naturally
interested him most. He would insist upon procuring
the best, which, in his eyes, could only be music
that was really sacred and eminently 4 artistic,’ in
harmony with the liturgy of the Church and the
genuine expression of the sentiments that faith
inspires. Its purpose must be that of an auxiliary
to devotion. Without questioning in many cases
its innate beauty, he held that it was out of place if,
instead of leading us to God as a means and a help to
prayer, it became excessively prominent and ceased
to be subsidiary to the final and paramount object
of worship, the raising up of our minds and hearts
to God.
He strongly maintained the principle that if music
is to render its tribute of praise and homage to God,
it must not be of inferior quality and that we should
strive to produce the very best. On the other hand
he was fully aware that in order to bring about a

52

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

lasting reform in church music, merely disciplinary
measures, however stringent, cannot suffice, that
it is impossible to enforce a taste for a definite style
where it is neither understood nor appreciated,
and that taste must be gradually trained if a perma­
nent result is to be achieved. Such were the views
of the Holy Father often manifested in my presence.
But there was no narrowness in Pius X's conception
of the sacred music that he considered acceptable.
He by no means condemned local or national peculiari­
ties, many of which he frankly admired, provided, he
said, that the fundamental principles of maintaining
their strictly religious character and gravity were
scrupulously^· observed, if necessary, by means of
careful adaptation. Nor did he wish to prohibit
poliphonic music in church. He welcomed really
good work by modern composers ; nevertheless
he required that it be invariably kept within the limits
prescribed and constitute as it were an echo or
development of plain chant. I remember his remark­
ing that some enthusiasts wanted to go to extremes
and banish from our churches all music that is not
simply Gregorian chant : that he accounted to be an
exaggerated fad. 4 It would be the same,’ he said,
4 as if I were to discard the most beautiful and classical
pictures of the Madonna, on the plea that the primi­
tive and only acceptable type nowadays is the very
earliest representation we possess of the Virgin
Mother, such as we see it in the catacombs of St.
Priscilla. We should thus be led to proscribe the
masterpieces of ecclesiastical art and truly inspired
paintings. We do not want profane pictures of our
Lady, and the undevout images produced by many
of our modern artists, but surely it would be un­
reasonable to assert that the most primitive pictures
alone fulfil the conditions required by religion and by
sound artistic taste. So it is with church music.’

PIUS X AND MUSIC
53
One of his cherished wishes was to promote
congregational singing wherever possible, for he held
it to be most instructive for people of all classes
and a powerful means of arousing an intelligent
interest in the beauties of our sacred liturgy, especially
in regard to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. He loved
to dwell in this respect upon the remarkable results
achieved in parishes where the congregation had been
taught to sing correctly the different portions of the
Mass in plain chant and the psalms and hymns at
Sunday Vespers. He frequently expressed regret
that more importance was not given to a practice
which enabled people really to understand and deeply
to feel the significance of Catholic worship, and which,
if extensively applied, would attract so many to a
knowledge and fulfilment of their religious duties.
An effectual method of attaining this object appeared
to him to be, that in every diocese a capable teacher
of church music, approved by the Bishop, should
spend a short time in each parish and there train a
nucleus of singers, selected among the members
of the congregation, who would soon lead the rest,
and then go round again at intervals, to improve
what he had initiated and encourage progress.
When musical compositions were presented for
his acceptance, he carefully examined the score,
and more than once I have heard him hum the
melody which he read with perfect ease at first sight,
marking time with his hand as he did so, and then
giving his opinion upon the merits and style of the
music.
Many have heard him sing Mass in St. Peter's or
intone his solemn blessing in the Sixtine Chapel
and must recall his soft melodious voice.

XI
HIS CHARITY
At the close of each year, never later, to my recollec­
tion, than the following feast of the Epiphany, the
Holy Father made a great point of auditing his
private accounts, which he showed me on those
occasions with evident pleasure. * Presentiamo il
bilancio al Segretario di Stato per il controllof’ he
used to say with a smile of satisfaction. He kept a
ledger of the size of a thick copy-book, where on
opposite pages he noted down day by day every sum
he received, great or small, and every item of expendi­
ture. The alms for Masses, that came to him from
all parts of the world, he entered separately in a special
book and over this register he was particularly
scrupulous. * I do not want to go to Purgatory for
neglect in the matter of Masses/ was one of his
customary remarks on this subject. But all other
sums he set down in his one ledger, and when the
year ran out he carefully subtracted from the total
of free offerings the funds destined to special objects.
Nothing could induce him to defer the distribution
or modify the allotment of specific donations and he
severely blamed the method too easily adopted by
certain trustees of employing money contributed for
a definite purpose, to provide for some urgent
necessity or for supplying provisional aid in behalf
of undertakings other than those intended by the
donors, on the plea that the amount temporarily with­
drawn could be replaced later on without detriment
to those concerned.
I remember how after the terrible earthquake in
54

HIS CHARITY
Messina and Reggio Calabria, when very large sums
had reached the Holy Father's hands for him to
rebuild churches and schools and furnish relief to
the destitute victims of the great catastrophe, not a
few zealous people implored him to assign a portion
of the Messina funds for other good works more or
less connected with Sicily or Calabria. The Pope
invariably refused their request. 4 Not a penny/
he said, 4 of what the faithful have given me for
the victims of the earthquakes shall be spent on any
other object however worthy of interest. They
have trusted me and I am responsible to them/
And those funds, amounting to over six million
francs, he administered and distributed himself
personally. The balance sheet printed in the pub­
lished account of all he accomplished in Sicily and
Calabria is entirely his own, and he astonished the
chief accountant at the Vatican by the rapidity
and accuracy with which he ran up the endless lists of
figures and jotted down the calculations necessary in
dealing with the various sums required for different
objects. When his financial report was issued, I
recollect the following observation : 4 I am wonder­
ing,’ he said, * whether perhaps this will not prove
to be the only detailed report of the disposal of
millions so generously contributed by the whole
world for the relief of the stricken provinces/ He
was not far wrong.
Pius X never stopped to haggle over what he gave
away in charity, and he gave unceasingly ; his impulse
was to bestow all that he possessed. But not so
in regard to himself: it was just the reverse, for
then he enforced the strictest economy. On the day
of his election to the Pontificate, or on the following
morning, an enterprising jeweller had managed to
proffer a very valuable pectoral cross and chain, in
the hope of selling it to His Holiness.

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MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
Pius X wore it for several days, simply because he
found it there among the new ornaments that he
supposed himself called upon to adopt, and under
the impression that this handsome cross and chain
belonged to the papal treasury. Three weeks later
a bill for over three thousand francs came up for
payment. 4 Ah no,’ the Holy Father immediately
exclaimed, slowly shaking his head, * you don’t
imagine, do you, that I am disposed to spend all this
money on a cross for myself ? Here, thank the man
and return it at once. Surely there are plenty of
crosses left by the late Pope, and in any case I shall
be quite satisfied with the one I brought from
Venice.’ There and then he took off the new cross
and it went back to the jeweller.
What difficulty one had to obtain leave to spend
anything for his personal convenience, even in cases
where his health was concerned. His medical
adviser, Doctor Marchiafava, constantly insisted upon
the necessity of his going out oftener to breathe
fresh air; on the other hand he never ceased to
complain of there being no other available access to
the Vatican gardens except through the interminable
and chilly galleries leading all round the Belvedere
and the Library, through which the Holy Father had
to pass before and after his outing, usually amidst
the dust inevitably raised by throngs of sight-seers.
The want of a private passage to the gardens had
always been felt by his predecessor Leo XIII, though
for him the inconvenience was lessened by the fact
of his using habitually a sedan-chair. Pius X
objected very much to being carried in this way, if
for no other reason because the swinging movement
made him giddy. After elaborate study and considér­
able discussion our architect at last solved the
problem by finding it possible to pierce a tunnel
which would connect the Cortile del Belvedere

56

HIS CHARITY

57

with the gardens and quite conveniently enable the
Pope to drive there straight from the foot of his
private lift or of the grand staircase of the palace.
Nothing I could say however would persuade His
Holiness to undertake the expense of what appeared
to him to be merely a personal comfort.
I finally succeeded in obtaining his consent to my
having the tunnel built on my assuring him that I
could procure the necessary money privately from
friends, many of whom I knew would be glad and
even proud to contribute to this improvement in
the Vatican, especially when they realized the practical
service they were rendering to him and to his
successors. And so it proved to be.

inares

THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW

XII

THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW

The reform of the Roman Curia, the foundation of
the Biblical Institute, the building of central Semi­
naries and the legislation for the better training of
the clergy, the new discipline regarding first and
frequent Holy Communion, the restoration of church
music, the powerful stand he made against the fatal
errors of so-called Modernism, and the brave defence
of the liberty of the Church in France, in Germany,
in Portugal, in Russia and elsewhere, not to mention
other acts of government, suffice indeed to single out
Pius X as a great Pontiff and leader of men. I am
in a position to testify that all this enormous work
was due chiefly and often exclusively to his own
personal initiative, and carefully thought out in his
own mind. History will proclaim him a great deal
more than merely a Pope whose 4 goodness * nobody
is inclined to question.
The limits I have set myself in tracing these
brief memoirs forbid my entering upon a discussion
of the various and important subjects I have just
referred to, but one of his great undertakings deserves,
I think, some special mention in keeping with the
character of these sketches, viz. the New Code of
Canon Law. Within the interval of a few days after
his election he declared his definite intention of
beginning the momentous enterprise which he had
longed to see accomplished. Nor is it to be wondered
at. Priest and Pastor he pre-eminently was, and by
temperament a lover of practical and efficient
measures ; hence time and again he must have
58

59

felt hampered in his administration by the network
of successive legislation, of decrees that admitted
various interpretations, of enactments that had grown
obsolete or ill-suited to new conditions. A codifica­
tion of Church Law appealed to him in the light of a
measure full of promise for the maintenance of
undying principles and likely to strengthen the vigour
of ecclesiastical discipline, Nova et Vetera.
He cherished the hope of seeing this far-reaching
reform introduced during his lifetime and at various
stages of the preparatory studies I heard him exclaim :
4 We must push on, for I am growing old and I want
to see the end.’ God’s Providence had disposed
otherwise and after eleven years of unremitting labour
that he watched over and directed at every step,
he left an all but finished task to be crowned by his
successor on the chair of Peter.
Benedict XV rendered a deserved and eloquent
tribute to him when he promulgated the New Code.
In a solemn Allocution to the Sacred College of
Cardinals at the Consistory held on December 4,
1916, after summing up the reasons which had neces­
sitated this revision of Church Law and the very
great advantages which would ensue from its publica­
tion, the Pope went on to say : 4 Divine Providence
had ordained that the glory of rendering this immense
service to the Church should fall to Pius X our
predecessor of saintly memory. You are aware,
Venerable Brethren, with what alacrity he set himself
to this truly gigantic task at the very beginning of
his pontificate, and with what seal and perseverance
he pursued it during the whole time that he held the
reins of government. And though it was not granted
to him to complete his undertaking, nevertheless,
he alone must be accounted to be the author of the
Code, and therefore will his name be handed down
to posterity by the side of those Pontiffs of greatest

6o

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

fame in the annals of Canon Law, such as Innocent
III, Honorious III and Gregory IX. For us it is
enough to be able to promulgate that which he
accomplished/
As an illustration of the minuteness with which
Pius X initiated the work of the New Code of Canon
Law and directed the preparatory research I cannot
do better than reproduce here an autograph note of
his which I have before me and which he handed to
me on March 2, 1904.
The Holy Father wrote as follows : * It will be
well to decide immediately at the first meeting :
* I. In addition to Monsignor Gasparri (and also on
his choice) to select two under-secretaries who can
assist him in drawing up the reports of the meetings
and substitute for him when he is unable to be
present.
4 II. To name the Rome Consultors.
4 III. To select one or two Eminent Cardinals to
preside over the congregations of Consultors.
IV. To call upon the Bishops (a) to delegate
one Consultor from among the Canonists of their
respective districts, who shall come to Rome or draw
up his judgement in writing ; (0) to set forth the
points of law upon which it appears suitable to make
changes and to express their own opinions.
* V. To settle how often each month the Congre­
gations of the Eminent Cardinals shall be held and
how many times those of the Consultors.
* VI. Whether all the Consultors are to take up one
Title of the Law simultaneously or whether it is
preferable to distribute among them the matter
that they are to discuss.
* VII. To recommend that the work should
begin at once, without waiting for a more opportune
time, because dum Romæ consulitur Saguntum ex-

■

THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW

61

pugnatur, and it is not suitable that, being as we are
in Rome we should follow the Greek Kalends.’
Naturally whilst the work was proceeding it not
infrequently occurred that opinions differed and it
became difficult to decide upon the expediency of
introducing some particular point of legislation or
reform. Grave arguments would be marshalled for
and against a given proposal. The views and
desiderata of the Bishops in various parts of the world
were not always in harmony and the Roman Consultors urged their reasons with sufficient force on
both sides as to deserve serious consideration.
Then it happened occasionally that Pius X, with
that eminently practical instinct he so often mani­
fested, would issue a decree in the direction which
seemed to have the best support of valid arguments
by way of experiment, to be eventually incorporated
or not in the permanent legislation, thus allowing
the possibility of correcting or even of withdrawing
that particular enactment when the time came for
drawing up the final text of the New Code. Failing
to realize the wisdom of this procedure has led no
doubt superficial observers to conclude rather hastily
at times that Pius X or his successor Benedict XV
had gone back upon definite decisions. Such is
not the case. On the other hand it may be readily
granted that there are perhaps some articles in the
Code, as it stands to-day, which Pius X personally
might have wished to frame otherwise, but he rarely
forced his own preference in matters that were
debatable and that did not imply the sacrifice of
any essential principle.

XIII
HIS HUMILITY

Ubi humilitas ibi maiestas (St. Augustine, Sermon 14).
The truth of St. Augustine's axiom has been rarely,
I think, so fully manifest as in the person of Pius X.
Truly deep and unaffected humility was, I con­
sider, the prominent characteristic of the Holy
Father. It struck me to be so entirely the outstanding
feature of his whole temperament as to have become
in him a second nature. There was nothing in this
of that shallow, cowed and false attitude of mind
which is only indicative of weakness, or sometimes
may be simply a form of self-consciousness, of a
hidden craving for esteem or of a subtle dread of
facing criticism. He was far too great a lover of truth
and too sincerely genuine in everything to affect an
outward appearance of virtue.
It cost him no effort to be humble, because he had
a lowly conception of himself and the rooted convic­
tion that we owe all our powers to God alone made
it easier for him to admire the gifts he discerned in
others rather than to discover any of them in himself.
Adulation or praise, in public or in private, was
extremely repugnant to him, and if a person ventured
to approach him in that way, he found either in a
curt reply or in a playful remark the means of veiling
his contempt. But, I confess that I fail to under­
stand how anybody could attempt to flatter him,
for even a spontaneous word of earnest admiration
seemed to be out of place in his presence and to die
away upon one’s lips out of respect for the candour
and dignity of his character. 4 As silver is tried in the
62

HIS HUMILITY
63
fining pot and gold in the furnace, so a man is tried
by the mouth of him that praiseth' (Prov. xxvii, 21).
He gave me the impression that in his private life
it required a definite act on his part and almost a
positive effort to realize that he was the Supreme
Pontiff, endowed with all the prerogatives of that
great office. Habitually, he appeared to consider
himself the same humble priest of years gone by,
or one of many bishops, without claim to special
distinction. And yet, in the exercise of his sovereignty
and leadership no one could have surpassed him in
the stateliness of his demeanour or the vigour of his
command.
Nevertheless, if I may hazard a comparison, it
seemed natural to him to lay aside his eminent
dignity and to assume it again when occasion arose,
much in the same manner as he would put away or
resume the tiara and robes that he had to wear during
the solemn ceremonies he performed so majestically
in the Sixtine Chapel or in St. Peter’s.
As an instance of what I am trying to describe, I
may recall an incident that more particularly drew
my attention in two different cases. I happened to be
laying before the Holy Father a bishop's urgent
request for an exceptional faculty in circumstances
that demanded the direct intervention of His Holiness.
After listening attentively to my report, he slowly
read over the document himself, and then, without
raising his eyes, said : 4 This is a faculty which the
Pope alone can grant.' 4 Yes, Holy Father,' I replied,
4 and that is why I have come to trouble you about
it.' Whereupon, quite seriously, almost under his
breath, and as if communing with himself, he added :
4 No doubt, no doubt, let us act as Pope ’ (Gia, gia,
facciamo da Papa). And taking up his pen he wrote
out the dispensation in due form, and handing it
back to me, passed on to discuss other matters.
F

64

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

A similar trend of thought revealed itself sometimes
in a word that rose to his lips in presence of unsought
tokens of respect which he could not avoid. Quite
recently the Bishop of Angers was describing to me
the indelible impressions of his first audience with
His Holiness. ‘ I was on my knees/ relates Mon­
signor Rumeau,4 at the feet of Pius X, but my attitude
visibly distressed him and bidding me to rise at once,
he protested, saying: “No; not on your knees,
Monsignor, for I am the last of God’s priests ! ’’
(Io sono Vultimo dei sacerdoti di Dio). And when I
pressed him for advice upon a grave matter, I noticed
that before replying he invariably turned his eyes
to the crucifix on his table, as if seeking counsel
there.'
UZu humilitas ibi maiestas. Simple as were his
habits, fatherly and homely as he appeared in private,
the dignity of his countenance, the quiet unassuming
nobility of his whole bearing, never failed to impress
all those who attended his official receptions or had the
privilege of seeing him officiate on great occasions.
How many I have met who lay claim to high lineage
and exalted birth who might have learnt from Pius X
a distinction which they lacked.
Nor did his sentiments belie his outward demeanour.
The delicacy of his feelings showed forth at every
step, so true is it that refinement may just as often
be the result of virtue as the merely accidental
product of high descent. I have already spoken
of his exquisite regard for others ; I may add that
one of the things most repugnant to him and which
roused his indignation was that his servants should
be blamed for acts that were not their own or be
censured for failures in which they had incurred no
personal responsibility. To speak only of my own
experience ; it is of course inevitable that a Cardinal
Secretary of State should have to run the gauntlet

HIS HUMILITY

65

of criticism from many quarters, both in public and
in private. He must be ready to bear the. brunt of
undeserved abuse for the mistakes of others and to
be saddled indiscriminately with the authorship of
acts that are not always his and of which he may not
have had control. That is all in his day’s work. But
its recurrence caused real pain to Pius X and at
times gave rise to his indignant protest. ' I cannot
stand such injustice/ he would exclaim. ‘ Let them
inveigh against me, if they please. If anybody is at
fault, it is I. Why should you always be blamed for
everything ? ' And what he thus felt in regard to me,
he felt no less in respect to other officials, not exclud­
ing those whose position was the humblest. He never
sought cover behind those who served him.
Not infrequently I found it very difficult to per­
suade him to let us face the outcry, as in duty bound,
and stand between him and his opponents, even in
cases in which we were not directly responsible.
But this went against the grain and distressed him,
because it struck him as unworthy and unfair.
In addition, when disapproving the acts of his
subordinates and suffering by their blunders, he
strove to excuse and cover their mistakes.
Not many people, I fancy, had occasion to realize
fully how gifted the Holy Father was or to appreciate
the wide extent of his attainments, for the very simple
reason that he made a point of concealing them
whenever possible ; he failed to do so however
when thrown off his guard, especially in the presence
of those who lived in his intimacy. He delighted
in seeing others win credit for success entirely due
to his suggestions and for work that was all his own.
Sometimes when their praises were sung without
any mention of his name, he would look intensely
amused and afterwards say to me with a humorous
smile : * I think I too had a share in that.’

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66

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

In letters to me, and also to other advisers whose
counsel he sought regarding a plan he had conceived
or the tenor of a document he had himself prepared,
he constantly concluded with the express injunction
that we were to correct, suppress or add whatever
we thought fit. In cases in which his own scheme
met with disapproval, he welcomed reasonable
criticism from any quarter without the slightest sign
of annoyance, and if convinced, I have often heard
him remark : 4 Well, my work has come to nothing.
No doubt there are wiser heads than mine. I dare
say they know best.' Though it not rarely happened
that his original idea turned out eventually to be
correct and should have been preferred, he avoided
dwelling upon the mistake committed and strove to
shield those responsible from blame and criticism.
Nothing could induce Pius X to exalt his own
family, nor did he ever dream of raising the social
position of his relatives in view of the high office
to which he himself had been called. * When I die,'
he used to say, ‘ my sisters will go back to their
knitting. They shall have the benefit of my life*
insurance.
Let me add at once, that I never knew
anyone of his numerous relations to express the
slightest regret at his attitude in this respect. They
all, beginning with his own brother, took it as a
matter of course.
We were well aware of the warm affection he enter­
tained for his nephew, Monsignor Giovanni Battista
Parolin, a priest whose high character had won
unstinted esteem on all sides. Quite naturally there­
fore most people expected the Holy Father to employ
his services in the Vatican and thus have the pleasure
of his attendance and company. There can be no
doubt that an arrangement of this kind would have
afforded His Holiness very real gratification and that
the presence of Monsignor Parolin in his intimate life

HIS HUMILITY

67
would have procured him relief from the tedious
formality of his official duties. But our repeated
efforts to persuade him to allow himself a legitimate
satisfaction that nobody could possibly find fault
with, inevitably failed. His answer always was r
‘ Yes, Don Battista is a good priest, but he is young
and he must work in the ministry. He has a parish
and he is better there than in a palace.' In 1913
Monsignor Parolin, after ten years of strenuous work
in the parish of Possagno, up on the hill
promoted by his Bishop, Monsignor Longh.it
canonry and placed in charge of the Cathedral
at Treviso. He found the presbytery there in
dilapidated condition and in need of urgent r
Pius X came to the rescue and restored the bi
upon which he spent twenty-five thousanc
On handing the sum to his nephew, the Pop
in his characteristic way : 4 There, this is my p
for your promotion ; you must not expect an
more from med It was the next Pope, Beiiedl·
who, at my proposal, on the very day of his el·
named Monsignor Parolin a Canon of St. Pet'
Monsignor Parolin only came to Rome on
days’ visit, twice or three times each year. C
occasion, whilst conversing with His He
during the hot hours of a midsummer’s afternoc
Holy Father felt very thirsty and would have 1
glass of water. Monsignor Parolin natural!?
up at once to ring for a servant ; but the Holy Ï
checked him, because, he said, his private atte
had gone out and perhaps might feel hurt if 1
return he appeared to have neglected his dut
found that another had taken his place. So he
without his glass of water until supper time.
In the same spirit of detachment and on the
ciple of emphasizing a clear distinction be
his own person, of which he thought so little

68
MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X
the privileges of his exalted rank, which he could not
ignore, he never consented to allow his sisters a
residence in the Vatican, though so many others
lived there who were far less entitled to the favour.
He provided them with a small apartment in the
neighbouring Piazza and received their visit once
or twice a week, usually on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Though he made no reference to the matter, I feel
sure that the line he took cost him a real sacrifice,
for his sisters, so devoted to him, were worthy
indeed of the affection he entertained for them. When
Rosa, the eldest, to whom he was particularly
attached, fell ill and died, the privation of not being
able to attend her at the last weighed heavily upon
him. No less in keeping with this attitude regarding
himself and all that concerned him personally,
in his last Will he did not go beyond expressing the
request that a sum of one hundred lire a month
should be granted to three of his sisters then living
in Rome. A strange contrast indeed with the regal
generosity he showed whenever an opportunity
offered of assisting those in need.
The precise clauses of the last Will and Testament
of Pius X in regard to his family, are as follows :

* Born poor, having lived poor and certain to die
very poor, I regret being unable to repay the many
persons who have rendered me special service,
particularly in Mantua, in Venice and in Rome, and
therefore since I cannot give them any other sign
of gratitude, I pray God to reward them with his
choicest blessings. Having to provide for my sisters,
Rosa, Maria and Anna, who have always lived with
me and served me without the slightest remuneration,
I recommend them to the generosity of the Holy See,
that so long as one of them lives a monthly allowance
of three hundred lire be allotted to them. All my

HIS HUMILITY

69

other near blood relations being poor, I pray the
Holy See to grant one thousand lire a year, during
their lifetime, to my brother Angelo Sarto and to
my other sisters Teresa, Antonia and Lucia. . . .
The premium of ten thousand lire to be paid by
the Life Insurance Company, shall be divided in
equal shares between my brother and my sisters.’
(June ia, 1911.)

XIV
LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH
* Well done, good and faithful servant ! '—Matt. xxv.

How suddenly the end came ! After the attack of
influenza which the Holy Father underwent in 1913,
due undoubtedly in great measure to his having
overworked himself, Pius X recovered his strength
in a most remarkable way. In truth he was never
as ill as people were led to believe at the time by
exaggerated reports in the daily press, and he was
so cheerful and full of life all through his sickness
and convalescence that it proved difficult to prevail
upon him to lie idle.
4 Were it not for these worthy doctors, and could
I have my own way, I should be up and about
long since/ is what he cheerily repeated during
the days he spent in bed. Often did I see him
start up energetically from his pillow to sign a
document that I presented to him and exclaim with a
smile and his hand firmly extended : * Eminence, you
see my hand does not shake/ and thereupon proceed
to append his signature with his habitual energy.
On his return to his usual life he seemed to be very
much better in health than I had seen him for many
a year. His activity increased. He appeared to have
acquired renewed vigour and almost to have thrown
off something of the burden of age. The enforced
rest had been obviously a blessing in disguise and
there was every reason for supposing that he would
be spared for several years ahead.
And so did he continue until August, 1914, up to
70

WHI

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH

71

the outbreak of the Great War. How deeply he
was affected by the fearful tragedy it is difficult
to say. As I have already related, he had long fore­
seen and explicitly foretold the advent of the European
conflict. The horror and pain that overwhelmed him
when it actually broke out was intense. Day and
night the awful spectacle of the appalling struggle
haunted his mind together with the forecast of all
the suffering and anguish that must inevitably follow
in its train.
The invasion of Belgium and the news of the first
battles filled him with the bitterest grief. He fever­
ishly awaited the documentary evidence of all the
facts in order to trace his definite line of action and
to enable him to raise his fearless voice in the defence
of the sacred principles of justice and of peace.
The Master's call came before he had time to do
more than issue a preliminary exhortation which
bears the date of August 2.
After the feast of the Assumption, August 15, the
Holy Father showed signs of a slight catarrhal
indisposition ; but neither he himself nor those
in attendance attributed importance to a trifling
disorder apparently due chiefly if not exclusively
to the excessive heat of a trying summer. I myself
was somewhat poorly, and on Tuesday, August 18,
feeling unable to go up that morning to dispatch
business with the Holy Father, I deputed Monsignor
Canali, the Sostituto of the Secretariate, to submit
to His Holiness one or two more urgent matters I
had in hand. He returned with the report that the
Pope did not reveal any symptoms of sickness and
a personal message from him that there was nothing
much amiss. * Tell the Cardinal,’ were his words,
4 to get well, for when he is ill I am ill, too.’ His
doctors, ever watchful and inclined to take no risks,
made light of his indisposition and after prescribing

72

j;
«
[I

ji
[i
l|
’
I
I

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

a very ordinary remedy expressed their conviction
that a day would suffice to set him right. His sisters,
usually over-anxious whenever they detected the
smallest sign of an ailment, were not in the least
disturbed at this stage. They went out of their way
to let me know that there was nothing to worry about
and that I should find the Holy Father quite well the
next morning.
No one has been able to account for the sudden
change that occurred during the following night.
Monsignor Bressan, the Pope’s devoted chaplain,
who slept in an adjoining room and within hearing,
only noticed that the Holy Father was rather restless
and nothing more. However, as he failed to rise
at the usual hour, Monsignor Bressan went to him
and found him feverish and in pain. The doctors
were immediately summoned. On examination they
discovered that the Holy Father’s lungs were con­
gested and they pronounced him to be very seriously
ill. About eight o'clock they came down to give me
this news. Their report fairly staggered me, for I
realized at once the full gravity of the case and the
danger of heart failure. I told Doctor Marchiafava
that I considered that the end was at hand. In my
opinion the Holy Father was suffering far too much
under the strain of impressions caused by public
events to offer prolonged resistance in the face of
serious illness. Though inclined to think me somewhat pessimistic the doctors diagnosed the case
as exceedingly grave but not desperate and still
withheld their final verdict.
The announcement that Pius X lay dangerously
ill spread quickly throughout the town and people
of all classes flocked to the Vatican for news. Many
who only a few days since had seen him in excellent
health could not bring themselves to believe that
he was dying. At ten o’clock a severe crisis ensued.

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH

73

I hurried to the Holy Father's bedside and found him
gasping for breath. The doctors had been called
back and were applying every possible remedy,
with the assistance of a Brother of St. John of God.
The moment he saw me he clasped my hand firmly.
4 Enainenza !... Eminenza ! . . / was all he said.
The imminent danger of a fatal collapse made it
imperative to give him the Sacraments without
further delay. The last consecutive words I heard
from his lips were : ’ I resign myself completely/
Shortly after that he lost all power of speech, though
perfectly conscious, and looking intelligently from
one to the other he manifested beyond doubt that he
realized his condition.
The Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction were
administered to him by Monsignor Sacrista in the
simplest form possible. On a little table by the
bedside, covered with a white cloth, a crucifix and
two lighted candles were the only evidence of cere­
mony. I could not help thinking that after all
Pius X was receiving the last rites of the Church in the
way most congenial to him and that he must be
glad to avoid the publicity and solemnity which
usually surround the death-bed of a Pontiff. It was
not unlike the scene one might have witnessed in the
humblest cottage of a dying labourer, without pomp
or splendour of any kind. His devoted sisters stood
by in tearful silence ; but we were very few, owing
to the suddenness of all that had happened. Very
graphically has this moment been described in the
following words : 4 One was not conscious of time
and it was all unreal. Suddenly the deep notes
of St. Peter’s great bell boomed out, tolling pro
Pontifice agonizante, and at that signal Exposition of
the Blessed Sacrament began in all the patriarchal
Basilicas with special prayers. The hot sirocco,
the buzz from the Piazza San Pietro far below,

74

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

whispering prelates and attendants, the boom of the
bell, how strange it all seemed ; and behind every­
thing the catastrophe of the present public situation
and war.’
There is no ground for the statement made occa­
sionally that during the preceding weeks the Holy
Father's health had caused us anxiety, and in support
of what I have already said in this respect I may add
that most of the cardinals were away from Rome
for their summer vacation. Indeed had it not been
for the outbreak of the war, I myself should have
gone to Monte Mario, at a short distance from the
Vatican, as the Pope so kindly urged upon me to do
each year, after the anniversary of his coronation on
August 9.
We lost no time in informing the few cardinals still
in residence of His Holiness' precarious condition
and they hastened to the Palace in great anxiety,
the first to come being Cardinal Bisleti. Telegrams
were despatched from the Secretariate of State
to the members of the Sacred College, and Cardinal
Della Volpe, the Camerlengo, arrived in Rome the
following morning.
The energetic measures adopted by the doctors
produced their result and the Holy Father rallied
considerably. All through the day he remained
half sitting, propped up with pillows, perfectly calm
and peaceful. No further crisis occurred to disturb
the serenity of his countenance ; no gesture of agita­
tion or complaint ever escaped him. Though unable
to speak, he recognized those around him and from
time to time he slowly made the sign of the cross.
The long summer day wore on interminably whilst we
sat in the adjoining room within sight of his bed,
in order to leave him as much air as possible, and
we watched through the seemingly endless hours for
his passage to eternity.

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH

75

About eleven at night. I stepped into his room,
noiselessly I thought, from the opposite side to trie
one towards which he was reclining. But he immedi­
ately turned his head and his piercing look followed
me whilst I went slowly round the foot of the bed.
As I approached he raised an arm to welcome me
and when I sat down quite near to him, he seized my
hand and held it in his grasp with a vigour that
astonished me. He then gazed intently at me and
his eyes were riveted on mine. How I longed to
read his thoughts at thar moment and to hear his voice
whilst we looked so steadfastly at each other ! What
was it he was endeavouring to convey in those eyes
that seemed to speak ? Was he recalling the long
years I had spent in familiar intercourse with him
and all we had endured together ? Was he trying to
comfort me with a last message in the grief I strove
in vain to conceal ?
He held me thus motionless for nearly forty
minutes. From time to time he loosened his grasp
to caress me and then again took up my hand in
his.
At last he let his head sink back wearily upon the
pillow and his eyes closed. He seemed to have bidden
me farewell. Never shall I forget the scene of our
parting. It is as vividly before me now as it was on
that memorable night, when I found myself repeating
the words of St. Lawrence which we had read in the
Breviary a few days previously : Quo progrederis
sine filio, pater ? quo sacerdos sancte sine ministro
properas ?
Shortly afterwards Doctor Marchiafava, who was
in the next room, writing out the last official bulletin
of the Pope’s condition, beckoned me to his side,
and to my surprise requested me to assist him in
drawing up the text. On my asking him how I
could possibly be of the slightest use in a matter

76

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

regarding which I was obviously incompetent, the
doctor replied that I had mistaken his meaning ;
he did not call upon me to assist him in framing the
technical report, but merely to suggest a word that
would give an idea at all events of the extraordinary
serenity of the Holy Father's attitude in the face of
death. 4 Look at him,' he said, 4 is he not truly
wonderful ? '
Towards midnight I was prevailed upon to go
and rest awhile, being assured that His Holiness
would still live on for several hours. An hour
later a message came for me to hurry back, but before
I could reach his bedside Pius X had gently passed
away and his beautiful soul was with God.

XV

HIS RELATIVES
Before bringing these sketches to a close, I should
like to place on record some facts concerning the
family of Pius X, which have come more particularly
to my personal knowledge, for they illustrate the
domestic traditions of his home and throw light
upon the environment which had helped to shape
his individual character and which he had further
emphasized by his own virtues. I have already
referred to the self-denial that led him to refrain
from seeking temporal advantages for his own
relations, as he might so easily have done in the
various stages of his exalted career.
* In this he gave the world at large, and the
clergy in particular, an almost unparalleled example
of his disinterestedness and of his singleness
of mind in the pursuit of his lofty spiritual
aims.
When the disastrous invasion of the Venetian
provinces took place in the autumn of 1917, and the
enemy swept across the land between the Isonzo
and the Piave, it became necessary to evacuate with
all haste the towns and villages that lay within the
line of battle, either to avoid falling into the hands
of the invaders, or in order to facilitate the urgent
task of immediate defence. The people fled by
thousands and among the hapless refugees from
Gemona, Cavaso, Venice, Saizano, Riese and every
other district, there were many nephews and nieces of
Pius X.
None of them had ever lived in wealth. They
77

78

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

earned a modest living in different ways and they
were not destitute. One was a sculptor, two or
three held positions as school teachers ; some again
conducted a small trade or had secured employment
in a local administration.
When the storm burst, twenty-three of them, men,
women, and children, were constrained to fly in a
few hours, and, forsaking their quiet homes and
belongings, with no more luggage than a small
bundle each, several of their number started off on
foot, trudging along for miles in quest of a railway
that would convey them to some temporary refuge.
Giuseppina Parolin Salvador!, one of the Pope's
nieces, escaped with difficulty from Gemona, under
fire ; she went through untold suffering, alone and
unprotected, for she was separated from her husband
in her flight across the Tagliamento.
After an endless journey, the dreadful discomfort
of which I need not stop to describe, they all reached
Rome one night and made their way to the small
apartment in Piazza Rusticucci, where the late
Pope's sisters were living. Hospitality was not
refused them ; it was a matter of course, though the
most indispensable means of providing there and
then for twenty-three unexpected visitors were not
forthcoming. No rooms, no beds and few of the
necessaries of life. Huddled together during that
first night and the following day, they were indeed
to be pitied ; and they were the Holy Father's
relations 1
I went to meet them as soon as possible, in
the hope of being able to lend some help. The
scene I witnessed will ever remain vividly impressed
upon my memory. I found them assembled in one
room, where they sat in a circle or stood, for there
were not chairs sufficient for all. I saw children of
different ages ; two or three tiny ones nestled in their

MIS RELATIVES
79
mothers' arms or rested on their fathers' knees,
whilst other older ones looked on with wondering
eyes. All present appeared quite resigned and self­
controlled. I heard no lamentations nobody made
a display of sentiment, though their haggard faces
revealed only too clearly the great hardships they
had undergone. Their whole attitude was full of
dignity and admirably simple, the same that one
always discerned in Pius X.
They replied to my questions in a few words and my
assurance of sympathy only drew forth the remark
that * there were so many other poor people suffering
as much or more than they had had to endure.’
When I urged them to tell me what provision they
most needed, the answer invariably was : 4 We
should like to find work, in order not to be a burden
to others ; if your Eminence can assist us in this way,
we shall be deeply grateful.'
But that which impressed me more than aught else
was, that neither then, nor later on, nor at any time,
did a single one of them ever mention or even in­
directly refer to their close relationship with the late
Pontiff, nor appear to consider that this exceptional
circumstance gave them any title for special considera­
tion in the eyes of others or afforded the least claim
upon the generosity of the Holy See. This point of
view did not seem to have entered their minds.
Benedict XV, to whom I spoke of this rare and
edifying example, fully shared my admiration and
all the more willingly did he contribute to the relief
of such noble sufferers.
I experienced little difficulty in finding temporary
employment for them, because every request in
their favour met with cordial sympathy. The
Jesuit Fathers at the Collegio Massimo gladly
accepted the services of one of them as a teacher ;
two others were soon engaged as private clerks, and

vttii^

8o

MEMORIES OF POPE PIUS X

the Sisters of the Doctrine Chrétienne welcomed
Signora I. Parolin, a schoolmistress, who took
charge of a girls' class in their school on Monteverde.
The Spanish Embassy kindly gave lodging to
one batch of refugees in the hostel attached to
the National Church, in via Monserrato, and the
Augustinian Fathers at Santa Monica offered generous
hospitality to another group.
The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who had
Care of the Institute founded by Pius X, on the
via Portuense, for the poor orphans from Messina
and Reggio Calabria, were only too delighted to
provide a refuge for three little nieces of the beloved
founder. Most assuredly, Pius X never imagined
that the home he had so munificently supplied for
the victims of the great earthquake, would one day
open its doors to his own kith and kin, victims of the
Great War.
Lastly I may mention the case of Bepi Vigna, a boy
of fourteen, whose father worked in the arsenal at
Venice, and who himself was an apprentice there.
We managed to get him admitted into a factory at
some distance behind St. Peter's. Every morning
he passed under my windows on his way to work,
clad in a simple blouse, and he earned two lire
a day ! Not a very remunerative occupation, it may
be said, nor a very distinguished position for one
who only three years previously would have met with
special regard at the Vatican, as one related to the
reigning Pontiff. But neither he nor his family
stopped to consider this, and his employers, a month
later, whilst testifying to his good behaviour, ex­
pressed their astonishment that he had never
mentioned to his companions nor to anybody
at the factory that he was a great-nephew of
Pius X.

HIS RELATIVES

81

Immediately after the signing of the armistice, all
these exemplary refugees hurried back to their homes,
but alas ! under trying conditions and very different
circumstances to those they had known before the
war.