Religion: At Rome

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Spuming, plunging, bumping dolphins, the steamship Conte Biancamano rushed across the stormy Mediterranean last week with His Eminence Patrick Joseph Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York priest of Sancta Maria in Via — Rome. Cardinal Hayes had with him his entourage and the last U. S. contingent of Holy Year pilgrims, for on Christmas Eve the Holy Doors close on this year at jubilee. For that ceremony they arrived in Naples in good time but they reached Rome late by one day to attend the resplendent, the rare Public (Extraordinary Consistory at which five cardinals received their red hats; and late by five days for Cardinal Hayes to add his placet (it pleases! or yes!) to the naming of four of these in Secret (or Ordinary) Consistory.

At that Secret Consistory in the Hall of the Consistory, faced by the Sacred College of his scarlet robed Cardinals, sat white-clad Pius XI, once Achille Ratti, but since Feb. 12, 1922, His Holiness the Pope, Bishop of Rome an Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Temporal Dominions of the Holy Roman Church.

Four names at least His Holiness spoke to his silent audience.

1) Bonaventura Cerretti, Archbishop of Corinth, now apostolic nuncio in Paris, onetime auditor of the apostolic delegation in the U. S.;

2) Enrico Gasparri, recently apostolic nuncio in Brazil, nephew of His Eminence Peter Cardinal Gasparri, Papal Secretary of State and Camerlengo, prospective administrator of certain papal functions should the Pope die;

3) Patrick O'Donnell, Archbishop of Armagh, who cleaned "poteen-(Irish moonshine) from his diocese by making penitent drinkers walk miles for absolution;

4) Alessandro Verde, Secretary of the Congregation of Rites, one of the most learned theologians of the Roman ecclesiasts.

For His Eminence Enrico Cardinal Gasparri, nephew of a living Cardinal, His Holiness had to dispense from his Church rule: "In keeping with the provisions for the promotion to the nobility, illegitimates, even when legitimated by later marriage, are ineligible, also the fathers of legitimate children, nephews of cardinals and those related to a cardinal in the first or second degree of consanguinity. Of course the Pope can occasionally dispense from these qualifying conditions.'

As the Pope named these four, each cardinal present rose in his place, lifted his scarlet biretta as sign of agreement or mayhap retained it in firm objection. Who, if any, dissented from the Pope's nomination, no outsider will ever know, for each cardinal has gone through the ceremony of the "opening and closing of the mouth" as token of his silence on papal matters.