ITALY: God's Sign

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The deep boom of 101 guns echoed over Naples one afternoon last week. At the gate of the Royal Palace gaily uniformed guards presented arms. The blare of bugles cut the afternoon air. At 3 o'clock, a dapper equerry clicked his heels before the Palace, tied blue and white silk ribbons to the main door. From thousands of loyal Italians thronging the streets of Naples went up a mighty roar. To the Princess of Piedmont, Crown Princess Marie-José, had just been born a nine-pound boy "with dark hair, dark eyes and a florid aspect," who may one day sit on the throne of Italy as King Vittorio Emanuele IV.

Though Italy has been a united kingdom for less than 70 years, the reigning House of Savoy has worn the ruling purple in Europe for ten centuries. For years Italians have been praying to the Mother of Christ that Princess Marie-José might have a male child. Only six days before she gave birth the Princess watched a performance at the San Carlo Opera House, applauded heartily. Her latest patriotic exploit was to leave her husband at Naples and go to Ethiopia whence she returned more popular than ever (TIME, March 30). Though Princess Marie-José's birth pangs came on prematurely there was time for her strapping Montenegrin mother-in-law, Queen Elena of Italy, to rush from Rome to Naples, but her more fragile mother, the sad-eyed, widowed Queen Mother of the Belgians, was unable to reach her bedside in time. When the babe was one day old he was carried on a satin pillow into the chapel of the Royal Palace where Cardinal Ascalesi, Archbishop of Naples, christened him with twelve names: Vittorio Emanuele Alberto Carlo Teodoro Umberto Bonifacio Amadeo Damiano Bernardino Gennaro Maria.

Since Dictator Mussolini has solved the Roman Question, has established friendly relations between the Papacy and the Italian Royal Family, it became sick Pope Pius to make some gracious comment. Declared L'Osservatore Romano, semiofficial Vatican organ: "God has given his sign."