Saint Pius X

"The sedia advanced," wrote one who was present about this time at a service in St. Peter's, "bearing the Pope aloft above the heads of the people. He was in a red cope and a high golden miter. His face was sweet and sad; his soul, far away from all this show and splendor, seemed lost in the contemplation of the distance that separates the things of earth from the things of Heaven, while his hand moved from side to side in blessing. The sadness was so deeply engraved on that pensive face that it seemed as if no smile could ever lighten it; truly he bore on his shoulders the weight of the world's grief. Suddenly a movement in the crowd brought the procession to a halt; the thoughtful face was raised as if the Pope had awakened from his contemplation; he bent forward. A smile of infinite sweetness and kindness, like a ray of sunshine in a winter sky, lit up for a moment those sad features, while beneath me I heard two Italians murmur, "O Father, dear, dear old Father!"Frances Alice Forbes