Pope Pius XII and Sir John Barbirolli

Going to N. Wales?
CANON THOMPSON, the parish priest of Our Lady's, Bangor, who is slowly recovering frOm a long illness, does not allow his health to stand in the way of the progress of the Welsh mission in which he has a deep and courageous interest In addition to having done so much to restore and beautify his own church in Bangor—an ideal church, by the way, for visitors to Snowdon with motor transport (Masses 8. 9.30, II, 7)--he is preparing the plans for the building of a contemporary church, to be built by Mr. Sullen, of Liverpool, to be built in the mountain village known as Bethesda (Bethsaida of the New Testament). When this is completed, Snowdon visitors will have a church even nearer, I have myself enjoyed a good many climbing holidays at Capel Curig which (for the car owner) wonderfully combines mountain and sea. Though I must confess to days of uninterrupted rain everywhere, one can often drive to the magnificent sands near Criccieth, bathed in sunshine. while the mountain c'ountry lies in rain and mist.
Pius XII and the 'Dream of Gerontius'
TALKING to me about all this (and reminding me that an appeal for the Bethesda church regularly appears in this paper), Canon Thompson told me that Sir John Barbirolli was a frequent visitor of his when he was in hospital in Manchester. Sir John always wore a tiny gold crucifix and he told Canon Thompson its interesting story. Sir John, conducting Our Lady's Choral Union of Dublin with the Santa Cecilia orchestra of Rome, played Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius" with Cardinal Newman's words to Pope Pius XII in Castel Gandolfo. The Pope, who had followed the playing with a score, was absolutely delighted. He had never heard the work before. With tears in his eyes, he put his arms round Sir John and exclaimed: "Questa e un opera nohilissinia"—a most noble work. The gold medal was the Pope's return gift. His Holiness died only a few days after. No wonder Sir John treasures it as a memorial.
Daily Mass Guide
SUN., JUNE 26. THIRD AFTER PENTECOST. d. comm. Sts. John & Paul. Creed. (Green) MON., JUNE 27. Feria (Green) TUES., JUNE 28. S. lrenaeus. d. comm. Vigil of SS. Peter & Paul. (Red) WED., JUNE 29. SS. PETER AND PAUL. d. 1. cl. HOLIDAY OF OBLIGATION. Creed. Preface of Apostles. (Red) THURS., JUNE 30. Commedoration of St. Paul. dm. Preface of Apostles. (Red) FRI., JULY 1. THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD. d. 1. cl, Creed, Preface of the Cross. (Red) SAT., JULY 2. THE VISITATION. d. 2 el. Creed. Preface of Our Lady, (White) SUN., JULY 3. FOURTH AFTER PENTECOST. d. comm. S. Leo. Creed. (Green) APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER INTENTION FOR JULY: The Victory of Christian Truth. Parish missions in Latin America. Lauda Sion and Te Deum COMMENTING on I r. Brice's article on the Lauda Sion, a friend disputes the view that the present Lauda Sian could be sung more easily by the congregation than the choir. It will never be easy for anyone until we sing an adequate vernacular translation with a good congregational tune with permission thus to sing at High Mass. There would be less difficulty, because not sung at Mass, in getting a vernacular version of the Te Demo. 1 have often thought that, of all sung prayers. this hymn of thanksgiving would most suitably be sung in the language we all use and understand. I wonder how far it would be permissible even now to sing the Te Dream in an English version, since it is not sung in strictly liturgical ceremonies. A friend sang it for the first time in church the other day after 10 years in the Church. His abstinence might have been shorter had it been customary to sing it in English.
Guest of U.S. Navy
ALETTER from America tells that Archbishop Roberts, S.J., is returning home this weekend on the U.S.S. "Geiger" as the
guest of the Secretary of State for the U.S. Navy. This was a "thank you" for a retreat which the archbishop gave to Catholics on President Eisenhower's staff in Washington. "The archbishop's work, not less than his greatness as a person and a churchman, is widely and deeply appreciated in the United States," writes my correspondent. "It will be a pity if his own country proves less perceptive. To many Universities and institutions of learning here it is a matter of regret that His Grace has, for the moment at least. declined their invitations to work on their faculties. His departure from Gonzaga is a matter of deep regret to faculty and students and it is their hope that he will return as soon as he can possibly do so." Well, we very greatly appreciate him, as our readers well know.
Alas! Alas!
NOT even the Wykhamists are at one. A printer's error last week caused us to print: "Mr. Cousins is among the exponents of the Gaitskell Crosland philosophy." "Mr. Cousins" should of course have been "Mr. Crossman" and "exponents" should have been "opponents". I regret, too, that in these notes a line dropped out made gibberish of an anecdote. Such is life.