The Saint Paul globe., 1903-07-26

Mgr F. 2. Rocker. bishop of Jaro,
Philippine islands, and for eight ana
one-half years secretary of the apoS-
tolic delegation at Washington, return
ed from Rome on Tuesday. July Z. On
June 1S he had a private audience WITH
Pope Leo, and on June 25 saw him at
the consistory. He left Rome on June
26 and consequently has later and
more vivid impression of the pope than
any American who has recently seen
him. Indeed. it is probable that Mgrs
Rocker was one of the last Americans.
if not the very last. to have a private
audience with the pope.
when / arrived at quarantine on-l
Tuesday, said Mgr. Rocker. .T was
greatly shocked to hear that the pope
was in extrenis. l had heard at Paris
before 1 sailed that he was i'll. but at
that time it seemed no more than an
indispesition. The news was particu-
larly sad to me. because l had just
come from Rome, where l saw the pope
twice-once privately and once at the
consistory, and it seemed to me that
he was destined to live long"
Mgr Rocker was called to Rome for
instruction in the new duties to which
the pope has assigned him. The pope
chose Mgr. Rocker and Mgr. Dougher-
ty, of Philadelphia, as bishops for the
Philippines. 1t had originally been in
cese of Nueva Cacares. but Mgr.
GLAli, the apostolic delegate to the
Philippines, desired that Mgr. Rooker
should go to the Jaro diocese. which
includes Ilo and Panay, and comprises
1900 600 Catholics. Mgr. Dougherty is
Rocker went to Rome two months ago
to study the Philippine question as re-
lated to the Roman Catholic church
and to fit himself for his new duties.
Mgr. Rocker is a young man, broad
shouldered. thick-chested and ruddy-
faced. He has risen rapidly in the
church. His services as secretary to
the apostolic delegation at Washington, i
where he was with SatoIli and Marti-
nelli, and. thus far, with Falconio. have
been highly regarded at Rome. He first
saw the pope twenty years ago. When
he was appointed secretary to the
apostolic delegation, eight and one-half
years ago. he had several audiences
with the pope.
"On June 49," said Mgr. Rocker, II
had my last private audience with the
pope. / say private. because it was,
although Mgr. Dougherty. Of Philadel-
phia. went in at the same time. Wei
were alone with the holy father.
''Our appointment was for II o'clock
noon, and we arrived at 11:50. Some
body was with the pope then, and we
time. Shortly before II o'clock Mgr.
Riggi, prefect of the pontifcal ceremo-
MES, went into the room where the
pope was sitting. He stayed but a
moment. He was followed by Bisleti.
the chamberlain. He. too. stayed not
longer than thirty seconds. Then the
door swung open and Bisleti beckoned 4
Dougherty and myself to enter.
Sitting in a Flood Of Sunshine.
II mention these details. because they
are necessary to show there was no
coaching by these dignitaries, and to
emphasize the marvellous knowledge of
detail the pope has concerning the af-
fairs and people of the church. 4
"Bisleti stood by the door as we en-
tered. No one else was in the room
besides the pope, who was sitting by a
table in the center of the room and in
flood of sunlight that fell from one of
the great windows. had not seen him
for more than eight years. l observed
him closely as we advanced. He had
not changed a particle in that time.
His face always appeared as if it had
been carved out of translucent Carrara
marble. 1t had that look Them His
frail body was clothed in his robes of
Office and he wore his white cap. He
was motionless = apparently in pro-
found meditation. AS we reached hfds
he turned his eyes on me. Ihey are.
marvellous eyes-deep, luminous and
full of fire. They seemed to burn under
that broad, pale brow. II,
s"The presentations were made. .Ah.
yes said the pope. Rocker has been
| our secretary at Washington for the,
last eight years. Then, patting the
palm of his left hand with the first
finger of his right, as if to count. he
continued: He has served there with
Satolli, with Martinelli, and with =
with
"He hesitated moment. With Fal-
COMO, too, holy father prompted.
Eyes, yes he said, with Falconio.,
too
.When he said my name he pro-
! nounced it correctly. That amazed me.
Eight years before he had given it the
Italian pronunciation the double 'O,'
and pronouncing it Rowker.' He had
/ been corrected then and told that the
o's were short. He remembered, al
though to this day Rampolla and the
others all call me 'Rowker.'
"This is a little thing, but it shows
the character of the mind. the compre-
| hensiye sweep of the intellect of this
wonderful man. Corrected in so insig-