Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1924-12-12
An Audience With His Holiness
P0ne Plus the XII.

of Ensign Douglas Penn Stick
ley, U. S. Navy.
Mrs. StickIey before her mar
rage was Miss Julia Ward Howe
Hall. of New York, great
grand daughter of the noted
writer Mrs Julia Ward Howe,
whose Battle Hymn, of the
Republic is perhaps her best
! known poem. Judging from this
article and previous one writ
ten from North Africa for the
HERALD, several weeks ago; it
will be seen that Mrs. Stickley
has inherited the wonderful in
tellect aud talent of her illus
| trious kinswoman. Directly after
her marriage to Ensign Stickley,
in June 1928. Mrs. Stick
ley, with her husband csme
to Woodstock to visit Ensign
Stickley's mother Mrs. Mary B.
C. Sticklev and at large recep-
ton given at the home of Mr..
and Mrs. Landon c. Stickley
met many Woodstock friends
who formed most favorable inn
preston of the charming little
bride.)
One of the most wonderful ex-
per;ences that anyone, Catholic
or Protestant, can have in Rome
lis that of having an audience
with the Pope. / have just had
that experience and though /
am not a Catholic, l am sure 1T
could not have meant more to1
anyone.
This morning we received the
invitation, ma ming the date and
hour OF our audience, an with a
picture of the correct costume
printed on one side. You are
supposed to be dressed entirely
in black, with he arms and
throat completely coyered-no
hat, but over the hair hin
black veil must be worn.
We took a taxi over to st.
Peters and it was the last pres
eut, day thing we did. From there
on | had the impression of NOV
ing through a mediaeval dream.
We walked through the colon
made and entered the Vatican
by a door at the end. Two of the
Swiss guards (the Pope's pri-
vate body guards) in gorgeous
uniforms of striped red, yellow
and blue-knee breeches and
fitted doublets, slashed to show
puffings of crimson silk, and
wearing crested steel helmets on
their heads, were crossing and
re-crossing before the door,
armed with tremendous steel
pixies. They saw the blue ticket
and pointed to another entrance
and two more guards, before a
marble stairway. The stairway
was huge, and the walls were of
polished marble in various colors
with hue and there liza igl VIM
dow of beauti full stained glass.
On the second landing of the
stairway we stopped to ask a
secretary for instructions about
our veils-they must be arrang.
ed over the head, with the two
ends crossed and fastened around
.le throat.
AT the head of the staircase
we found ourselves at the en-
trance to a large paved court
yard, surrounded by glassed in
galleries. three stories high. A
Palatine guard stopped US here
and tore corner from our ticket.
Another tremendous staircase,
and another Swiss guard at the
top, who politely pointed his
pike at carved door to the left
| We entered, and found ourselves
in one of the galleries, the walls
covered with magnificent paint
ings aud TIE ceiling done in VII at
seemed to be porcelain, so won
derfuliy were the wood carved
groups of saints, angels. and
biblical characters.
Two old men servants. in
lliveries of crimson silk brocade,
made like the ruffied courtiers of
| Louis XIV, took our coats from
us. A girl.near Us asked for a
mirror to arrange her veil-tlIe
old men nearly tainted with
horror at such a request-so we
all had to put on our wells I'M
| aided-of course. no one should
think OF appearance on sucli
an occasion but we certainly
looked hideous.
| A servant now conducted ~
Ito 4 huge. square, cold ROOM
malblc-walled and beautifed By
wall paintings aud mosaics. II