The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1958-11-14
JOSEPH BREIC
A Tale
OF Two Lire

Mariana. the mother of Angelo Joseph Ron
CALI, thought to herself that her boy ought not 60
off to the seminary without something's least a
modest sornethlng-to give to the rector toward his
schooling.
She put on her shawl and went out of her
house in the little village of Soto II Monte-"Under
the Mountains"-Italy She trudged along the coDble-
stone streets that ran up and down the hillside
above the Pc Valley.
Mariana was a humble person. She was SO
humble that if she felt any embarrassment, she sup
pressed it as she entered the home OF nelgnbor after
~neighbor, and told her story.
1T WAS A SIMPLE STORY that hurts the heart
even in the telling many years later. She and her
husband had very little money; their 11year-old boy
was going away to become a priest; would her friends
contribute to a little collection toward his educanon!
We can understand Marianna's feelings. A mo-
Their does not mind SO much BENG Snameo nersen;
but she does not like to think of poverty shaming
her son, making him feel like a kind of nuisance and
burden.
That is why Mariana went around to the
houses of her n%eighbors, asking for donations. When
she returned to her own house an hour or two later,
she placed on the table two lire-a couple of cents
and burst into tears. She had failed her son; or SO
ONLY GOD KNEW THEN that the boy was
destined to become Pope John XIII.
God does such things. He does them through
mothers like Mariana Roncalli, and through fathers
like John Baptist Roncalli, who had counted on
his eldest son helping him on the farm, but con-
sented c~heerfu1ly when the lad told him ne wanted
to be a priest.
Young Angelo was a D0okWOrn, ana because OF
that | feel very close to him. / was a bookworm, too;
and like Angelo | was subjected to the annoyances
afflicted upon bookish boys as well-meaning, out
going, deep-breathing, o%utdoorsy folks.
1T rs RECORDED that a hearty parish priest
told Angeles mother that she ought to chase him
away from his books because what he needed was
open air and exercise-"heT have plenty of time
for books later " have my doubts that the priest
lived to be n and was hale enough still to shoulder
the burdens of being a pope.
Angeles brothers, we are told, were irritated
with him because when they went out to gather fire.
wood. he carried a book with him. l am reminded Of
my sisters who were annoyed with me because | was
usually to be found sprawled on the floor on my
stomach, my nearsighted eyes close to the printed
pages.
because Angelo was very good in his studies, he was
sometimes held up as an example by the teacher.
This pedagogical folly naturally enough, lnfuTiated
the other boys, and occasionally they threw stones
at Angelo as he walked home.
BUT HE oNLY LAUGHED at u.s." his school
mates relates. There is deep significance in that fact
for anybody who wishes to understand the tempera-
ment of the new Pope. It is an extraordinary boy
who can see the humor in the smallness of those
who bully him.
Eventually. one of the larger boys. rebelled
against the bullying, and appointed himself Angeles
protector. In my own case, it was not a larger boy
but a smaller boy who came to my rescue; but how
he could fight.
AS to the moral Of all this, l suppose it goes
back to one of my favorite topics-that people really
their children. Some modcum of social custom is
all very well, but God-given individuality is a thing
precious beyond words.
The word "bookworm'' is a loaded term. It is
brainless; it is a mere epithet. It is no more SEN
sible than calling a boy who loves sports a muscle
fiend. But of course we all admire athletes and de-
spise scholars-until they become great scientists or
philosophers or pOpeS.