Before sunrise one morning last week, the telephone tinkled in the Vatican apartment of Pope Pius XII. The Pope, who was about to step into his chapel for Mass, answered the call himself. It was his private secretary, Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini, with a message of tragic urgency: an airliner carrying Canadian Holy Year travelers home from Rome had crashed in the French Alps, killing all 58 aboard.
Pope Pius wept; his Mass was delayed until the 74-year-old Pontiff recovered from the shock.* He prayed for the dead, then told his secretary to send messages of condolence to the victims'...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
