the late cardinal Rampolla; we are told that "Pius X attached to it an
indulgence of 100 days, each time it is piously recited, applicable to
the souls in purgatory."

O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, cast a glance from Heaven,
where thou sittest as Queen, upon this poor sinner, your
servant. Though conscious of his unworthiness.... he blesses
and exalts thee from his whole heart as the purest, the most
beautiful and the most holy of creatures. He blesses thy
holy name. He blesses thy sublime prerogatives as real
Mother of God, ever Virgin, conceived without stain of sin,
as co-Redemptress of the human race. He blesses the Eternal
Father who chose you, etc. He blesses the Incarnate Word,
etc. He blesses the Divine Spirit, etc. He blesses, exalts
and thanks the most august Trinity, etc. O Virgin, holy and
merciful.... be pleased to accept this little homage of your
servant, and obtain for him also from your divine Son pardon
for his sins, Amen.

And then, looking more closely, we discover the purpose of this
"beautiful prayer", and of the neat little paper which prints it.
"Salve Regina" is raising funds for the "National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception", a home for more priests, and Catholic ladies
who desire to collect for it may receive little books which they are
requested to return within three months. Pius X writes a letter of
warm endorsement, and sets an example by giving four hundred dollars
"out of his poverty"--or, to be more precise, out of the poverty of
the pitiful peasantry of Italy. There is included in the paper a form
of bequest for "devoted clients of Our Blessed Mother", and at the top
of the editorial page the most alluring of all baits for the loving