March 6: The Pope's Stone

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 6th, and our story is The Pope's Stone. Shortly after midnight on March 6th, 1854, the watchdog at the Washington Monument construction site stopped barking. Soon afterward, the guard patrolling the grounds had a gun to his head. Nine armed men made short work of binding and gagging the guard, and then tossed him into the watchman's shack. When his replacement found him four hours later, the Pope's stone was gone.

A gift from Pope Pius IX, the Pope's stone was just one of 200 donated stones slated for placement inside the Washington Monument. This stone in particular was a 2100-year-old slab of marble, measuring 36 inches by 18 inches by 10 inches, taken from the ruins of the Temple of Concord. As far as gifts go, it was a fantastically generous one. But not everyone saw it that way.

Some saw it as just another example of the Church of Rome trying to leave its mark on a Protestant nation. Government officials offered a $500 reward for information leading to the capture of the thieves, but no arrests were made.

Twenty years after the robbery, one of those thieves, a Washington, D.C. saloon keeper, confessed his crime to a Washington Post reporter. According to his account, he and eight fellow members of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party chipped off pieces of the stone with sledgehammers, smuggled what remained onto a boat, then dumped it into the Potomac River. That's the true story, he said, adding, if the dredges at work in the Potomac strike the right spot, they will fish up something that will create a sensation.

Sure enough, a decade later, bridge workers found a large piece of marble right where the saloon keepers said they would. Although the water had worn down the Gothic engraving on the stone, traces of the Pope's message, from Rome to America, remained.

Unfortunately, no sooner did authorities put aside the stone for safekeeping than it was stolen once more. Not until a century later, in 1982, was a new Pope's Stone commissioned and installed in the Washington Monument by the National Park Service. This story shows that gifts from God or his representatives may be misunderstood or even resisted by the world.

Despite thefts and controversy, the Stone's symbolic message endured. God's presence and blessing can cross cultural and religious divides. Even when others fail to see it, God's providence ensures that acts of faith leave a lasting legacy, often in ways beyond our control. Consider a gift of faith you have received or can give, prayer, guidance, or support. Reflect on its enduring impact beyond immediate recognition.

May we trust that God's work, like the Pope's stone, endures, even amid misunderstanding or opposition. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 7th, for another story of faith and courage in America.