TELEPHONE wires across Rome hummed last week with the singing of the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, the first notes of which Pope John will intone next week to open the Second Vatican Council. The sing-along was started by TIME Correspondent Robert B. Piser, who, attempting to determine the century in which that version of the hymn was composed, sang it to several sources on the phone--and they went on from there singing it to others. Piser finally got the correct echo: 9th century.

While Reporter Piser's singing might not bring critical acclaim, his Latin is hard to fault. A native of Detroit, Piser, 31, studied for the priesthood and taught Latin at a boys' prep school before he turned to journalism. When he interviewed the Pope for this week's cover story, they conversed in Italian, and got along very well. Pope John inquired about Piser's family (he and his wife Susan have an eleven-month old daughter), and when the reporter remarked that he would like to have ten children, His Holiness launched into a warm discussion of his own family, including a brother who had exactly that number. The interview went on much longer than scheduled, and twice, when Piser tried to leave, the Pope kept him on because there was more to say. A few hours later, a representative of the Vatican sent for Piser, told him that the Pope had been particularly pleased with their conversation, and handed him a medal. Piser recognized it as a copy of the Pope's favorite medal of himself, struck by famed Italian Sculptor Giacomo Manzu.

While Piser was preparing his report from Rome, TIME correspondents around the world were reporting on how Catholic clergymen viewed the council's prospects and the church's problems, and gathering opinions from other intellectuals, theologians, philosophers, historians and sociologists on the condition of Catholicism in the second half of the 20th century. In all the correspondents filed some 250,000 words, which, along with at least ten books on the subject, made up the raw material that Religion Writer John Elson and Senior Editor William Forbis used for the final story.

The sketch for the cover was done from life in the Vatican by Italian Artist Pietro Annigoni (who painted last January's Man of the Year cover of John F. Kennedy). The painter's reaction to the Pope: "So nice, so simple, so direct, so close to you . . . and yet so terribly distant. Even the simplest conversation with him ended with a few words putting you in front of Eternity."

"TWO recent TIME covers have prompted a particularly large and enthusiastic reaction from readers around the world. Boris Artzybasheffs dramatic depiction of the Wall (Aug. 31) brought hundreds of inquiries about reprints, including two requests from U.S. Government agencies interested in making a clear statement on the nature of the free world's position in Berlin. The James Monroe cover (Sept. 21), one of this year's most popular issues on the newsstand, inspired a flow of congratulations and requests for reprints of both cover and story. As a result, we have prepared a color reproduction of The Wall painting, suitable for framing, as well as a reprint of the Monroe cover and story. You may have either or both at no charge by writing to: James W. Donley, TIME Publisher's Office, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N.Y.

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