On Sunday 8 June President Rev. Br. Agostino Gemelli opened the Second Private Session and the Academicians offered him a modest but symbolic gift presented by Academician Amaldi: a bronze presidential bell, an artistic piece by pontifical engraver Aurelio Mistruzzi. The bell is decorated with an olive tree and a laurel bush, symbols of the peaceful and fruitful development of the sciences. The motto Pax et bonum, the Franciscan cord that frames the dedicatory inscription, closed by a caduceus, represents the President of the Academy, a son of St. Francis and an expert in medical sciences.
The President then invited the Academicians to present their scientific communications. Immediately after the session, the Holy Father Pius XII invited the President and the Academicians to a private audience in the Sala del Tronetto (Hall of the Small Throne).