Pope Saint Pius X
(Latin: Sancte Pie Decime).
Feast Day 3 September.
Available on YouTube at
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
Pope Saint Pius X (Italian: Pio X) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), was Pope from August 1903 to his death in 1914. He was Canonised in 1954. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernist interpretations of Catholic Doctrine, promoting Traditional Devotional practices and Orthodox Theology.
His most important Reform was to order the Codification of the first Code of Canon Law, which collected The Laws of The Church into one volume for the first time. He was also considered a pastoral Pope, in the sense of encouraging personal holiness, piety and a daily lifestyle reflecting deep Christian values. He was born in the town of Riese, Italy, which would later append "Pio X" (Pius X's name in Italian) to the town's name.
Pius X was particularly devoted to The Blessed Virgin Mary under the specific title of Our Lady of Confidence; his Papal Encyclical Ad diem illum expresses his desire through Mary to renew all things in Christ, which he had defined as his motto in his first Encyclical.
Pius X was particularly devoted to The Blessed Virgin Mary under the specific title of Our Lady of Confidence; his Papal Encyclical Ad diem illum expresses his desire through Mary to renew all things in Christ, which he had defined as his motto in his first Encyclical.
Portrait of Pope Saint Pius X
(1835-1914),
The 257th Pope of The Roman Catholic Church.
Photo: 23 April 1910.
Source: Bain Collection, Library of Congress.
Author: Bain News Service, publisher.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Pope Saint Pius X
walking in The Vatican Gardens.
Available on YouTube at
Pius X believed that there was no surer or more direct road, than by The Virgin Mary, to achieve this goal. Pius X was the only Pope in the 20th-Century with extensive pastoral experience and implementation at the Parish level, which led him to favour the use of the vernacular language in teaching Catechesis, while the encouragement for frequent reception of Holy Communion became a lasting innovation of his Papacy.
His immediate predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, had actively promoted a synthesis between The Catholic Church and secular culture; Faith and science; and Divine Revelation and reason. Pius X defended The Catholic Faith against popular 19th-Century attitudes and views, such as Indifferentism and Relativism which his predecessors had warned against as well.
He followed the example of Leo XIII by promoting Thomas Aquinas and Thomism as the principal philosophical method to be taught in Catholic institutions. Pius X vehemently opposed Modernism, which claimed that Roman Catholic Dogma should be Modernised and blended with 19-Century philosophies. He viewed Modernism as an import of secular errors, affecting three areas of Roman Catholic belief: Theology; Philosophy; and Dogma.
The Canonisation of Pope Saint Pius X.
Available on YouTube at
Personally, Pius X combined within himself a strong sense of compassion, benevolence and poverty, but also stubbornness and a certain stiffness. He wanted to be pastoral, in the sense that he was the only Pope in the 20th-Century who gave Sunday Sermons in the Pulpit every week.
After the 1908 Messina earthquake, he filled The Apostolic Palace with refugees, long before the Italian Government acted. He rejected any kind of favours for his family; his brother remained a postal clerk, his favourite nephew stayed on as village Priest, and his three sisters lived together, close to poverty, in Rome. He often referred to his own humble origins, taking up the causes of Poor People. I was born Poor, I have lived Poor, and I wish to die Poor.
During his Papacy, some of the World-renowned Marian images were granted a Canonical Coronation, namely the Our Lady of Aparecida, Our Lady of the Pillar, Our Lady of the Cape, Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá, Our Lady of the Lake of Saint John, Our Lady of La Naval de Manila, Our Lady of Carmel of New York, and The Immaculate Conception within The Chapel of The Choir, inside Saint Peter's Basilica, were granted its prestigious honours.
Pope Saint Pius X.
Available on YouTube at
The Society of Saint Pius X, a Traditionalist Catholic group, is named in his honour. A gigantic statue of him is enshrined within Saint Peter's Basilica, while the town of his birthplace was also renamed after his Canonisation.
