Real name Jozef (Giuseppe) Sarto
Saint
Holiday: August 21
* June 2, 1835, Riese, today Riese Pio X near Treviso, Italy
† August 20, 1914, Rome
Pontificate: 1903 – 1914
Meaning of the name: pious, religious (lat.)
St. Pius X was born on June 2, 1835, in the village of Riese near Castelfranco Veneto in the Diocese of Treviso as the second of ten children. His father was a postman and a farmer. Jozef liked to minister, wanted to learn, and had great talent. Even though his parents were poor, he managed to graduate from the grammar school in Castelfranco and Padua, where he continued studying philosophy and theology. A native of Riese, the Venetian patriarch Jakub Monica also gave him a place in the seminary. Jozef was ordained a priest in 1858 in Castelfranco. He worked as a chaplain in Tombolo, from 1867 as a parish priest in Salzano, and in 1875 he was called as a canon and vicar general in Treviso. In addition, he also taught in the seminary. In 1884, Pope Leo XIII. appointed as bishop in Mantua and in 1893 as patriarch and cardinal in Venice. He was elected Pope in 1903. According to the “Malachi Prophecy,” he was supposed to be “ignis ardens,” a roaring fire. As he said during his election, he took Pius after the holy popes who were “mighty and kindly protected” the Church. He chose “Renew everything in Christ” as his motto.
Predecessor Pius X. Leo XIII. Focused on restoring the Church’s external relations, Pius X decided on internal reform. In the first days after the election, he ordered a new codification of church law. In 1908, the Acta Apostolicae Sedis began to be published – a circular for the whole Church, in which statements and information about the happenings in the Church were published. It is a common practice not only of the Holy See but of every diocese. Pius X had excellent organizational and reforming talent. Administration became much more straightforward; he eliminated clutter and unnecessary bureaucracy. He proposed new methods and means for pastoral care. He cared a lot about the holiness and education of priests. He reformed the liturgical music, removed the long interminable preludes during the liturgy, and paid great attention to the Gregorian chant. A college for church music was established in Rome.
At his initiative, a new edition of the Roman Missal and the Roman Breviary was published. The Pope had an excellent feeling for errors and anti-Catholic directions. He was adamant in faith and morals, but he tried to lead strays to the right path with kindness and goodness. He drew attention to the so-called modernism that began to spread. He radically rejected it in 1907 with his encyclical Pascendi.
On the other hand, however, many did not understand the Pope correctly. When condemning modernism, they went to the other extreme (integralism) – they opposed any adaptation of the Church to modern life. They wanted to enter worldly affairs with the decisive word as well. However, the Pope did not do politics. He was only interested in the purity of faith and the renewal of religious life. He tried to separate the Church from the state. He issued a decree that no secular power should interfere in the election of the Pope. Even during his election, the Austrian Emperor František Jozef interfered in the election, announcing an “exclusive objection” to the election of Cardinal Rampolla, who was most likely to be elected.
As his role model, the Pope had the parish priest of Ars, John Maria Vianney, whom he declared blessed in 1905. He had a picture of him on his desk. He also declared other zealous priests to be blessed – St Johann Eudes and Klement Maria Hoffbauer. He greatly respected the work of priests. He himself was a zealous pastor. As a bishop, he helped his priests with confession and preaching. His speeches as the Pope were always clear and understandable, and you could feel the fatherly love and strictness in them. He was very zealous for respect for the Eucharist and the renewal of spiritual life. The much-mentioned “active participation of the laity in the liturgy” began during his era. His goal was “so that people do not pray at Mass, but pray Mass.” He also called for frequent St. reception. He allowed the children to receive the first St. communion as soon as possible, which was perceived already the difference between ordinary bread and St. receiving. Until then, they had to wait until they were fourteen. An incident from the childhood of this Pope is mentioned when he wanted to receive the Body of Christ but could not because he had not yet reached the prescribed age of 14 years. When he begged the bishop to allow him after all, the bishop said, “Once you become pope, you can change it.” It happened…
Towards the end of his life, he felt that war was approaching. On August 2, 1914, he issued an apostolic letter expressing great pain over the unrest and called on people to cling to Christ, the Prince of Peace. Shortly after that, he got pneumonia. The disease continued rapidly and insidiously. The Pope died on August 20, 1914. He was not embalmed and buried in the Vatican crypts at his request. His testament was written: “I was born poor, I lived poor, I die poor.” He was declared blessed by Pope Pius XII in 1951 and as a saint three years later.
Pius X was the greatest reformer after Pope St. Pius V- (1566-1572). Several historians say he completed the reform of the Council of Trent (1545-1563). He reformed the missal, breviary, church law, music, sacramental life, seminaries, biblical and theological studies, and the Roman Curia.
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