Saint of the Day: Pope St. Pius X

(1835-1914)

His life

+ Giuseppe Sarto was born in the Province of Venice in 1835. After his ordination, he exercised his priestly ministry with distinction, always aware of the spiritual and physical needs of his people.

+ He was named bishop of Mantua and, later, cardinal-patriarch of Venice before elected pope in 1903. Known as Pope Pius X, he took for his motto To Renew All Things in Christ.

+ As pope, Pius sought to fulfill the ideal of his motto through his stand against Modernism and the reforms of the Church’s prayer. 

+ Among the great contributions of Pope Pius X was his insistence that Catholics be free to receive the Eucharist regularly. This was a marked change from previous centuries when Catholics would often only receive the Eucharist once a year or, sometimes, even less frequently. Pope Pius also lowered the age of First Communion to around the age of 7. 

+ A man of simplicity, poverty, and courage, he constantly fought to defend the rights of the Church. 

+ Pope Pius X died on August 20, 1914, it is said, of a broken heart caused by the outbreak of World War I, which he had worked tirelessly to prevent. 

+ Pope Saint Pius X was canonized in 1954.

For prayer and reflection

“The Lord chose him for himself as high priest, and, opening his treasure house, made him rich in all good things.”—Entrance Antiphon for the Mass “For a Pope” from The Roman Missal

Spiritual bonus

On August 21 we also remember the martyr Saint Bassa who was martyred with her three sons—Saint Theogonius, Saint Agapius, and Saint Fidelis—in Edessa, Syria, in 304.  

Prayer

O God, who to safeguard the Catholic faith
and to restore all things in Christ,
filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth
with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude,
graciously grant
that, following his teaching and example,
we may gain an eternal prize.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.