Pope Pius X (1835–1914,) born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was an Italian pope who led the Catholic Church (1903–14,) known for his conservatism, liturgical reforms, and opposition to modernist theology. He was canonized in 1954, the first pope since Pius V (16th century) declared a saint.
Born in Riese, Venetia, Austrian Empire (now Italy,) he was ordained in 1858 and later served as Bishop of Mantua (1884) and Patriarch of Venice (1893.) He was elected pope in 1903, succeeding Leo XIII.
Pius X’s reforms included lowering the age for First Communion, promoting frequent Eucharist reception, and initiating the revision of canon law (1904.) He opposed Modernism, issuing Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907, Feeding the Lord’s Flock) and Lamentabili Sane Exitu (1907, A Most Lamentable Departure,) condemning theological deviations.
F.A. Forbes’s Life of Pius X (1918) offers insights into his papacy and religious policies.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Pope Pius X
It is patent in our days that not alone is wealth accumulated, but immense power and despotic economic domination are concentrated in the hands of a few, and that those few are frequently not the owners but only the trustees and directors of invested funds which they administer at their good pleasure.
—Pope Pius X
Topics: Power
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