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 Beatification of Pope Pius X Scott 145-148 (1951) August 21 marks the Feast of Pope Saint Pius X. The future Pope Pius X, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was born to a poor family in Riese (Venetia) in 1835. His early years were outlined in the entry for his birthday on 2 June and will not be repeated here. Pius was elected to follow Pope Leo XIII in the conclave of 1903. His motto was "Restore all things in Christ". Historian David Farmer states that in "contrast to some of his predecessors, he was both a peasant and a pastoral pope." During his pontificate, Pius X encouraged frequent communion including children from approximately age 7. He favored reform of Church music, the use of polophony, and especially Gregorian Chant in the liturgy. He also began recodification of Canon Law (to be concluded under Benedict XV). The pope favored Catholic Action, a movement to bring Catholic principles into public life, as did a future successor, Pius XI. The theological movement of Modernism was condemned by Pius X. Modernism brought recent scholarship and secular ideas into traditional Catholic theology, which Pius challenged because of their secular, relativist origins, and therefore a danger to the integrity of traditional faith. Historian Russell Shaw sums up the position of those opposed to Modernist ideas: Modernism…began among a loosely linked network of scholars and intellectuals who wished to adapt Catholicism to the currents of secular thinking of the day in Scripture studies, history, and other disciplines. Although their intentions were good, even admirable, the tendency of the Moderniist spirit…was toward replacing the elements of faith with tenants that, although culturally relevant, reflected more the philosophical fashions of the late nineteenth century than teachings of the Gospel.Pius condemned Modernism in the decree Lamentabili (1907), followed by the encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis (Feeding the Lord’s Flock). The encyclical required clergy to take an oath against Modernism. Pius was also embroiled in a Church-State conflict with the French Republic. The anti-clerical government of Emile Combs abrogated the 1801 Concordat (signed by Napoleon and Pius VII) and passed the Law of Separation, in which Catholicism was no longer the official religion of state, Catholic education was outlawed, and Church property confiscated (this is why it is the French government is responsible for restoring Notre Dame Cathedral after its recent fire). Therefore, the ‘independence’ of the Church in France was ensured, but with the loss of its property. Thousands of priests, nuns, and sisters were forced to leave France. This legislation occurred in the years following the Dreyfus Affair in which conservative and monarchist factions tended to support Dreyfus’ wrongful conviction, a dispute which severely split French society and politics at the turn of the century. 
Pope Pius X: Centenary of Death Scott 1572 (2014) Pius X suffered a heart attack in 1913 and was in poor health thereafter. He died on 20 August 1914 as World War I was breaking out in Europe. David Farmer states that Pius had 'a reputation for miracles, simplicity, and poverty.' Pius famously stated in his will: 
 Canonization of Pope Saint Pius X Scott 182-184 (1954) Pope Pius X was canonized by Pius XII in 1954, and he is entombed among other recent popes in the necropolis below St. Peter’s Basilica. REFERENCES: |
