67 Facts About Pius X

Pope Pius X was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in 1914.

Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, and for promoting liturgical reforms and scholastic theology.

Pius X initiated the preparation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive and systemic work of its kind.

Pius X was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence; while his papal encyclical Ad diem illum took on a sense of renewal that was reflected in the motto of his pontificate.

Pius X encouraged the frequent reception of Holy Communion, and he lowered the age for First Communion, which became a lasting innovation of his papacy.

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Pius X was known for his firm demeanour and sense of personal poverty, reflected by his membership of the Third Order of Saint Francis.

Pius X regularly gave sermons from the pulpit, a rare practice at the time.

Pius X rejected any kind of favours for his family, and his close relatives chose to remain in poverty, living near Rome.

Pius X undertook a reform of the Roman Curia with the Apostolic Constitution Sapienti consilio in 1908.

Pius X was the second born of ten children of Giovanni Battista Sarto, the village postman, and Margherita Sanson.

Pius X won the people's affection when he worked to assist the sick during the cholera plague of the early 1870s.

Pius X was named a canon of the cathedral and chancellor of the Diocese of Treviso, holding offices such as spiritual director and rector of the Treviso seminary, and examiner of the clergy.

Pius X was consecrated six days later in Rome in the church of Sant'Apollinare alle Terme Neroniane-Alessandrine, Rome, by Cardinal Lucido Parocchi, assisted by Pietro Rota, and by Giovanni Maria Berengo.

Pius X was appointed to the honorary position of assistant at the pontifical throne on 19 June 1891.

Pius X had been deeply saddened by the Austro-Hungarian veto and vowed to rescind these powers and excommunicate anyone who communicated such a veto during a conclave.

Pius X explained: "As I shall suffer, I shall take the name of those Popes who suffered".

Pontificate of Pius X was noted for conservative theology and reforms in liturgy and Church law.

Pius X abolished the custom of the pope dining alone, since the time of Pope Urban VIII, and invited his friends to eat with him.

Pius X developed a reputation as being very friendly with children.

Pius X carried candy in his pockets for the street urchins in Mantua and Venice, and taught them catechism.

Pius X was at his desk at 8:00am to receive private audiences.

Pius X had a physical body like every other man: and as savior of the human family, he had a spiritual and mystical body, the Church.

Pius X did not conceive the Eternal Son of God merely that He might be made man taking His human nature from her, but, by giving him her human nature, that He might be the Redeemer of men.

Pius X worked to increase devotion among both clergy and laity, particularly in the Breviary, which he reformed considerably, and the Mass.

Pius X emphasized frequent recourse to the Sacrament of Penance so that Holy Communion would be received worthily.

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When people would criticize Pius X for lowering the age of reception, he simply quoted the words of Jesus, "let the little children come to me".

Pius X sought to modify papal ceremonies to underscore their religious significance by eliminating occasions for applause.

Pius X arrived on foot wearing a cope and mitre at the end of the procession of prelates "almost hidden behind the double line of Palatine Guards through which he passed".

Catechism of Pius X is his realisation of a simple, plain, brief, popular catechism for uniform use throughout the whole world; it was used in the ecclesiastical province of Rome and for some years in other parts of Italy; it was not prescribed for use throughout the universal Church.

Catechism of Saint Pius X was issued in 1908 in Italian, as Catechismo della dottrina Cristiana, Pubblicato per Ordine del Sommo Pontifice San Pio X An English translation runs to more than 115 pages.

On 19 March 1904, Pope Pius X named a commission of cardinals to draft a universal set of laws.

Pius X reformed the Roman Curia with the constitution Sapienti Consilio and specified new rules enforcing a bishop's oversight of seminaries in the encyclical Pieni l'animo.

Pius X established regional seminaries, and promulgated a new plan of seminary study.

Pius X reversed the accommodating approach of Leo XIII towards secular governments, appointing Rafael Merry del Val as Cardinal Secretary of State.

Pius X suspended the Opera dei Congressi, which coordinated the work of Catholic associations in Italy, as well as condemning Le Sillon, a French social movement that tried to reconcile the Church with liberal political views.

Pius X opposed trade unions that were not exclusively Catholic.

Pius X partially lifted decrees prohibiting Italian Catholics from voting, but he never recognised the Italian government.

In 1908, Pius X lifted the United States out of its missionary status, in recognition of the growth of the American Church.

Pius X was very popular among American Catholics, often depicted as an ordinary man from a poor family, raised by God to the papal throne.

On 8 July 1914, Pope Pius X approved the request of Cardinal James Gibbons to invoke the patronage of the Immaculate Conception for the construction site of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

On one occasion, during a papal audience, Pius X was holding a paralyzed child who wriggled free from his arms and then ran around the room.

When Pius X saw her, he placed his hand on her head, and the sores completely disappeared.

Pius X sought to update the education of priests, seminaries and their curricula were reformed.

In 1904 Pope Pius X granted permission for diocesan seminarians to attend the College of St Thomas.

Pius X raised the college to the status of Pontificium on 2 May 1906, thus making its degrees equivalent to those of the world's other pontifical universities.

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Pius X published 16 encyclicals; among them was Vehementer nos on 11 February 1906, which condemned the 1905 French law on the separation of the State and the Church.

In November 1913, Pope Pius X declared tango dancing as immoral and off-limits to Catholics.

Later, in January 1914, when tango proved to be too popular to declare off-limits, Pope Pius X tried a different tack, mocking tango as "one of the dullest things imaginable", and recommending people take up dancing the furlana, a Venetian dance, instead.

Pius X beatified a total of 131 individuals and canonized four.

Pius X created 50 cardinals in seven consistories held during his pontificate which included noted figures of the Church during that time such as Desire-Joseph Mercier and Pietro Gasparri.

Pius X named as a cardinal Giacomo della Chiesa, his immediate successor, Pope Benedict XV.

In 1913, Pope Pius X suffered a heart attack, and subsequently lived in the shadow of poor health.

Pius X's condition was worsened by the events leading to the outbreak of World War I, which reportedly sent the 79-year-old into a state of melancholy.

Pius X died on Thursday, 20 August 1914, only a few hours after the death of Jesuit leader Franz Xavier Wernz, and on the very day when German forces marched into Brussels.

Pius X was buried in a simple and unadorned tomb in the crypt below Saint Peter's Basilica.

Pius X expressly prohibited this in his burial and successive popes have continued this tradition.

Pius X's tomb is located near the tombs of both Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II under the altar of the Presentation.

On 19 May 1944, the body of Pius X was exhumed for inspection as part of the beatification process, during which the remains were found to be miraculously incorrupt.

On 12 February 1943, a further development of Pius X's cause was achieved, when he was declared to have displayed heroic virtues, gaining therefore the title "Venerable".

On 19 May 1944, Pius X's coffin was exhumed and was taken to the Chapel of the Holy Crucifix in St Peter's Basilica for the canonical examination.

On 29 May 1954, less than three years after his beatification, Pius X was canonized, following the SCR's recognition of two more miracles.

Pius X became the first pope to be canonized since Pius V in 1712.

Pius X is honored in numerous parishes in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Canada, and the United States.

Personal papal arms of Pius X are composed of the traditional elements of all papal heraldry before Pope Benedict XVI: the shield, the papal tiara, and the keys.

Shield displays the arms Pius X took as Bishop of Mantua: an anchor proper cast into a stormy sea, lit up by a single six-pointed star of gold.

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Life of Pope Pius X is depicted in the 1951 movie Gli uomini non-guardano il cielo by Umberto Scarpelli.

Satirical depiction of Pope Pius X is presented in Flann O'Brien's novel The Hard Life, as the Irish characters travel from Dublin to Rome and gain a personal interview with the Pope, which ends very badly.