St Pius V

Today, we have the liturgical memorial of Pius V, pope and friar in the Order of Preachers.

Elected to the Chair of Saint Peter he renewed with great mercy and apostolic vigor, according to the decrees of the Council of Trent, the divine worship of the Latin Church plus gave new life to Christian morality and the ecclesiastical discipline and promoted the propagation of faith.

May St. Pius V intercede for us today and always.

Saint Pius V, pope

Pio V.jpgAntonio Ghislieri (1504-72)  was born near Alexandria, a town in Lombardy on the Adriatic. His vocation was with  the Dominicans who educated him, had him ordained and missioned him to teach theology. He was elected bishop having served in several places where and he sought to reform the moral and theological, canonical and liturgical laxity of the clergy and laity alike; his concern was the coherence of the Catholic Faith. Sound familiar? Among his many responsibilities was taking up the work of Inquisitor in the Italian region. He was elected to the See of Rome in 1566. As Pope he strenuously promoted the Catholic Reformation outlined by the Council Fathers of Trent (doing of the same work as pope as he did as bishop), oversaw the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I of England, encouraged missionary work and reformed the brieviary,the sacred Liturgy and the Catechism.


Some are criticizing Pope Francis for his desire for poverty but we ought to recall that Saint Pius V also sought to reduce the spending of the Papal Curia making it more akin to the lifestyle of the Dominicans of his time.

Saint Pius V, Pope, pray for us.

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