St Pius V, Pope, also known as Antonio Ghislieri, was the Pope of the Catholic Church from January 8 1566 to his death in May 1 1572.
He was born on January 17 1504 in Bosco Marengo, Milan, Italy.
We celebrate his feast day on April 30 every year in the Catholic Church.
Pope St Pius V is the Patron Saint of
- Valletta, Malta
- Bosco Marengo, Italy
- Pietrelcina, Italy
- Roccaforte Mondovi
- Diocese of Alessandria
- Other popes named Pius
| St Pius V, Pope Biography | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Date of Birth | January 17 1504 |
| Place of Birth | Bosco Marengo, Milan, Italy |
| Profession | Pope and Bishop of Rome |
| Place of Work | Rome, Italy |
| Date of Death | May 1 1572 (aged 68) |
| Place of Death | Rome, Papal States |
| Feast Day | April 30 |
| Beatification | By Pope Clement X on 1 May 1672 |
| Canonization | By Pope Clement XI on May 22 1712 |
| Patron Saint of | • Valletta, Malta • Bosco Marengo, Italy • Pietrelcina, Italy • Roccaforte Mondovi • Diocese of Alessandria • Other popes named Pius |
Pope St Pius V Life History
Born on January 17 1504 in Bosco, Italy, Pope Pius V joined the Dominican Order at the age of fourteen and was given the name Michele.
He moved from the monastery of Voghera to that of Vigevano and then to Bologna. After being ordained a priest at Genoa in 1528, he taught for sixteen years in Pavia.
Later on, he presented thirty propositions in favor of the papacy and against Protestantism while he was at Parma.
He became Bishop of Sutri in 1556 by appointment of Pope Paul IV and was appointed as the inquisitor for Milan and Lombardy.
He was then promoted to cardinal in 1557 and was appointed as the inquisitor general for all of Christendom.
However, when he defended Bartolomé Carranza, the Archbishop of Toledo, who was accused of heresy by the Spanish Inquisition, he received a rebuke from the pope.
During the reign of Pope Pius IV (1559-65), he was appointed as Bishop of Mondovì in Piedmont. He consistently demonstrated his unwavering enthusiasm and commitment to his beliefs whenever he was consulted.
For instance, when Pius IV sought to appoint thirteen-year-old Ferdinand de’ Medici as a Cardinal, he opposed the idea.
His opposition to the pope’s decision resulted in him being dismissed from the palace and his power as inquisitor being restricted.
Michele Ghislieri was unable to return to his diocese before the death of Pope Pius IV. However, rumors emerged that King Philip II of Spain supported the idea of Cardinal Ghislieri being elected as the new pope, which further strengthened the campaign for Ghislieri’s candidacy.
As a result, he was eventually elected as the new pope on the afternoon of January 8th, 1566, under the name Pope Pius V.
When Pope Pius V became the leader of the Catholic Church, he immediately took action to eliminate the extravagant luxuries that were common in the court.
Among his first actions was the dismissal of the papal court jester, a position that was not reinstated by any subsequent pope.
He also put a stop to horse racing in St. Peter’s Square and enforced strict laws against blasphemy, adultery, and sodomy.
These measures made him unpopular among the people of Rome, who accused him of attempting to turn the city into a large monastery.
However, Pius V was not a hypocrite; he lived an ascetic life and was often seen wearing a hair shirt and going barefoot, in accordance with his beliefs as a Dominican friar.
Recognizing the importance of reestablishing discipline and morality within Rome in order to achieve success externally, Pope Pius V quickly took action.
He reduced the expenses of the papal court, following the practices of the Dominican Order, which he was a member of.
He also enforced residency requirements for clergy, regulated inns, and emphasized the significance of proper ceremonial practices, particularly with regard to the liturgy of the Mass.
To comply with the Council of Trent’s ruling, Pope Pius V standardized the Holy Bible by announcing the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal.
He made it obligatory for the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, except in cases where a Mass liturgy from before 1370 AD was being used.
This form of the Mass remained largely unaltered for four centuries until Pope Paul VI revised the Roman Missal in 1969-70, and it has since been commonly referred to as the Tridentine Mass.
In 1567, Pope Pius V recognized Thomas Aquinas as the fifth Latin Doctor of the Church, and subsequently commissioned the first edition of Aquinas’ complete works, commonly known as the editio Piana, in honor of the pope.
This edition was produced in 1570 at the Dominican Order at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which was later converted into the College of Saint Thomas in 1577, and eventually became the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, in the 20th century.
Pope Pius V organized the creation of the Holy League to combat the Ottoman Empire, which ultimately led to the victory of the combined fleet under Don John of Austria in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7th, 1571.
Pope Pius V contributed to the construction of Valletta, the capital city of Malta, by providing financial support and sending his military engineer Francesco Laparelli to design the fortification walls.
In honor of the victory achieved in the Battle of Lepanto, he established the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. A bronze bust of Pius V was placed at the Gate of Valletta in 1892 to commemorate his contributions.
When Pope Pius V became the leader of the Catholic Church, Protestantism had already spread across England, Scotland, half of Germany, the Netherlands, and certain regions of France.
Only Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy were still fully devoted to the Catholic faith. Therefore, Pius V was resolved to thwart the possible infiltration of Protestantism into Italy, which he believed would occur through Milan and the Alps.
Pius V was aware of the challenges to papal authority within the Catholic Church and aimed to curb their progression.
In France, where he had more influence, he implemented various actions to resist the Protestant Huguenots.
He ordered the removal of Cardinal Odet de Coligny and seven bishops, invalidated the royal decree permitting the Protestant services outside the walls of the cities, introduced the Roman catechism, restored papal order, and strongly opposed any negotiation with the Huguenot nobles.
Pope Pius V opposed Queen Elizabeth I of England assuming the position of Supreme Governor of the Church of England and supported Mary, Queen of Scots and her supporters in their efforts to overthrow Elizabeth’s rule, which he saw as tyrannical.
A recent Catholic rebellion, the Rising of the North, had failed. Pius V then issued a Papal bull, Regnans in Excelsis, on April 27 1570, which declared Elizabeth I a heretic and released her subjects from their loyalty to her.
This decree also excommunicated anyone who did not renounce their allegiance to her. Elizabeth responded by actively persecuting Catholics for treason.
On May 1, 1572, Pope Pius V died. He was afflicted with bladder stones, but he refused to undergo surgery for this condition.
Furthermore, Pius V spent his final years fasting and serving extensively, which weakened him greatly. Following his death, it was revealed that he had three stones in his bladder.
After his death, he was interred in the chapel of St. Andrea near the tomb of Pope Pius III in the Vatican, despite his expressed desire in his will to be buried in Bosco.
However, Pope Sixtus V constructed a memorial for him in the chapel of Santissimo Sacramento in the Liberian basilica. On January 9, 1588, his remains were moved to this location.
The process of canonization for Pope Pius V began in 1696. Pope Clement X declared him blessed in 1672, and later, on May 22, 1712, Pope Clement XI canonized him.
The next year, in 1713, his feast day was added to the General Roman Calendar as a “Double” celebration to be observed on May 5.
This was equivalent to the “Third-Class Feast” in the General Roman Calendar of 1960 and is now recognized as a “Memorial.” In 1969, the date of celebration was changed to April 30, one day prior to the anniversary of his passing on May 1.
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