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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

[May 1] St. Pius V, pope of Rome

True Name: Antonio Ghislieri
Date of Birth: 17 January 1504
Predecessor: Pius IV
Reign: 1566 – 1572
Summary: Antonio Ghislieri was destined for the papal chair. His devotion to Catholicism during the years of the Protestant Reformation was incomparable and his early involvement in the Dominican Order ensured his fastness to doctrine and dogma. Antonio was born in the Duchy of Milan and entered the Order at fourteen under the name Michele. He was passed around monasteries for many years before becoming a priest in 1528 at Genoa. He then lectured at Pavia for sixteen years, supporting the Papacy and denouncing Martin Luther's heresy. He was made Inquisitor a few years later and eventually obtained the title of Supreme Inquisitor of the Catholic Church. Pope Paul IV made Antionio a bishop and cardinal but Pope Pius IV removed Antonio from his inquisitorial duties due to an argument on doctrine. That did not stop Antonio from being elected as Pius's replacement in 1566 under the name Pope Pius V. He would prove to be a truly pious pope.


His first move once secured in the papal seat was the return the Church and Rome to its moral basis. He forced clergy to live at their churches and monasteries, he taxed inns, and he expelled prostitutes from Rome. He emphasized the liturgy and even promulgated a standardized Holy Mass in 1570. This mass was used continuously until 1969 when Pope Paul VI permitted vernacular masses. It is still used in more traditional churches today. In politics, Pius V allied with the French monarchy in suppressing the Huguenot movement, violently when necessary. He also excommunicated Elizabeth I in England, encouraging her people to rise up and rebel. At the same time, Pius supported the pretensions of Mary, Queen of Scots, in her claim to the English throne. Elizabeth replied to these threats by beginning a ruthless persecution on England's Catholic population which had previously been permitted to worship in private. Pius won renown for his sanctioning of the Holy League against the Ottoman Turks and for his divine revelation concerning the victory at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The victory and the apparent intercession of the Virgin Mary at the battle gave Pius enough credit to be beatified in 1672. He was later sainted for the miracle. Pius V died in 1572.
Date of Death: 1 May 1572
Canonized: 24 May 1712 by Pope Clement XI
Feast Day & Patronage: 30 April — Patron Saint of Valletta, Malta
Successor: Gregory XIII

Other Monarch Deaths:
Arcadius, emperor of Constantinople (408)
Stephen I, king of Serbia (1277)
Albert I, king of Germany (1308)
Marcellus II, pope of Rome (1555)

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