Born as Guiseppe Melchiorre Sarto on June 2, 1835 at Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (Now known as Treviso, Italy). Guiseppe Sarto was born from a poor family, but his parents treasure education. That’s why Guiseppe walked six kilometers from his home to school everyday. And walked two kilometers to church where he was an altar server.
In 1850, he received a scholarship where he went to seminary in Padua, Italy. Then he was ordained a priest in September 18, 1858 in the age of 23. He expanded his knowledge in theology by studying the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Canon Law while doing the works of his Parish Priest who was sick.
In 1867, he became the Archpriest of Salzano in Venice, Italy. Here, he restored the the church and expanded the hospital by using his own money that he received from alms and different jobs. He was widely known where he helped the people when the cholera spread in Northern Italy. Then in 1879, he become the bishop of Travisco and ordained as a Cardinal in June 12, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII. He established a campaign for the Eucharist Adoration to fight the blasphemous arts.
When Pope Leo XIII died, Guiseppe Sarto was one of the top elected cardinals who can be chosen as the next pope and won because of veto that was proclaimed by the Polish Cardinal under the name of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Many Cardinals voted Sarto and was elected to the pontificate in August 4, 1903. He first declined the nomination because of feeling unworthy, until the Cardinal asked him to reconsider. Sarto accepted and become the new pope, taking the name Pope Pius X out of respect for his recent predecessors, Pope Pius IX who had fought against theological liberals and for papal supremacy. One of his first rule that Saint Pope Pius X is removing the power of Veto. If anyone use this power will be excommunicated. Even though he became the Pope, he remained simple and poor.
Saint Pope Pius X was known by his deep love for the Blessed Sacrament. One of his liturgical reforms is mainly for the Holy Eucharist which he changed the age of the first communicants from 12 to 7 years old and encourage the faithful to received Holy Communion frequently. That’s why he was called “The Pope of the Blessed Sacrament”
“Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to Heaven.”
– Saint Pope Pius X
One of his mottos “Restore all things in Christ” helps the reformation in the church, including the restoration of Gregorian Chant in the mass, Catholic Mariology, a study about the Blessed Virgin Mary and every church must have Cathecism all over the world.
He was widely known for figthing the evil of modernism that cause many heresies, false ideas, danger to the faith and poison to the church including the holy mass which he received many critisicm and enemies.
“While Jesus was kind to sinners…, He did not respect their false ideas…
He loved them all, but instructed them inorder to convert them and save them”
– Saint Pope Pius X
Sadly, there are priests including bishops are now under the influence of modernism, which there’s one story that he demoted a bishop because of his modernist approach which is more protestant than catholic. Modernist believes that tradition no longer applies in the modern world.
“I am completely opposed to the error of the modernists who hold that there is nothing divine in sacred tradition”
– Saint Pope Pius X
In 1913, Saint Pope Pius X fell ill and became worsened because of the events that leads to World War I. He advised to the world leaders not to continue the war but they didn’t listen to him. Saint Pope Pius X died on August 20, 1914 because of heart attack. It was reported that he died in state of melancholy.
“Saint Pope Pius X, pray for us”
