St. Pius X

St. Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto on June 2, 1835, in Riese, Italy, near Venice, was a son of a cobbler-postman and a seamstress. He entered the seminary at Padua in 1850 and was ordained a priest in 1858. Known for his dedication to the poor, he was appointed Bishop of Mantua in 1884 and later became the Patriarch of Venice in 1893. In 1893, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Leo XIII. After Pope Leo XIII's death, Sarto was elected as Pope Pius X on August 4, 1903, becoming the first peasant pope since the Middle Ages. During his papacy, he initiated significant reforms, including promoting liturgical participation through the principle of participatio actuosa and encouraging frequent Holy Communion. He also began the process of codifying canon law, which was completed in 1917. Pius X was a strong opponent of modernism and advocated for Catholic doctrine rooted in Thomism. He died on August 20, 1914, at the Apostolic Palace in Rome. His path to sainthood began with his beatification on June 3, 1951, followed by his canonization on May 29, 1954, by Pope Pius XII. Today, he is revered as a patron of liturgical and sacred music and is often referred to as the Pope of the Eucharist.