Saint Pius V, Pope & Confessor
S. Pii V Papae et Confessoris
Saint Pius V, a Dominican friar raised to the chair of Peter, carried out the reform of the Church decreed by the Council of Trent and is remembered for his austerity, his charity, and his zeal for the faith.
Saint Pius V was born Antonio Ghislieri in 1504 at Bosco, in the region of Piedmont in northern Italy, of poor but devout parents. Entering the Order of Preachers as a youth, he was formed in the Dominican life of study, prayer, and penance, served as a teacher and a preacher, and rose through the offices of the Church to be made a bishop, then a cardinal, and at length, in 1566, the Supreme Pontiff.
A reforming shepherd
As pope, Saint Pius V devoted himself wholly to carrying into effect the decrees of the Council of Trent, which had lately closed. He laboured to renew the life of the clergy and the religious, to restore discipline, and to see that the faith was taught with clarity and purity. Under his authority were published the reformed Roman Catechism, Breviary, and Missal, and it is from his pontificate that the traditional Roman Mass takes the form long known and loved in the Latin Church. The collect of his feast praises God for choosing him to restore divine worship and to defend the Church.
Even upon the throne of Peter he kept the simplicity and austerity of a friar, continuing his fasts and his prayers and giving generously to the poor and the sick, whom he loved to serve in person. He was tireless in works of charity, and the people of Rome revered him as a holy father.
Defender of Christendom
In a time of great peril for the Christian peoples of the Mediterranean, Saint Pius V drew together the Catholic powers in a common defence, and to the protection of the Mother of God he commended the cause. When word came of the deliverance that followed, he gave the glory to her intercession, and in thanksgiving the feast of the Holy Rosary has been kept ever since. He died on the first of May, 1572, worn out by his labours, and was later canonised. His feast is observed on the fifth of May.
Saint Pius V is venerated as a model of the reforming shepherd who feared God more than men, and who joined to the highest office the humility of a religious and the tenderness of a father to the poor.
The Collect
O God, who for the overthrow of the enemies of thy Church and for the restoration of the beauty of thy worship didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Pius as Supreme Pontiff: grant that we may be defended by his protection and so cleave to thy service, that, overcoming all the snares of our enemies, we may rejoice in everlasting peace.
Deus, qui ad conteréndos Ecclésiæ tuæ hostes et ad divínum cultum reparándum beátum Píum Pontíficem máximum elígere dignátus es: fac nos ipsíus deféndi præsídiis et ita tuis inhærére obséquiis; ut, ómnium hostium superátis insídiis, perpétua pace lætémur.
Patronage
He is venerated as a patron of the Order of Preachers and is honoured for the reform of the sacred liturgy carried out in his pontificate.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his feast is observed on 30 April as an optional memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Pius V?
In the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal his feast is kept on 5 May as a Third Class feast. In the modern calendar it is observed on 30 April.
Who was Saint Pius V?
He was a sixteenth-century Dominican friar who became pope in 1566 and carried out the reforms of the Council of Trent, including the publication of the reformed Roman Missal from which the traditional Latin Mass takes its form. He died in 1572 and was later canonised.
What is his connection to the traditional Latin Mass?
Following the Council of Trent, Saint Pius V promulgated the reformed Roman Missal in 1570. The Mass of the 1962 Missal stands in continuity with the Roman rite codified under his authority, which is why he is closely associated with the traditional liturgy.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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