About Pope Pius V (January 17, 1504 – May 1, 1572):
During his papacy (1566-1572), Pius V was faced with a daunting task. The church had been shaken by corruption, by the Reformation, by the constant threat of Turkish invasion, and by the fighting between the young nation-states. In 1545, Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent in an attempt to deal with all these pressing problems. Off and on over 18 years, the Fathers of the Church discussed, condemned, affirmed, and decided upon a course of action. The Council closed in 1563, a few years before Pius V was elected in 1566.
Pius V was charged with the task of implementing the sweeping reforms called for by the Council. He ordered the founding of seminaries for the proper training of priests. He published a new missal, a new breviary, a new catechism, and established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes for the young. Pius zealously enforced legislation against abuses in the Church. He patiently served the sick and the poor by building hospitals, providing food for the hungry, and giving money customarily used for the papal banquets to poor Roman converts. His decision to keep wearing his Dominican habit led to the custom–to this day–of the pope wearing a white cassock.
In striving to reform both Church and state, Pius encountered vehement opposition from England’s Queen Elizabeth (in February 1570, Pope Pius V declared that Elizabeth was a heretic and, as such, she was excommunicated by way of a Papal Bull. He also did the same to the Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Problems in France and in the Netherlands also hindered Pius’s hopes for a Europe united against the Turks.
Perhaps on of his most significant achievements came in 1571. With the Turks prepared to conquer most of Italy, it was only at the last minute was he able to organize a fleet which won a decisive victory in the Gulf of Lepanto, off Greece, on October 7, 1571. It was this decisive victory that halted the Turkish advance that threatened to take over much of Europe.
Pope Pius V was relentless in his quest for a renewal of the Church, grounded in his personal life as a Dominican friar. He spent long hours with his God in prayer, fasted rigorously, deprived himself of many customary papal luxuries, and faithfully observed the spirit of the Dominican Rule that he had professed.
Pope Pius V was beatified by Pope Clement X on May 1, 1672, and canonized by Pope Clement XI on May 22, 1712.
Pius V is buried in a glass coffin in the Sistine Chapel of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.
We celebrate the feast day of Saint Pius V is on April 30. Pope Saint Pius V is the Patron Saint of Valletta, Malta due to his role in the defense of the island against foreign powers and also in the development of that capital city.