Today is the feast of a very important
Pope who may be overlooked at times. In fact, before Popes St. John XXIII and St. John
Paul II were canonized over a year ago, the only two Popes over the last 900
years to be Saints were Pius X and Pius V. Living in the height of so much
reform in the church, Pope St Pius V was a Dominican, who helped a great deal
during the Council of Trent, and he even introduced the new Roman Missal, which
remained unchanged for almost 400 years, when Pope Paul VI introduced its
revision.
Two important landmarks remind me of
this beloved Pope. First he was a friend of the Maltese people, who were being
attacked by the Turkish Empire in the 1550s and 1560s. After the Great Siege of
Malta, which the Knights of Malta helped in defeating the Turks, The
Grandmaster wanted to construct the city of Valletta, the capital city with
all its fortifications, palaces and churches. He actually sent his own architect
from Rome, Francesco Lapparelli to help construct the city of Valletta. This was
completed by Lapparelli’s assistant Girolamo Cassar (possibly a distant
relative,) including the massive Cathedral of St John, a gem which has just
been restored.
The other interesting fact is that
since Pope Pius V was a Dominican, he started using a white cassock instead of the black one that priests usually wear. All Dominican priests wear a white
habit. It must have been hot during those summers, because the tradition
remained that the Pope started to use a white cassock, which they still do,
thanks to Pope St Pius V.
Some visitors to this blog asked about my e-mail. It is dungiljan@gmail.com
Dun Giljan is Father Julian in my native language, Maltese.
Some visitors to this blog asked about my e-mail. It is dungiljan@gmail.com
Dun Giljan is Father Julian in my native language, Maltese.
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