Pope Saint Pius V

Today is the feast of a very important Pope who may be overlooked at times. In fact, before Popes St. John XXIII, Pope St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II were canonized in the past 10 years, the only two Popes over the last 900 years to be Saints were Pius X and Pius V. Born in 1504 as Michele Ghislieri, he worked as a shepherd until some Dominican priests called him to join them. He was ordained a priest at the age of 24 and taught philosophy and theology until he was made a Bishop and soon afterwards a Cardinal. He was a great friend of St Charles Borromeo and helped in fighting against heresy and corruption in his time. He was elected Pope in 1566 and chose the name of Pius V. He served the poor and the sick himself and fasted and prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament regularly. He lived at the height of so much reform in the church, as he helped at the Council of Trent and also devised the Roman Missal in Latin, which was used until 1969.. 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. Pope Pius V intervened and 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 of mine,) including the massive Cathedral of St John, a gem which has just been restored. Pope Pius contributed financially for the building of our capital city, and we owe it to him that we have such a gem of a city. 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.