Saint Pius X the Great

A Providential Preparation

The hagiographers of Saint Pius X like to mention the nine-year rhythm that punctuates his ministry: nine years as vicar in Tombolo, nine years as parish priest in Salzano, nine years as canon, seminary director, and chancellor in Treviso, nine years as bishop of Mantua, nine years as patriarch of Venice.

Beyond the numerical consistency, one must note the variety of accumulated experience: rural vicar, parish priest, canon of a relatively important city, seminary director, bishop’s chancellor, bishop of a small diocese, patriarch of one of the most prestigious archdioceses in Italy.

When he arrived at the supreme pontificate, Saint Pius X undoubtedly did not know the intricacies of Vatican diplomacy, but he possessed an extraordinary knowledge of Church life, and his activity as pope, his clarity of vision, and firmness in decision were also rooted in this exceptional experience.

Isn’t the shadow of the catechist he once was still visible in the author of the first papal catechism? Didn't the memories of directing the seminarians’ choir during his time as seminary director inspire the pages of his motu proprio on Gregorian chant? Didn’t his spiritual direction of seminarians inspire the beautiful and profound pages of his exhortation to the clergy Hærent Animo? And didn’t his experience as bishop and patriarch, facing canonical difficulties, contribute to the reform of canon law?

Clearly, the very fruitful pontificate of Pope Pius X was long prepared by Providence, offering new proof of the attentive care the Holy Spirit provides for His Church.

The Reforms of the “Parish Priest”

That he was a priest charged with the care of souls is immediately evident in several concrete measures of his pontificate. On April 15, 1905, Saint Pius X published Acerbo Nimis, an encyclical on the teaching of Christian doctrine. Seven years later, in October 1912, the Catechismo della dottrina cristiana appeared.

His care for the sanctification of souls is also clearly seen in the reform of Eucharistic discipline, with the famous decrees on frequent communion and early communion, issued respectively in December 1905 and August 1910. It took a saint to bring about such a change. Joseph Sarto was that saint, who restored children’s access to Our Lord and reminded Christians of the forgotten adage of Saint Ambrose: “If it is our daily bread, why do we eat it only once a year, like the Easterners? O Christian, receive daily what should be the food for each day.”

The Reforms of the Bishop

As the father of his priests, Pope Saint Pius X cared deeply for the sanctification of his clergy. This is evident in his magnificent exhortation to the clergy Hærent Animo and also in his reform of the breviary. While a certain revision of the sanctoral (the liturgy of the saints) was necessary as it had taken up more space compared to the temporal (the liturgical cycle of the year), his breviary reform was also inspired by his recollection of a breviary that had become too voluminous for a parish apostolate that was often very demanding.

This care for his clergy was evident right from the beginning of his pontificate. As pope, the former patriarch of Venice had become the bishop of Rome. Saint Pius X did not forget this, and on February 11, 1904, he announced an apostolic visitation of the city of Rome, whose fifty-page questionnaire is a model of wisdom.

The Reforms of the Supreme Pontiff

However, Saint Pius X did not limit himself to pious or liturgical measures, even though they were eminently beneficial to the sanctification of souls. As pope, Saint Pius X was also the head of an established society. He did not forget this, nor the canonical confusion and the outdated nature of the Curia. Responding without delay to numerous requests, Saint Pius X initiated the project of reforming Canon Law on March 19, 1904. A colossal task, this work of a Roman would be completed under his successor, Benedict XV. This measure was all the more important as Church Law governs the life of the Church and illustrates its legislative power as a perfect society.

As the supreme pastor of the Church, Saint Pius X issued the apostolic constitution Sapienti Consilio on June 29, 1908, which restructured the Roman Curia, a reorganization that had not been undertaken since Paul III in 1542.

The Good Shepherd

A good shepherd and not at all a hireling, Saint Pius X faced dangerous wolves preying on souls.

Within the Church, Saint Pius X encountered modernism, against which he fought throughout his pontificate, convinced of the harmfulness of “this gathering of all heresies.” One document after another followed: the decree Lamentabili on July 3, 1907, the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis on September 8, 1907, and many clear and precise condemnations of philosophical, theological, historical, exegetical, liturgical, and even literary modernism.

But as a pastor of souls, an experienced man, Saint Pius X was not content with merely enlightening minds. He took concrete actions that were painful for his fatherly heart: placing modernists on the Index, deposing, condemning, and excommunicating the most obstinate and dangerous modernists, imposing the anti-modernist oath from September 1, 1910, on major clergy, university professors, and seminary professors, implementing strict surveillance of publications, and more. Through this clear-sightedness combined with apostolic firmness, Saint Pius X delayed the triumph of modernism by fifty years.

Outside the Church, Saint Pius X had to contend with rampant secularism and triumphant laicism in many once-Catholic nations. He vigorously condemned the separation of Church and State in France on February 11, 1906, with the encyclical Vehementer nos, preferring a poor but free Church over one that was subservient to a virulently anti-clerical state and to some parts of the French episcopate and intelligentsia that were ready to make compromises.

These storms did not prevent him from ensuring the intellectual formation of the clergy, as he took measures to promote sound exegesis based on a deep knowledge of auxiliary historical disciplines (archaeology, epigraphy, paleography) and ancient languages.

Sacred art was also not neglected, for this pastor, endowed with remarkable spiritual strength, also possessed an artist’s sensitivity. Besides his reform of sacred music, the Vatican Museums owe him the superb Pinacoteca, which continues to delight art lovers.

In the end, the Barque of Peter has rarely been steered by a pilot with such a firm hand, such clear foresight, such upright intentions, and such a fervent heart. Saint Pius X truly deserves the title of Saint Pius the Great.

Abbé François-Marie Chautard FSSPX