MEMORIAL: AUGUST 21
Pope Pius X was born in 1835 as Guiseppe Melchiorre Sarto in present day Italy. He was ordained in 1859 and became a parish priest until he was made Bishop of Mantua in 1884. In 1893, he was made a Cardinal and Patriarch of Venice. During his time as Pope, Pius X was a staunch defender of the Church against modernism which adopted anti-Christian values. He also introduced liturgical reform within the Breviary and the Roman Missal. Finally, allowed for more frequent reception of the Eucharist and systematized a new code of Canon Law that became effective in 1918. He died in 1914 and was canonized in 1954.
