Antonio Michele Ghislieri was born on January 17, 1504 in Alessandria (Italy). In 1521, at the age of seventeen, he professed at the Order of Preachersin Vigevano, taking the name of Michael. He is remembered as "the pope of the victory of Lepanto", not because he was bellicose, but because with his prestige he achieved a "holy alliance" to stop the threat of the Turks in the battle of Lepanto.
Indeed, on October 7, 1571, the battle took place in the Gulf of Lepanto, between the Peloponnese and Epirus, which pitted the Ottoman Turks against a Christian coalition, named Holy LeagueThe Pope, St. Pius V, promoted by Pope Pius V. He entrusted the victory to the Virgin of the Rosary, and to give thanks to the Virgin he instituted her feast on October 7.
Reforming pope
St. Pius Velected Pope in 1566, paid great attention to the poor and the needy, and adopted important and many decisions in theological and liturgical matters. He published the new texts of the Missal (1570), the Breviary (1568) and the Roman Catechism.
Among the reforms he promoted, following the Council of Trent (1545-1563), were the obligation of residence for bishops, the enclosure of religious, greater sanctity of life for priests, pastoral visits by bishops, the promotion of missions and the correction of liturgical books.
Piety and apostolic tenacity
According to the Roman MartyrologySt. Pius V, Pope, of the Order of Preachers, who, elevated to the See of Peter, strove with great piety and apostolic tenacity to put into practice the decrees of the Council of Trent concerning divine worship, Christian doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline, also promoting the propagation of the faith. He fell asleep in the Lord in Rome, on the first day of the month of May (1572)". His remains rest in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where Pope Francis has just been buried.
