Wednesday 30th April, is the (optional) Memorial of Pope St. Pius V, a Dominican friar and one of the most important popes of the post-Reformation period. Michael Ghislieri was born in Bosco, near Perugia. At the age of fourteen he became a Dominican and taught philosophy and theology for many years before becoming novice-master and prior. Known for his reforming zeal, in 1551 he was appointed to the Inquisition and then bishop of the troubled Diocese of Mondovi where he restored peace and order. Pius IV called him to work in Rome and in 1565 he was elected himself Pope, taking the name Pius V. In the six short years of his pontificate, he energetically set about implementing the decrees and reforms of the Council of Trent. He began in Rome where the largesse usually distributed to the crowds at a papal coronation were diverted instead to the hospitals of the city to the genuine poor. He adopted himself a truly ascetic lifestyle and transformed the papal household and the Roman curia. During his time as pope, he brought in a number of important reforms, including the liturgical reforms of the Breviary and the Roman Missal. He completed the Roman Catechism which became a standard rule of faith throughout the Church. He set himself to combat the Protestant Reformation, although with mixed success. His infamous condemnation and excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I in 1570 only made the position of Catholics in England more precarious and led to fervent opposition. On the other hand, he opposed the penetration of Turks into Europe and rallied European forces to defeat them decisively at the Battle of Lepanto. In his personal life, Pius V was a man of monastic austerity, totally given to prayer and fasting, with kindness to the poor and the sick. He was canonised in 1712. Let us pray for the cardinals in conclave. [Image: Public Domain] [Portsmouth Diocese e-News]