As a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops forheresy. He also stood firm againstnepotism, rebuking his predecessorPope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family acardinal[5] and subsidize a nephew from thepapal treasury.[6]
By means of the papal bull of 1570,Regnans in Excelsis, Pius V excommunicatedElizabeth I of England for heresy and persecution ofEnglish Catholics during her reign. He also arranged the formation of theHoly League, an alliance of Catholic states to combat the advancement of theOttoman Empire in Eastern Europe. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottomans at theBattle of Lepanto in 1571. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of theBlessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast ofOur Lady of Victory.[7] Biographers report that as the Battle of Lepanto ended, Pius rose and went over to a window, where he stood gazing toward the East. "...[L]ooking at the sky, he cried out, 'A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army'."[6]
Antonio Ghislieri was born 17 January 1504, to Paolo Ghislieri and Domenica Augeri,[8][9] in Bosco in theDuchy of Milan (nowBosco Marengo in theprovince of Alessandria,[10]Piedmont),Italy. At the age of fourteen he entered theDominican Order, taking the nameMichele, passing from the monastery ofVoghera to that ofVigevano, and thence toBologna. Ordained a priest atGenoa in 1528, he was sent by his order toPavia, where he lectured for sixteen years. At Parma he advanced thirty propositions in support of the papacy and againstProtestantism.
He became master of novices and was on several occasions elected prior of more than one Dominican priory. During a time of great moral laxity, he insisted on discipline, and strove to develop the practice of the monastic virtues. He fasted, did penance, passed long hours of the night in meditation and prayer, traveled on foot without a cloak in deep silence, or only speaking to his companions of the things of God. As his reformist zeal provoked resentment, he was compelled to return toRome in 1550, where, after having been employed in several inquisitorial missions, he was appointed to thecommissariat of theHoly Office.
UnderPope Pius IV (1559–65) he becameBishop of Mondovì inPiedmont. Frequently called to Rome, he displayed his unflinching zeal in all the questions on which he was consulted. Thus he offered opposition to Pius IV when the latter wished to makeFerdinand de' Medici, then only thirteen years old, a cardinal. His opposition to the pontiff led to his dismissal from the palace and limits being placed on his authority as inquisitor.[12]
Before Michele Ghislieri could return to his diocese, Pope Pius IV died. On 4 January, a courier from Spain arrived, prompting rumors that KingPhilip II favoured the election of Cardinal Ghislieri. This in turn gave additional momentum to the efforts of CardinalCharles Borromeo and his allies, who already supported the candidacy of Ghislieri. As the cardinals conferred with each other more intensely, the number of those who looked to Ghislieri increased, and this led eventually to his election as the new pope on the afternoon of 8 January 1566.[13] Ghislieri took the regnal name Pope Pius V.[10] He wascrowned ten days later, on his 62nd birthday, by the protodeacon.
Six weeks after the conclave, Cardinal Borromeo wrote to CardinalHenry of Portugal recalling the election. He spoke of the new pope, and of his "high esteem for him on account of his singular holiness and zeal", seeing these qualities as a sign that he would make a good pope "to the great satisfaction of all".
His pontificate saw him deal with internal reform of the Church, the spread of Protestant doctrines in the West, and Turkish armies advancing from the East.
Aware of the necessity of restoring discipline and morality in Rome to ensure success, he at once proceeded to reduce the cost of the papal court after the manner of the Dominican Order to which he belonged, compelresidence among the clergy, regulate inns, and assert the importance of the ceremonial in general and the liturgy of the Mass in particular.
In his wider policy, which was characterized throughout by an effective stringency, the maintenance and increase of the efficacy of the Inquisition and the enforcement of thecanons and decrees of theCouncil of Trent had precedence over other considerations.[6]
Accordingly, to implement a decision of that council, he standardized the Mass by promulgating the1570 edition of the Roman Missal. Pius V made this Missal mandatory throughout theLatin Church, except where a Mass liturgy dating from before 1370 was in use.[14][15] This form of the Mass remained essentially unchanged for 400 years untilPope Paul VI's revision of the Roman Missal in 1969–70, after which it has become widely known as the Tridentine Mass.[16] This missal continues to be used in about 90 countries[17] and byseveral religious orders.
Pius V arranged the forming of theHoly League against theOttoman Empire, as the result of which theBattle of Lepanto (7 October 1571) was won by the combined fleet underDon John of Austria. It is attested in hiscanonisation that he miraculously knew when the battle was over, himself being in Rome at the time.[19] Pius V also helped financially in the construction ofValletta,Malta's capital city, by sending his military engineerFrancesco Laparelli to design the fortification walls (A bronze bust of Pius V was installed at theGate of Valletta in 1892.) To commemorate the victory, he instituted the Feast ofOur Lady of Victory.
By the time Pius V ascended the throne, Protestantism had swept over all of England and Scotland, as well as half of Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of France; only Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Italy remained unswervingly Catholic. Pius V was thus determined to prevent its insurgency into Italy—which he believed would come via the Alps and Milan.
In the first year of his papacy, Pius urgedMary, Queen of Scots to restore Catholicism in her realm, providing funding and sending JesuitVincenzo Lauro toScotland as Nuncio to further this cause. However, with Mary's Protestant half-brotherJames Stewart, Earl of Moray, back at the heart of government and her Catholic husbandHenry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in disfavour, the political circumstances did not prove favourable.[20]
Pius V recognized attacks on papal supremacy in the Catholic Church and was desirous of limiting their advancement. InFrance, where his influence was stronger, he took several measures to oppose the ProtestantHuguenots. He directed the dismissal of CardinalOdet de Coligny[21] and seven bishops, nullified the royal edict tolerating the extramural services of the Reformers, introduced the Romancatechism, restored papal discipline, and strenuously opposed all compromise with the Huguenot nobility.
His response to QueenElizabeth I of England assuming the position ofSupreme Governor of the Church of England included support of the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots and her supporters in their attempts to rescueEngland"ex turpissima muliebris libidinis servitute" ("from a most sordid slavery to a woman's voracity"). A brief English Catholic uprising, theRising of the North, had just failed. Pius then issued a papal bull,Regnans in Excelsis ("Reigning on High"), dated 27 April 1570, that declared Elizabeth I a heretic and released her subjects from their allegiance to her.[22] It was the official decree ofexcommunication on her and it also declared anipso facto excommunication on anyone who obeyed her. In response, Elizabeth now actively started persecuting English Catholics for treason.
Upon election to the papacy as Pius V, Ghislieri immediately started to get rid of many of the extravagant luxuries then prevalent in the court. One of his first acts was to dismiss the papalcourt jester, and no subsequent pope had one.[23] He forbade horse racing inSt. Peter's Square. Severe sanctions were imposed againstblasphemy, adultery, and sodomy. These laws quickly made Pius V the subject of Roman hatred; he was accused of trying to turn the city into a vast monastery. He was not a hypocrite: in day-to-day life Pius V was highly ascetic. He wore a hair shirt beneath the simple habit of a Dominican friar and was often seen in bare feet.[24]
His governing efforts weren't entirely punitive: he planned distribution of alms to the poor, imported cheap grain in times of famine and cracked down on hired killers and brigands, what Mullett calls a "programme of restoring Rome as the Church's ideal city."[25] Katherine Rinne writes inWaters of Rome[26] that Pius V ordered the construction of public works to improve the water supply and sewer system of the city—a welcome step, particularly in low-lying areas, wheretyphoid andmalaria were inevitable summer visitors.
In 1567, he issuedSuper prohibitione agitationis Taurorum & Ferarum prohibiting bull-fighting.[27]
BesidesIn Coena Domini (1568), there are several others of note, including his prohibition ofquaestuary (February 1567 and January 1570); condemnation of ideas associated withMichael Baius, a professor ofLeuven (1567); reform of theRoman Breviary (July 1568); formal condemnation of homosexual behaviour (dirum nefas) by the clergy (1568);[28] the banishment of theJews from allecclesiastical dominions except Rome andAncona (1569);[29] declaring the primacy of theLateran overSt. Peter's (1569);[30] an injunction against use of the reformedmissal (July 1570); the confirmation of the privileges of the Society of Crusaders for the protection of the Inquisition (October 1570); the suppression of theFratres Humiliati (February 1571); the approbation of the new office of theBlessed Virgin (March 1571); and the enforcement of the daily recitation of theCanonical Hours (September 1571).
Pius V is often credited with the origin of the Pope's white garments, supposedly because after his election Pius continued to wear his whiteDominicanhabit. However, many of his predecessors also wore white with a redmozzetta, as can be seen on many paintings where neither they nor Pius is wearing acassock, but thin, wide,white garments.
An article by Agostino Paravicini Bagliani inL'Osservatore Romano of 31 August 2013 states that the earliest document that speaks explicitly of the Pope wearing white is theOrdo XIII, a book of ceremonies compiledc. 1274 underPope Gregory X. From that date onward, the books of ceremonies speak ever more explicitly of the Pope as wearing a red mantle, mozzetta,camauro and shoes, and a white cassock and stockings.[31][32]
The body of Pius V in histomb in Santa Maria Maggiore
Pius V died on 1 May 1572. Pius V suffered frombladder stones, a condition for which he was unwilling to have an operation. Additionally, Pius V fasted and served extensively in his last years, leading to "great weakness".[33] After his death, three stones were discovered in his bladder.[34] He was buried in the chapel of S. Andrea which was close to the tomb ofPope Pius III, in the Vatican. Although his will requested he be buried in Bosco,Pope Sixtus V built a monument in the chapel of SS. Sacramento in theLiberian basilica. His remains were transferred there on 9 January 1588.
In the following year, 1713, hisfeast day was inserted in the General Roman Calendar, for celebration on 5 May, with the rank of "Double", the equivalent of "Third-Class Feast" in theGeneral Roman Calendar of 1960, and of its present rank of "Memorial".[38] In 1969 the celebration was moved to 30 April, the day before the anniversary of his death (1 May).
CardinalJohn Henry Newman declared that "St. Pius V was stern and severe, as far as a heart burning and melted with divine love could be so ... Yet such energy and vigour as his were necessary for the times. He was a soldier of Christ in a time of insurrection and rebellion, when in a spiritual sense, martial law was proclaimed."[11]
Portrait of Pius V by Pierre Le Gros on the tomb
The front of his tomb has a lid of gilded bronze which shows a likeness of the dead pope. Most of the time this is left open to allow the veneration of the saint's relics.
^Stedall, Robert (2021),Mary Queen of Scots' Secretary: William Maitland, Politician, Reformer and Conspirator,Pen and Sword, Yorkshire, pp. 109 - 115,ISBN9781526787798
