Pope St Pius X

Today is the OF feast day of Pope St Pius X who died a century ago yesterday, the feast of St Bernard. there is an illustrated online biography of him here.

Pope St Pius X

Image:saintsspqn.com

Today the New Liturgical Movement website has a post about St Pius which reflects on his vision for the Church and which can be read at Centenary of the Death of St Pius X

Yesterday New Catholic posted a substantial piece about St Pius on Rorate Caeli. This consists of a very positive assessment of St Pius' pontificate and its legacy, and also reproduces an obituary article from The Tablet from August 1914, and Pope Pius XII's address at the canonisation of St Pius in 1954, as well as a video link to film of that occasion. This can all be seen at SAINT PIUS X - Rome, August 20, 1914, 1:30 a.m.

The Vultus Christi blog has an illustrated biography and assessment of St Pius from 2010 which can be viewed here.

St Peter's List has an article about his promotion of Thomist study which can be viewed here.

The St Bede Studio blog has three posts with archive photographs of St Pius as Cardinal Patriarch of Venice and as Pope which can be viewed at Papal Retrospective : Saint Pius X : 1, Papal Retrospective : Saint Pius X : 2 and Papal Retrospective : Saint Pius X : 3

Pope St Pius X following his coronation in 1903

Image;sspxasia

May St Pius X continue to pray for the Church 

Episcopal consecration by the Pope

Whilst preparing my post last Saturday on Pope Pius X I found this photograph in the Wikipedia biography of the Pope.

Pope Pius X consecrates Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, the future Pope Benedict XV, as a Bishop in the Vatican in 1907.

Quite apart from its intrinsic interest this photograph took my eye as Richard Fleming was also consecrated as a bishop by the then Pope, Martin V, in 1420 when the curia was in Florence. The consecration probably took place somewhere in the Dominican house of Sta Maria Novella. Such consecrations did not always take place in a church or chapel - I have seen at least one reference to a room in the Vatican palace being fitted up as a temporary chapel for such a consecration in the early sixteenth century. Following the consecration Fleming can be seen to have received various papal grants on behalf of his family and friends.

In the verses he wrote for his tomb he specifically referred to having been consecrated by the Pope himself and the wonderful piety the Holy Father had displayed.

Although the setting and vestments would have been somewhat different - fashions do, after all, change - photographs such as this are a reminder of the continuity of liturgical tradition and practice, and help one to envisage Fleming's consecration.

St Pius X

Today is the feast day of St Pius X, Pope from 1903-14.

For those who are interested here is a biography, complete with some interesting illustrations.

The photograph shows His Holiness wearing Pope Gregory XVI's tiara of 1834. The morse on his cope is one whose use has been revived by the present Pope.