Pope Pius X was born as Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto in Riese, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, on 2 June 1835. He was the head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in 1914. He initiated the preparation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive and systemic work of its kind.

Sarto, who was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 23, was appointed Patriarch of the Metropolitan Church of Venice in 1892 after serving as a parish priest and bishop of Mantua for seventeen years. Due to the intelligence, hard work and great piety shown by the saint in the positions assigned to him, he was elected Pope on August 4, 1903 and took the name Pius X.

Pope Pius X was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. He was the last pope without a doctorate until Pope Francis.

Two of the most outstanding accomplishments of this saintly Pope were the inauguration of the liturgical renewal and the restoration of frequent communion from childhood, which became a lasting innovation of his papacy. He also waged an unwavering war against the heresy and evils of Modernism, gave great impetus to biblical studies, and brought about the codification of Canon Law. His overriding concern was to renew all things in Christ.

Pope Pius X was known for his firm demeanour and sense of personal poverty, reflected by his membership of the Third Order of Saint Francis. After the 1908 Messina earthquake he filled the Apostolic Palace with refugees, long before the Italian government acted. He rejected any kind of favours for his family, and his close relatives chose to remain in poverty, living near Rome.

He developed a reputation as being very friendly with children. He carried candy in his pockets for the street urchins in Mantua and Venice, and taught them catechism. During papal audiences, he would gather children around him and talk about things that interested them.

Above all, his holiness shone forth conspicuously. From St. Pius X we learn again that "the folly of the Cross", simplicity of life, and humility of heart are still the highest wisdom and the indispensable conditions of a perfect Christian life, for they are the very source of all apostolic fruitfulness.

One of the shocks that led to the saint's death was the First World War, which broke out on the eleventh anniversary of his accession to the throne of Saint Peter. A few days after the start of the war, the Saint fell ill with bronchitis and passed away on August 20, 1914.

His last will and testament bears the striking sentence: "I was born poor, I have lived in poverty, and I wish to die poor."

After his death, a strong cult of devotion followed his reputation for piety and holiness. He was beatified in 1951 and canonized in 1954 by Pope Pius XII.

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Abraham of Smolensk
2. Saint Anastasius Cornicularius
3. Saint Bassa and Companions
4. Saint Euprepius of Verona
5. Saint Joseph Nien Vien