St. Pius V - Pope and Dominican Saint

Today we celebrate the feast day of another Dominican Saint and Pope, St. Pius V (1504-1572). He led the Catholic Reformation. He also organized a Rosary Crusade throughout Catholic Europe which is believed to be the reason why the Catholic naval forces were able to decisively defeat the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Lepanto, effectively thwarting their plan to take over the rest of Europe. 

The Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours for the Order of Preachers offers us this glimpse of Pius V:

 

“Pius used to say that the special duty of the Roman Pontiff was to strive with all his power to preserve divine worship, ecclesiastical discipline, and the upright morals of all who lived in Rome. Therefore he took great care to restore the liturgy to its original splendor in those places where it had been neglected and to restore the life and morals of all ranks of persons to the way of true piety.

 

Since Pius clearly saw that nothing was more odious to God or to the human race than the depravity of heresy, he believed that no effort should be spared in completely uprooting this contagion from the earth. In the first place this was to be done in every aspect of his own life and pontificate, by prudent counsel, pious exhortations and kindly warnings, sparing no labor or expense.”