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The popes · No. 257 of 267

St Pius X

A postman’s son who let children receive Communion.

Pope 1903 to 14

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A photograph of Pope St Pius X, seated, in white cassock with a pectoral cross.

Ernest Walter Histed, 1914. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Home / The popes / St Pius X

Rome, 1910

In 1910 a decree goes out from Rome about the youngest Catholics in every parish on earth.1

First Communion, says the pope, should not be put off too long once a child reaches the age of discretion.1

Giuseppe Sarto, Pius X, had been a parish priest. He governed the Church like one.

01St Pius X

Restore all things in Christ

Pius X said the motto of his pontificate would be “instaurare omnia in Christo”: to restore all things in Christ.1

He urged the faithful to receive Holy Communion frequently and, if possible, daily.1

The Church still teaches that the faithful are urged to receive Communion each time they take part in the Mass.2

02St Pius X

A saint in the modern age

He also reformed sacred music and began the codification of canon law.1

He reigned until 1914, and the Church now honours him as St Pius X.3

The pope of the Second World War would face something worse.

Notes

  1. Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “Pope Pius X”. New Advent edition. newadvent.org
  2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1388. vatican.va
  3. Catholic Encyclopedia, “List of Popes” (New Advent edition, updated to 2025). New Advent edition. newadvent.org

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) is in the public domain; we quote the New Advent edition. Texts of the Holy See are quoted briefly from vatican.va. Scripture: Douay-Rheims, Challoner revision (public domain). Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, credited under each image; full list on the photo credits page.

Lines in the narrator’s voice, without a note, are our reflection, not a historical claim. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an error.