592 ST SIMEON STYLITES THE YOUNGER
SIMEON was born about the year 517 at Antioch, and his mother Martha was revered as a saint. His father, who was from Edessa, was killed in an earthquake when Simeon was five years old. The child, of whom strange things were already recorded, eventually wandered off into the mountains, where he came to a small monastery and put himself in the care of a well known stylite called John. For the rest of his life John looked after the boy, who also had his pillar near by, on which he took up his abode at the age of seven, “before he had lost his first teeth”. The reputation, not simply of his eccentricity, but of his holiness and powers was such that, to avoid if he might the attentions of pilgrims, Simeon retired to live on a rock in a more inaccessible place on another mountain, which became known as the Hill of Wonders. He was then twenty. Ten years later, in consequence of a vision, he established a monastery for his disciples, and had a new column built for himself to which he was solemnly conducted by two bishops.

Simeon lived in this extraordinary but indubitably historically true fashion for another forty-five years; from time to time he moved to another pillar, and without coming down to the ground he was ordained priest when he was thirty-three, the bishop going up to impose hands on him. Apparently there was a platform on his pillar sufficiently large to enable him to celebrate the Holy Mysteries there, and his disciples climbed up by a ladder to receive communion at his hands.

It is recorded that God manifested his sanctity by a number of miracles, which he performed chiefly in curing the sick, foretelling things to come, and knowing the secret thoughts of others. Evagrius, the Syrian historian, was an eye-witness to many and assures us that he had experienced Simeon’s knowledge of the thoughts of others in himself, when he visited him for spiritual advice, and that the fame of his holiness was unsurpassed.

Crowds of people of many races flocked to St Simeon for his spiritual advice and hoping to witness or be healed by a miracle. After the death of St John Stylites there was no one who could or would restrain his austerities, and Evagrius says that he supported life entirely on one sort of fruit or vegetable. He wrote to the Emperor Justin II urging him to punish the Samaritans who had attacked their Christian neighbours, and St John Damascene attributes to Simeon a passage praising the veneration of sacred images: there are other writings, homilies and hymns, also attributed to him but without sufficient reason. Simeon had foretold that Justin II would succeed Justinian, and told John the Scholastic that he would be elected to the see of Constantinople: and so he was.

That he became a stylite when a child and displayed spiritual understanding from his tenderest years, that he came to live almost without sleep and nourishment, that the contests with evil spirits, physical mortifications and numerous miracles are of so startling a character, may well make the reader of St Simeon’s life ask whether it be not entirely a work of imagination: and Father Delehaye did not fail to re­mark that it is an unusual document that must be read with corresponding discrimin­ation. But many of its statements can be checked and compared, and it certainly is not entirely wanting in historical value. The saint fell ill in the May of 592, and the Patriarch Gregory of Antioch, being told that he was at the point of death, went in haste to assist at his last moments; but before he arrived St Simeon was dead.

The reputation of his sanctity moved many noblemen and others to embrace a penitential state under his direction. Remaclus walked before them in the narrow paths of Christian perfection, encouraging them both by words and example. He modified nothing of his austerities on account of old age, but rather strove continually to increase his pace as he drew nearer to the end of his course, lest by sloth at the last he should forfeit his crown. He strongly exhorted his religious brethren to perfect self-denial, obedience, poverty, patience in adversity, and constant peace and union, virtues in which he had been to them a shining example, and died about the year 675. He was buried at Stavelot. There are a number of legends and places still connected with the name of St Remaclus in the province of Liege.

He was one of those chosen few men whose personality is irresistible. Everyone was moved by his simplicity and his angelic kindness. Yet it was something more that carried him into all hearts: and that “something” is best defined by saying that all who were ever admitted to his presence had a deep conviction of being face to face with a saint. And the more one knows about him the stronger this Conviction becomes.

He was born in 1835, son of the municipal messenger and postman of the big village of Riese in Venetia, and was then known as Giuseppe Sarto (i.e. “Joseph Taylor “); he was the second of ten children, and the circumstances of the family were very poor. Young Joseph went to the local elementary school, from thence, through the encouragement of his parish priest, to the “grammar school” at Castelfranco, walking five miles there and back every day, and then by bursary to the seminary at Padua. He was ordained priest by dispensation at the age of twenty-three, and for seventeen years gave himself wholeheartedly to the pastoral ministry; then he became a canon of Treviso, where his hard work and generous charities were very marked, and in 1884 bishop of Mantua, a diocese then in a very low state, with a negligent clergy and two towns in schism. So brilliantly successful was he in handling this charge that in 1892 Pope Leo XIII appointed Mgr Sarto cardinal-priest of St Bernard-at-the-Baths and promoted him to the metropolitan see of Venice, which carries with it the honorary title of patriarch. Here he became a veritable apostle of Venetia, his simplicity and forthrightness standing out in a see that rather prided itself on its pomp and magnificence.

On the death of Leo XIII in 1903 it was generally believed that Cardinal Rampolla del Tindaro would succeed him, and the first three ballots of the conclave so far bore this out that Cardinal Puzyna, Archbishop of Cracow, communicated to the electors the formal veto against Rampolla of the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. There was a profound sensation, and the cardinals solemnly protested against the interference: but Rampolla withdrew his candidature with great dignity, and after four more ballots Cardinal Sarto was elected.*[* It seems now to be generally agreed that Rampolla would not have been elected anyhow.]

Thus there came to the chair of Peter a man of obscure birth, of no outstanding intellectual attainments, and with no experience of ecclesiastical diplomacy, but one who, if ever man did, radiated goodness: “a man of God who knew the unhappiness of the world and the hardships of life, and in the greatness of his heart wanted to comfort everybody.”

One of the new pope’s earliest acts, by the constitution “Commissum nobis”, was to put an end once for all to any supposed right of any civil power to interfere in a papal election, by veto or in any other way; and later he took a cautious but definite step towards reconciliation between church and state in Italy by relaxing in practice the “Non expedit”.+ [+ i.e. the Holy See’s ruling that it was inexpedient for faithful Catholics to associate themselves publicly with the despoilers of the papal states,. e.g. by voting in parliamentary elections. For what a wise man thought about this policy, cf. Bd Contardo Ferrini (October 17).]

His way of dealing with the most critical situation that soon arose in France was more direct and assuredly not less effective than ordinary diplomatic methods would have been. After a number of incidents the French government in 1905 denounced the concordat of 1801, decreed the separation of church and state, and entered on an aggressive campaign against the Church. For dealing with ecclesiastical property it proposed an organization called associations cultuelles, to which many prominent French Catholics wanted to give a trial; but, after consultation with the French episcopate, Pope Pius in two strong and dignified pronouncements condemned the law of separation and forbade the associations as uncanonical. Of those who complained that he had sacrificed all the possessions of the Church in France he said, “They are too concerned about material goods, and not enough about spiritual”.

A good aspect of the separation was that the Holy See could now appoint French bishops direct, without nomina­tion by the civil power. “Pius X”, declared the bishop of Nevers, Mgr Gauthey, “at the cost of sacrificing our property emancipated us from slavery. May he be blessed for ever for not shrinking from imposing that sacrifice on us.” The pope’s strong action caused the French government such difficulties that twenty years later it agreed to another and canonical arrangement for the administration of church property.

In his first encyclical letter Pius X had announced his aim to be to “renew all things in Christ”, and nothing was better calculated to do that than his decrees concerning the sacrament of the Eucharist. These formally recommended daily communion when possible, +[+ In the middle ages, and later under the influence of Jansenism, communion was a rare occurrence for the ordinary Catholic. Daily or very frequent communion was looked on as extraordinary, and even improper. When the Catholics of the west of England rose against Protestant innovations in 1549 one of their expressed grievances was being expected to communicate more often than at Easter or thereabouts.] directed that children should be allowed to approach the altar upon attaining, the use of reason, and facilitated the communion of the sick. But there is a ministry of the word as well as of the altar, and he also strongly urged daily reading of the Bible—but here the pope’s words did not receive so much heed. With the object of increasing the worthiness of divine worship he in 1903 issued on his own initiative (motu proprio) an instruction on church music which struck at current abuses and aimed at the restoration of congregational singing of the Roman plainchant.

He encouraged the work of the commission for the codifying of canon law, and was responsible for a thorough reorganization of the tribunals, offices and congregations of the Holy See. Pius also set up a commission for the revision and correction of the Vulgate text of the Bible (this work was entrusted to the monks of St Benedict), and in 1909 founded the Biblical Institute for scriptural studies in charge of the Society of Jesus.

Pius X was ever actively concerned for the weak and oppressed. He strongly denounced the foul ill-treatment of the Indians on the rubber-plantations of Peru, and greatly encouraged the Indian missions in that country. He sent a commission of relief after the earthquake at Messina, and sheltered refugees at his own expense in the hospice of Santa Marta by St Peter’s, while his general charities, in Rome and throughout the world, were so great that people wondered where all the money came from. The quiet simplicity of his personal habits and the impressive holiness of his character were both exemplified in his custom of preaching publicly on the day’s gospel in one of the Vatican courtyards every Sunday.

Pius was embarrassed—perhaps a little shocked—by the ceremoniousness and some of the observances of the papal court. At Venice he had refused to let anyone but his sisters cook for him, and now he declined to observe the custom of conferring titles of nobility on his relatives. “The Lord has made them sisters of the pope”, he said, “that should suffice”. “Look how they have dressed me up”, he exclaimed to an old friend, and burst into tears. And to another he said, “It is indeed a penance to be forced to accept all these practices. They lead me about surrounded by soldiers like Jesus when he was seized. in Gethsemane.”

Those are not merely entertaining anecdotes. They go right to the heart of Pius’s single-minded goodness. To an English convert who wished to be a monk but had made few studies, he said, “To praise God well it is not necessary to be learned”. At Mantua infamous charges were made against him in print. He refused to take any action; and when the writer went bankrupt, the bishop privately sent him money: “So unfortunate a man needs prayers more than punishment.”

Already during his lifetime Almighty God used Pope Pius as an instrument of miracles, and these occurrences are stamped with the same perfection of modest simplicity. A man at a public audience pointed to his paralysed arm, saying, “Cure me, holy Father”. The pope smiled, stroking the arm gently: “Yes, yes, yes”, he said. And the man was healed. A paralysed child, 11-years old, at a private audience, suddenly and unprompted asked the same thing. “May God grant your wish”, said Pius. She got up and walked. A nun, in an advanced stage of tuberculosis, made the same request. “Yes”, was all Pius replied, laying his hands on her head. That evening her doctor verified her recovery.

On June 24, 1914, the Holy See signed a concordat with Serbia; four days later the Archduke Francis of Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo by the midnight of August 4 Germany, France, Austria, Russia, Great Britain, Serbia, Belgium were at war: it was the eleventh anniversary of the pope’s election. Pius X had not merely foreseen this European war—many people had done that— he had foretold it definitely for the summer of 1914, but its outbreak was neverthe­less a blow that killed him: “This is the last affliction that the Lord will visit on me. I would gladly give my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge.” After a few days’ illness he developed bronchitis on August 19: next day he was dead—the first great victim of a war called great. “I was born poor, I have lived poor and I wish to die poor”, he said in his will: and its contents bore out the truth of his words, so that even the anti-clerical press was moved to admiration.

After the funeral in St Peter’s Mgr Cascioli wrote, “I have no doubt whatever that this corner of the crypt will before long become a shrine and place of pil­grimage...God will glorify to the world this pope whose triple crown was poverty, humility and gentleness.” And so indeed it came about. The pontificate of Pius X had not been a quiet one, and the pope had been resolute in his policies. If he had no enemies—for it takes two to make an enemy—he had many critics, inside the Church as well as outside. But now the voice was unanimous: from all quarters, from high and low, came a call for the recognition of the sanctity of Pius X, once Joseph Sarto, the postman’s little boy. In 1923 the cardinals in curia decreed that his cause be introduced, Cardinal Aidan Gasquet representing England among the twenty-eight signatories; and in 1954 Pope Pius XII solemnly canonized his predecessor before a vast multitude in St Peter’s Square at Rome— the first canonized pope since Pius V in 1672.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).
 Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
Dear brothers and sisters, 
Today I would like to reflect on the figure of my predecessor St. Pius X, whose liturgical memorial will be observed Saturday, to emphasize some of his characteristics that can also be useful for the pastors and faithful of our time.
 
Giuseppe Sarto -- that was his name -- was born in Riese, Treviso, in 1835 to a peasant family. After studying in the Seminary of Padua, he was ordained a priest at age 23. First he was vice-parish priest in Tombolo, then parish priest in Salzano, then canon of the cathedral of Treviso with the office of episcopal chancellor and spiritual director of the diocesan seminary. During those years of rich and generous pastoral experience, the future Pontiff showed that profound love of Christ and of the Church, that humility and simplicity and that great charity toward the neediest, which were characteristics of his whole life.

In 1884 he was appointed bishop of Mantua and in 1893 patriarch of Venice. On Aug. 4, 1903, he was elected Pope, a ministry that he accepted with hesitation, because he did not think he measured up to the loftiness of such a task.

St. Pius X's pontificate has left an indelible mark on the history of the Church, and was characterized by a notable effort of reform, synthesized in the motto "Instaurare omnia in Christo," (To Renew All Things in Christ.) His intervention, in fact, embraced various ecclesial ambits. From the beginning he dedicated himself to the reorganization of the Roman Curia; then he gave a green light to the work of writing the Code of Canon Law, promulgated by his successor, Benedict XV. Moreover, he promoted the revision of studies and of the iter of formation for future priests; he also founded several regional seminaries, equipped with good libraries and competent professors.

Another important sector was the doctrinal formation of the People of God. In the years he was a parish priest, he himself wrote a catechism, and during his episcopacy in Mantua he worked to establish a single catechism, if not universal, at least Italian. As a genuine pastor, he understood that the situation of the age, also because of the phenomenon of emigration, made necessary a catechism that all the faithful could refer to, regardless of the place and circumstances of life. As Pontiff he prepared a text of Christian doctrine for the Diocese of Rome, which later spread to the whole of Italy and the world. The catechism called "of Pius X" was for many a sure guide in learning the truths of the faith because of its simple, clear and precise language and its explanatory effectiveness.
 
He dedicated notable attention to the reform of the liturgy, in particular sacred music, to lead the faithful to a life of more profound prayer and to fuller participation in the sacraments. In the motu proprio "Tra le sollecitudini" (1931), he stated that the true Christian spirit has its first and indispensable source in active participation in the sacred mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church (cf. ASS 36 [1903], 531). That is why he recommended the frequent reception of the sacraments, fostering daily, well-prepared reception of Holy Communion, and opportunely moving earlier children's First Communion to around 7 years of age, "when," he said, "the child begins to reason." (cf. S. Congr. de Sacramentis, Decretum Quam singulari: ASS 2 [1910], 582).
 
Faithful to the task of confirming brethren in the faith, St. Pius X intervened with determination in the face of tendencies that manifested themselves in the theological realm at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, condemning Modernism, to defend the faithful from erroneous concepts and to promote scientific reflection on revelation in harmony with the tradition of the Church. On May 7, 1909, with the apostolic letter "Vinea electa," he founded the Pontifical Biblical Institute. The last months of his life were embittered by the outbreak of the War. An appeal to the Catholics of the world launched on Aug. 2, 1914, to express "the acute grief" of that hour, was the suffering cry of a father who sees his children confront one another. He died shortly after, on Aug. 20, and his reputation for sanctity soon began to spread among the Christian people.
 
Dear brothers and sisters, St. Pius X teaches all of us that, at the foundation of our apostolic action, in the various fields in which we work, there must always be an intimate personal union with Christ, which must be cultivated and enhanced day after day. This is the kernel of all his teaching, of all his pastoral commitment. Only if we are enamored of the Lord will we be able to lead men to God and open them to his merciful love, and thus open the world to God's mercy.
 
[In English, he said:] 
My dear brothers and sisters, today we recall Pope Saint Pius the Tenth, whose feast we celebrate this coming Saturday. He left an indelible mark in very many aspects of the Church’s life and activity, his overarching goal being to "renew all things in Christ" through our intimate personal union with our Saviour. By Pope Saint Pius’s prayers, may we grow daily in love for Christ and help open others to his love. God’s abundant blessings upon you all!  © Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[At the end of the audience, the Pope made this final appeal:] 
My thoughts go at this moment to the beloved peoples of Pakistan, affected recently by great floods, which have caused numerous victims and left many families homeless.
While I entrust to the merciful goodness of God all those who have passed away so tragically, I express my spiritual closeness to their families and to all those suffering because of this calamity. May these brothers of ours, so harshly tested, not lack our solidarity and the concrete aid of international solidarity.