Pope Saint Pius V

Michele Ghislieri was born in 1504 at Bosco, near Alessandria in northern Italy, to a poor family, and worked as a shepherd before entering the Dominicans at fourteen. He became a bishop and cardinal, and in 1566 he was elected pope, taking the name Pius V.

He set out to put the decrees of the Council of Trent into practice. He published the Roman Catechism, the reformed Roman Breviary in 1568 and the Roman Missal in 1570, which shaped Catholic worship for four centuries. He reformed the papal court, insisted that bishops live in their dioceses, and lived simply, keeping his white Dominican habit. When Ottoman fleets threatened Europe, he formed the Holy League and asked the faithful to pray the Rosary. Its victory at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, led him to institute the feast of Our Lady of Victory, later the feast of the Holy Rosary. He died in Rome on May 1, 1572, and was canonized in 1712.

Pius V's body rests in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, where pilgrims venerate it. Dominicans and Rosary confraternities honor him, and his feast is a fitting day to pray the Rosary for peace in the world.