St Pius V, Pope

St Pius was born in 1504 and was elected Pope in 1566. He was responsible for implementing the decrees of the Council of Trent and it was during his reign that the Christian soldiers under Don Juan of Austria were victorious in their defeat of the Turkish army at the sea battle of Lepanto. Throughout the expedition Pius V ordered public prayers and fasts throughout all of Christendom and at the time of the Christian victory when in conference with a group of Cardinals, the Pope suddenly stood up and opened a window and remained transfixed for some minutes before returning to his cardinals and telling them that the Christians had won. This fact was authentically recorded in the documents prepared for his canonisation. In thanksgiving the Pope ordered the festival of the rosary to be kept on the first Sunday of October and added the title ‘Help of Christians’ to the Litany of Our Lady.

***The Council of Trent (1545-63) was a meeting of the bishops of the world to discuss issues arising from the Protestant Reformation in Europe. The Protestants, or Protesters, had severed their connections with the Papacy and established their own churches. Leading Protestants included: John Calvin (1509-64) and Martin Luther (1483-1546).