(1504-1572) Antonio, later called Michele, Ghisleri was born to impoverished Italian nobility. He joined the Dominicans at age 14 and was ordained 10 years later. He taught philosophy and theology and served as master of novices and prior at several Dominican houses. Michele was made Bishop, Cardinal, and Inquisitor General, and finally elected as pope at 62 years old, taking the name Pius V. He worked at reforming the Church, declared Thomas Aquinas the fifth Doctor of the Church, and formed the Holy League in opposition to the Ottoman Empire. Pope Pius V attributed the victory of the Battle of Lepanto to the power of the faithful praying the Rosary.
Have you discovered the “simple and profound prayer of the Rosary”?
“May the apostolic zeal, constant aspiration to holiness and love for the Virgin that marked the life of St. Pius V be an incentive to all to live their own Christian vocation with deeper commitment. I would like in particular to invite them to imitate him in his filial Marian devotion, and to rediscover the simple and profound prayer of the Rosary” (Pope Saint John Paul II, on the occasion of the 500th birthday of Saint Pius V).
Reflection by Brad Farmer