St. Pius V: His Life, Times, Virtues and Miracles

by Robin Anderson

In an incredible pontificate of 6 years; he vigorously promulgated the decrees of the Council of Trent (1545-1563); issued the Roman Missal; the revised Breviary and the Catechism of the Council of Trent; excommunicated Elizabeth I of England; established the Index of Forbidden Books; chose 314 bishops; wrote hundreds of bulls; and defeated the Turks at Lepanto in 1571; terminating their dominance of the Mediterranean Sea--all remarkably told in a short; readable biography.

Genres: Catholic, Biography, Religion

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Born in London in 1913, Robin Anderson was educated at Marlborough College and studied at the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During World War II he was a stage manager to Shakespearean actor Sir John Gielgud. He moved to Rome in 1953 and worked as speaker for Vatican Radio and teacher of languages. Elected fellow of the the Institute of Linguists in 1961, he has published articles and poetry and lectured on religious and cultural subjects in several countries, including Italy, England, and the United States.

Reviews

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pope St. Pius V was one of the most remarkable men in history. I learned about him in the Durant book I am (on and off) reading. So I ordered this biography to learn more. Unfortunately it is a slim book that does not really contain much more information than you get from Durant (or Wikipedia). In one respect even less. What fascinated me the most is that he was able to reduce bureaucracy. Anderson gives us very little about that. We learn that he got rid of the court jester, though.

Michael Ghisleri was a Domenican monk before he was made Cardinal and then Pope. And he was for a long time the Head of the Roman Inquisition. (Not to be confused with the Spanish organisation of Monty Python fame.) And as such he managed to stop the protestant heresy to make progress in Italy. As Pope he also excommunicated Elizabeth I, alas, a few years too late to have any practical value. He established the Index of Forbidden books. Now, this is something that I would normally not consider to be a praiseworthy move. But things are complicated. And he did manage to strengthen Catholicism.

When he was made Pope people in Rome were not happy and he famously said that he preferred that they would be unhappy on the day he died. And they were. He was very popular, which is amazing considering that he forbade horse-racing (in St. Peter's Square), fought against prostitution, blasphemy and adultery.

But his main claim to fame is his role in the war against the Ottoman empire. He formed the Holy League that would result in the battle of Lepanto in 1571. This was an event that is little known these days (Christopher Nolan should make a film about it). But Pius V was the man who saved Western civilisation.

He was canonised in 1696.

Anderson’s book is too short it is also without any hint of criticism (whereas Durant has some objections e.g. towards the way the Pope treated Jews). It is a hagiography. But still, I liked it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The greatest pope of all time. Arguably. This short work from the 1970s captures the era of The Council of Trent. The council that represents the counter reformation. St Pius achieved many things in the six years of being pope. This was accomplished primarily through holiness and prayerful example.

[Paul Wesner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was short, but well structured and full of interesting, exciting, and edifying content. You can hardly beat Cardinal Ottaviani writing a foreword either.