08/21/2026
A message from Bishop Jeff Fleming on this feast day of St. Pius X:
"A blessed parish feast day to you and your parish family 🙏🏻"
Be sure to check out our St. Pius X display in the Gathering Area this weekend.
In case you missed it in last weekend's bulletin, here's a little bit of info about our patron saint:
St. Pius X (1835 – 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was from the Austrian Empire in what is now modern-day Veneto, Italy. He was the 257th Pope and served from 1903 until his death in 1914. His Feast Day is celebrated on August 21.
St. Pius X's love for the Eucharist was evident from a young age and he carried this devotion throughout his life. As Pope, he emphasized the importance of fostering a personal relationship with Jesus through the Sacrament, advocating for its accessibility to all Catholics, regardless of social status.
One of St. Pius X's most significant contributions to the Church was the role he played in lowering the age of eligibility for First Communion. Recognizing the significance of early spiritual formation, he sought to enable children to receive the Eucharist as soon as they reached seven years old. He believed that children could experience the profound graces of the Eucharist, grow in their faith at an early age, and that the reception of Holy Communion regularly in a child’s life would set the foundation for a lifetime of spiritual growth.
His papacy was also marked by his efforts to combat the rising tide of modernism — a movement that challenged traditional Catholic teachings. He wrote an encyclical entitled "Pascendi Dominici Gregis," subtitled “On the Doctrines of the Modernists," condemning modernist errors and safeguarding the integrity of Church doctrine. His commitment to preserving the traditional scope of Catholicism, especially the teachings of Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist, earned him the epithet "Pope of the Eucharist.”
Despite his rejection of modernism, St. Pius X was the first Pope to use a typewriter for his encyclicals, signaling an embrace of modern technology during his time as Pope.
St. Pius X, Pope of the Eucharist, pray for us!
