Pope St. Pius X is best remembered as the pope of the Eucharist. "Holy Communion is the shortest and surest way to Heaven", he said. "It is so easy to approach the holy table, and there we taste the joys of paradise." In a sense, this saint's intercession while he lived -- in making it easier for sinners and the young to approach the Eucharist-- helped make possible countless spiritual miracles.

The man some called the best loved pope of the 20th century was born Giuseppe Sarto in Riese, Italy in 1835. His intelligence was apparent early, as was his zeal for religion, and he was accepted at the seminary of Padua despite his family's inability to pay tuition. For 45 years after his ordination, he was engaged in pastoral duties, as a parish priest and later as bishop of Mantua and in 1893, patriarch of Venice. His fellow cardinals elected this gentle man Pope in a stormy conclave in 1903, and while he accepted the burden reluctantly, he would come to be known as a strong pontiff, particularly in his opposition to modernism. He died in 1914, deeply saddened by the outbreak of war in Europe.

Among many miracles attributed to Pius X was the long-distance cure of a nun in India. The mother superior of an orphanage, she was dying when Pius telegraphed her his blessing. On receiving the telegram, she was instantly healed. Another report concerned two nuns who were dying of cancer and were cured during a private audience with the Pope. When they emerged, their appearance was so changed that their cab driver would not believe they were the same women he had delivered. Pius X was beatified in 1951, and canonized in 1954.

"St. Pius, help me to imitate your devotion to the Eucharist, and your compassion for souls in need."

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