On Saturday, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Pius X, the patron saint of our school and parish. This week, we were blessed to gather in smaller groups to honour the life and work of Saint Pius X. On Monday, our Receptions – Year 3 students gathered for a prayer service, and on Tuesday Fr Mathew kindly celebrated Mass with our Years 4-6 students. Both gatherings were wonderful opportunities for us to reflect on what makes our school such a special place to learn.

Saint Pius X was born on the 2^nd of June, 1835 in a village in Italy called Riese. His name was Guiseppe Sarto, but his mum and dad called him ‘Beppo’ for short.

Beppo was a kind child. His family were very poor and could not afford to send him to school. So a priest called Fr Luigi decided he would encourage Beppo to study hard to earn a scholarship so he could attend school to become a priest. Beppo had wanted to be a priest for a long time.

His prayers were answered and after earning the scholarship and attending school, Beppo was ordained a priest. He was so popular that the Pope made him a Bishop and before long, he was made a Cardinal. Wherever he went, people loved him.

On August the 9^th, 1903, Cardinal Beppo was elected Pope – the head of the Catholic Church in the world. When he became Pope, he used the name Pius the tenth (Pius X).

He did lots of wonderful things and always wanted to help the children and the poor.

One thing that he will be remembered for was allowing children as young as 7 years old to receive Holy Communion.

Pope Pius the tenth died on the 20^th of August, 1914. We celebrate his feast day on the 21^st of August every year.