Saint Pius V summary

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Saint Pius V, orig. Antonio or Michele Ghislieri, (born Jan. 17, 1504, Bosco, duchy of Milan—died May 1, 1572, Rome, Papal States; canonized May 22, 1712; feast day April 30), Pope (1566–72). He joined the Dominican order at age 14 and was ordained in 1528. A relentless pursuer of heretics, he was named commissary general of the Inquisition in 1551. By 1556 he was a cardinal, and in 1566 he was elected pope. He zealously carried out church reforms and succeeded in keeping Protestantism out of Italy. In 1570 he excommunicated Elizabeth I, thus worsening the position of Catholics in England. He organized the campaign that led to the victory of the Spanish, Venetian, and papal fleets over the Turks in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

Dominican Summary

Dominican, one of the four great mendicant orders of the Roman Catholic Church, founded by St. Dominic in 1215. Its members include friars, nuns, active sisters, and lay Dominicans. From the beginning the order has been a synthesis of the contemplative life and the active ministry. The members live

Christianity Summary

Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century ce. It has become the largest of the world’s religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It has a constituency of

saint Summary

Saint, holy person, believed to have a special relationship to the sacred as well as moral perfection or exceptional teaching abilities. The phenomenon is widespread in the religions of the world, both ancient and contemporary. Various types of religious personages have been recognized as saints,

Vatican City Summary

Vatican City, landlocked ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave in Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River. Vatican City is the world’s smallest fully independent nation-state. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries except on the southeast