Pope Pius X (b. 2 June 1835 – d. 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, began his pontificate on 4 August 1903. He is known for opposing modernist thought and as a bishop proposed a new catechism for laymen in 1880. After his elevation to the papacy, he worked on that and released a catechism. It was, however, only used in the province of Rome and other parts of Italy and not the rest of the world. The encyclical “Vehementer Nos” was published on 11 February 1906. I
