St. Pius X (1903-1914) 259th Pope
He wanted to first spread Eucharistic devotions among the faithful. At this time reception of Communion was received only around Easter
He began a campaign to revive frequent or daily communion
He encouraged frequent confession to receive the sacrament worthily
Young people had generally made their First Communion only after being confirmed. He changed the law, urging children to receive Communion
He encouraged devotions to the Virgin Mary
The struggle with Modernism was the major spiritual problem of his papacy
Many believed that the Church’s government and doctrines had to evolve to the current times. Doctrines were watered down, downplayed, dismissed as not true (Modernism)
Modernism has continued to persist
He concluded codification of canon law
He decreed elevation of the Host and chalice
Benedict XV (1914-1922) 260th Pope
Opponents of the Modernists appeared
WWI took up a large part of his papacy
He sent huge sums of war relief to afflicted on both sides of the war
The Russian revolution and others occurred
Three Portuguese claimed to have a vision of Our Lady at Fatima
He beautified Joan of Arc
Pius XI (1922-1939) 261st Pope
He faced many problems brought about by WWI
There were no Christian emperors or powers
Russia was exporting revolution
He initiated relief efforts
Power vacuum by the destruction of Austria-Hungarian empire and creation of the Weimar republic created instability
Poorly established democratic regimes were followed by totalitarian regimes
Abortion and artificial contraception came to the forefront
The Soviet Union was the first nation to legalize abortion, in keeping with their view that the human individual is subordinate to the state
There was a general lowering of standard of modesty of dress
Freud linked every human endeavor to repressed sexuality
The rise of nationalism appeared in Europe
There was a literary revival all over the Catholic world
There were resurgences in devotions and evangelization
He called for the general recognition of the Kingship of Christ over people
He declared against the Fascists and Communists that the parents were the primary educators, in terms of Christian education
The papacy was on the verge of bankruptcy
Pius XII (1939-1958) 262nd Pope
He aided the Jews in WWII
He used the Vatican to take in Jewish refugees
He also has been accused of being a nazi collaborator
He labored to help the many Catholics were persecuted in Russia and China
He saw the US as the protector of the free world
He was very concerned about the modernist theologians
The liturgical movement sought to restore liturgical rites
Missals in Latin and the vernacular were in the hands of the faithful
He proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
He forbade bishops from using titles of nobility they may have born with
He discovered the tomb of St. Peter
Blessed John XXIII (1958-1963) 263rd Pope
He was to provide quiet stopgap leadership between the traditionalist and progressives
He convened Vatican II. Its purpose was to renew the Church to make her more holy
Soon after his death, the cause for his canonization was opened
He sought to safeguard what is essential in Catholicism by adapting to current needs
Paul VI (1963-1978) 264th Pope
He had a desire to be a “modern” to streamline the Church
His first interest was to continue the work of Vatican II
It was declared that the vernacular should be given a larger role
He issued his new Mass, which had so many variations
He permitted Communion in the hand in areas where it would increase devotion to the Blessed Sacrament
A sort of anarchy appeared to descend upon the Church at all levels outside the Vatican
Whenever one spoke of liturgical or doctrinal abuses, no one seemed responsible
Liturgy, architecture, statues were torn out with new Mass
The wild alteration of sexual mores appeared in the West
He spoke out against the legalization of contraception
He issued Humanae vitae, foretelling the evils of contraception
From 1968 on, He did not really assert his authority against dissent within the Church
For all practical purposes, he abdicated control of most of the local hierarchies
John Paul I (1978) 265th Pope
He was the first pope to choose a double name