Miguel Ghislieri was born in Bosco (Alessandria). He joined the Dominican order at fourteen; he was successively a professor, preacher, prior, provincial of Lombardy, inquisitor in Como and Bergamo, general commissioner of the Roman Inquisition, bishop of Sutri and Nepi, cardinal (called il Cardinale Alessandrino due to his homeland), grand inquisitor, protector of the Barnabites, bishop of Mondovì, and finally, due to the pressure from Charles Borromeo, was elected pope (1566).
Edifying in his personal life, he can be defined as the greatest reformer among the popes of the time. We can only hint at the fields of his reforming attitude: against the simony of the Roman Curia and nepotism; in favor of the residence of bishops, the enclosure of religious people, episcopal visits, celibacy and chastity of clerics and the holy life of priests, the propagation of faith and the deployment of missions. He was especially concerned with the correction of liturgical books, the Index, censorship, and the Inquisition; he proposed his fellow Saint Thomas as an ideal for theologians.
He emphasized Roman centralism, but – perhaps not very diplomatically – he made enemies even among Catholic rulers, such as Emperor Maximilian II and King Philip II. Despite everything, he achieved the Holy League with Spain and Venice, which obtained the famous victory over the Turks at Lepanto. His English policy is mainly criticized: the excommunication and deposition of Elizabeth I, which had tragic consequences for English Catholics.
During his pontificate, the Baroque cultural movement began in Rome. His tomb is located opposite that of the Franciscan Pope Sixtus V, in Santa Maria Maggiore. He died on May 1, 1572, and was canonized in 1712. The post-conciliar calendar brings his memory closer to the anniversary of his death, a memory that until now was celebrated on May 5.
