Translations by Michael Dubiaga, Jr
The preparation of a Traveling Exhibit on St. Pius X and the publication of its accompanying catalogue in now-distant 1986 brought back to the fore the problem of a better knowledge of the bibliography regarding Giuseppe Sarto, Pope Pius X, saint of the universal church.
If it is true that copious bibliographies are foundin the appendices of various volumes (Facchinetti, the Postulazione della Causa, Michel Fontbel, Fernessole, Traglia, Gerolamo Dal Gal, Severo Dalle Fratte, Vervoort, Gianpaolo Romanato, etc.), it is also true that the titles of published works have already become very numerous (they have long since surpassed a thousand).Thus, new bibliographic studies, new research, and new lists have become necessary for a more sensible organization of the material accumulating on Pius X (as well as material written by Pius X himself.)
The notable production of Sarto during the various nine-year periods into which his life fell is not always recognized . If many know Sarto the Catechist, there are few who know Sarto the Composer of sacred music.But I think there are very few indeed who are familiar with Sarto the Orator, Sarto the Historian of his own province, or Sarto the Cultivator of scientific subjects.One may add that a sizeable quantity of documents in manuscript, preserved in various archives and libraries, remain still unexplored or unpublished.
The problem of the scholarly validity of works pertaining to Pius X still exists, and it is of primary importance.Alongside contributions of notable interest and originality, many offerings have accumulated which are not always historically well-informed and which rely on insecure sources.A new and serious cataloging ought to evaluate also the ‘consistency’ of works pertaining to our Subject.Very many articles indeed have appeared in newspapers and magazines as well as flyers or one-of-a-kind pamphlets of a few pages.There are many volumes, illustrated and not, hundreds of pages long.The use of the computer appears more necessary than ever.
For reasons of space, this is not the place for an exhaustive analysis or reasoned ramble through the bibliography pertaining to Giuseppe Sarto.But is the place to compile an alphabetical listing of the most worthwhile, important and successful works.This list presents, beyond the contributions of Italian writers, those of European and non-European authors as well.From this simple listing the worldwide dimension of the ‘phenomenon’ of Pius X emerges.This fact is already underlined by history and by the special intensity of publications which appeared not only during the pontificate of Pius X but also at his death (1914) and in subsequent decades.This is particularly true with respect to the centenary of his birth (1935), the years around the Introduction of the Cause (1939), of the Beatification (1951), Canonization (1954), and finally, of the 150th anniversary of his birth in 1985.
All the works for particular occasions (special editions, one-of-a-kind printings, etc.) which might not present an important or new contribution to Pius X studies (or at least some element to recommend their being pointed out to scholars) have been excluded.However, the biographies of Pius X for children and for the general reader have not been omitted, even though their hagiographic character, may not be accurate historically, either to eye-witnesses or to the documents.These still are valuable, for they point out a period in religious and social history.
About 300 titles in all have been gathered.
I am thankful to all those who helped me in my research and who supplied me with information.I want to thank in particular Fr. Fernando from Riese, Giampaolo Romanato, Gian Pietro Favaro, Fabrizio Masiero, and Sennen Nunziale.
Quirino Bortolato
Gli interventi di Pio X durante il pontificato sono riportati nelle seguenti pubblicazioni :
Per quanto riguarda gli scritti di Giuseppe Sarto del periodo anteriore al pontificato, e per la raccolta di fogli epistolari, sono in corso studi finalizzati all'elencazione completa delle opere edite e dei manoscritti conservati nei vari luoghi in cui visse durante il ministero sacerdotale. Si rimanda pertanto alla consultazione degli studi qui di seguito elencati.
Last update: 21.06.2009