Pope Pius X

Death & Burial

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In 1913, Pius X suffered a heart attack, and subsequently lived in the shadow of ill health. On 15 August 1914, Pius X fell ill on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, an illness from which he would not recover. Moreover, the events leading to the outbreak of World War I, over which the Pontiff was horrified, did not help his condition; they reportedly caused the 79 year-old Pontiff to fall into a melancholy state. He died almost at the same time as Franz Xavier Wernz.

Related Topics:
1913 - 15 August - 1914 - Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady - World War I - Franz Xavier Wernz

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Following his death, Pius X was buried in a simple and unadorned tomb in the crypt below St. Peter's Basilica. Pius X, left instructions that his body not be embalmed, a practice subsequent popes have followed.

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