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He
was born Giuseppi Melchiorro Sarto in Riese, Italy on June
2, 1835. The oldest son of Giovanni Sarto and Margherita Sanson,
the family of eight children had little money. Guiseppe was
able to win scholarships to get through high school and seminary.
In
1858 at 23 years of age, newly ordained Fr. Sarto became the
assistant at a large parish in Tombolo. Nine years later he
became the pastor at Salzano, where he made himself poor by
feeding and clothing the poor from his own food and clothing.
He worked hard to instruct the young and the old in Christian
doctrine, believing that devotion meant little if its meaning
was not understood. This idea dominated him throughout his
career.
He
became a Canon of the Cathedral of Treviso and Chancellor
of its diocese. At 49, he was appointed Bishop of Mantua by
Pope Leo XIII. When he was 58 he became a Cardinal and the
Patriarch of Venice.
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