THE GREAT AGE OF CATHOLIC RESTORATION Three successors of Pius IV. inaugurate the heroic age of the Catholic restoration. All three were of humble extraction, and sprang from the people in the full sense of the phrase. Pius V. (1566-1572), formerly Michele Ghisleri and a member of the Dominican order, observed even as pope the strictest rules of the brotherhood, and was already regarded as a saint by his con temporaries. For Rome, in especial, he completed the task of reform. The Curia, once so corrupt, was completely metamor phosed, and once more became a rallying point for men of stain less character, so that it produced a profound impression even on non-Catholics ; while the original methods of St. Philip Neri had a profound influence on the reform of popular morals. In the rest of Italy also Pius V. put into execution the reformatory de crees of Trent. In 1566 he gave publicity to the Tridentine cate chism; in 1568 he introduced the amended Roman breviary ; everywhere he insisted on strict monastic discipline, and the com pulsory residence of bishops within their sees. At the same period. Carlo Borromeo made his diocese of Milan the model of a re formed bishopric. The pope supported Mary Stuart with money ; his troops assisted Charles IX. of France against the Huguenots; and he lent his aid to Philip II. against the Calvinists of the Netherlands. But his greatest joy was that he succeeded where Pius II. had failed, despite all his efforts, by bringing to a head an enterprise against the Turks—then masters of the Mediter ranean. He negotiated an alliance between the Venetians and Spaniards, contributed ships and soldiers, and secured the election of Don John of Austria to the supreme command. He was priv ileged to survive the victory of the Christians at Lepanto ; but on May 1 in the following year he died, as piously as he had lived. The last pope to be canonized, his pontificate marks the zenith of the Catholic reformation.
The renewed vigour which this internal reformation had in fused into the Church was now manifest in its external effects; and Pius V., the pope of reform, was followed by the popes of the Catholic restoration. These, without intermitting the work of reformation, endeavoured by every means to further the out ward expansion of Catholicism. On the one hand missions were
despatched to America, India, China and Japan : on the other, a strenuous attempt was made to reannex the conquests of Protes tantism. In a word, the age of the Catholic restoration was begin ning—a movement which has been misnamed the counter-Refor mation. In this period, the newly created religious orders were the right arm of the papacy, especially the Jesuits and the Capuchins.
In place of the earlier supineness, the battle was now joined all along the line. Everywhere, in Germany and France, in Switzer land and the Low Countries, in Poland and Hungary, efforts were made to check the current of Protestantism and to re-establish the orthodox faith. This activity extended to wider and wider areas, and enterprises were even set on foot to regain England, Sweden and Russia for the Church.