Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the head of the Catholic Church from 1903 until his death in 1914. Raised in a poor family in the Austrian Empire, he rose through the ecclesiastical ranks to become a priest, bishop, and eventually pope. His papacy was characterized by a firm opposition to modernism and a commitment to Thomist scholastic theology. He is remembered for promoting liturgical reforms, such as encouraging active participation by the faithful and lowering the age for receiving First Communion.