Pope St. Paul VI (1897–1978), born Giovanni Battista Montini, led the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978: he guided the Second Vatican Council to its completion, began the reform of the liturgy, became the first pope to travel by plane to every inhabited continent, met the Patriarch of Constantinople and lifted the mutual excommunications of 1054, and wrote the encyclicals Populorum Progressio and Humanae Vitae. Pope Francis canonized him in 2018, together with St. Óscar Romero. His feast day is May 29, the anniversary of his ordination as a priest. Below are his story, Scripture and prayers to St. Paul VI for the Church, for evangelization and for families.
A short prayer to St. Paul VI, written for this page:
St. Paul VI, you carried the Church through a time of great change with love and courage.
Pray for the Church, for families and for all who proclaim the Gospel,
and help me to be faithful to Christ when it is hard. Amen.
Who was St. Paul VI?
Giovanni Battista Montini was born on September 26, 1897, at Concesio, near Brescia, in northern Italy, the son of a lawyer and newspaper editor active in Catholic politics. Frail in health, he studied at home, was ordained a priest in 1920, and spent more than thirty years in the Vatican Secretariat of State, while also serving as chaplain to Catholic university students. In 1954 Pope Pius XII made him Archbishop of Milan, where he worked tirelessly among workers and the poor of the industrial city. Pope John XXIII made him a cardinal in 1958.
Elected pope on June 21, 1963, after John XXIII’s death, he took the name Paul, after the great missionary apostle. He reopened the Council and led it to its close in 1965, carried out its reforms, including the new Roman Missal, and set up the Synod of Bishops. He traveled to the Holy Land, India, the United Nations in New York, where he cried “No more war, war never again!”, Fatima, Colombia, Uganda, the Philippines and Australia. In 1964 he embraced Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in Jerusalem, and in 1965 the two lifted the excommunications that had divided Rome and Constantinople since 1054. His encyclical Humanae Vitae (1968) on married love and the transmission of life met fierce opposition, which he bore with great suffering. His apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975) on evangelization inspired generations. He died at Castel Gandolfo on August 6, 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Scripture
The words of St. Paul that inspired his missionary papacy (Romans 10:14–15, Douay-Rheims):
How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher?
And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!
Canonization
Pope Francis beatified Paul VI on October 19, 2014, and canonized him on October 14, 2018, with St. Óscar Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador whom Paul VI had appointed.
Prayers to St. Paul VI
Written for this page.
For evangelization
St. Paul VI, you taught that the Church exists to evangelize.
Pray that every Catholic may share the joy of the Gospel by word and example. Amen.
For married couples
St. Paul VI, you defended the beauty of married love and of every human life.
Pray for husbands and wives, that their love may be faithful, fruitful and holy. Amen.
For Christian unity
St. Paul VI, you embraced the Patriarch of Constantinople as a brother.
Pray for the healing of the divisions among Christians. Amen.
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. Paul VI, pope, is May 29, the day of his priestly ordination in 1920. Pope Francis added it to the General Roman Calendar in 2019.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pope Paul VI known for?
Completing the Second Vatican Council, his worldwide journeys, his reconciliation with the Orthodox Patriarch, Humanae Vitae and Evangelii Nuntiandi.
When was Paul VI canonized?
On October 14, 2018, by Pope Francis.
When is the feast of St. Paul VI?
May 29.
More saints
- Pope St. John XXIII
- St. John Paul II prayer
- St. Charles Lwanga and the Uganda Martyrs
- Prayer for the Pope
- Catholic prayer for marriage
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Romans 10:14–15 (Douay-Rheims).