By Peter Kwasniewski, LifeSiteNews - The first pope in many hundreds of years to have been canonized (due to the lofty and stringent norms for canonizations in place before Vatican II), Pius X was single-mindedly dedicated to the reform of the Church, above all in her liturgical and devotional life. His writings indicate that he always considered the internal strengthening of the Church, the deepening of her life of prayer and sacrifice, her best and, in truth, her only safeguard against depredations from without and dissensions from within.