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The papacy of Pius V (1566-1572) represented a strong effort not only to crack down against heretics and worldly abuses within the Church, but also to improve popular piety in a determined effort to stem the appeal of [[Protestantism]]. A man of impoverished upbringing taken in by the Dominicans, he was trained in a solid and austere piety. He began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor, charity, and hospitals rather than focusing on patronage. As pontiff he practiced the virtues of a monk, known for daily meditations on bent knees in presence of the [[Blessed Sacrament]]. Pius V sought to improve the public morality of the Church, promote the [[Jesuits]], and support the [[Inquisition]]. He enforced the observance of the discipline of the [[Council of Trent]], and supported the missions of the [[New World]]. The [[Spanish Inquisition]], brought under the direction of the absolutist Spanish state since Ferdinand and Isabella, stemmed the growth of heresy before it could spread.

The pontificate of Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) opened up the final stage of the Counter Reformation. His reign focused on rebuilding [[Rome]] as a great European capital and Baroque city, a visual symbol for the Catholic Church.