I’m reading a book on the history of the saxophone and was struck by a tiny passage. One sentence read: “In 1903, Pope Pius X wrote the Motu Proprio on Sacred Music, which prohibited certain instruments “that may give reasonable cause for disgust or scandal” – that is, the saxophone – as being “unworthy of the House of Prayer and of the Majesty of God.”

Is anyone familiar with this *Motu Proprio? *Does anyone know is this true and/or still valid? Is the Saxophone prohibited from being played in church under the guidance of Pope Pius X? Now that I think of it, I’ve never seen or heard a sax in any Catholic liturgical setting.

Thanks for any answers.