The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music was founded by St. Pius X in 1910 under the name "School of Sacred Music." The school was opened on January 3rd, 1911 and received approval with the issue of the papal bull Expleverunt on November 4th of that same year. On July 10th, 1914, with a document from the Secretariat of State, the school was declared a Pontifical Institution and was granted the power to confer academic degrees. Benedict XV assigned the building Palazzo di Sant'Apollinare as the residence of the school, relocating it from via del Mascherone (October 16th,1914). Pius XI, with the motu proprio Ad musicae sacrae restitutionem (November 22nd,1922) gave it the statutes, confirming its direct dependence on the Holy See.
