By the second half of the 1500s, Christian Europe was weakened and splintered by religious and political division. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire, with its capital in modern-day Istanbul (Turkey), was strong and growing. The Ottomans had established economic and military dominance across Eastern Europe and were making preparations to dominate Western Europe too. It was a moment of civilizational crisis.
Pope Pius V recognised that Europe was facing both a natural and supernatural threat. Overcoming those threats would require both natural and supernatural means.
To this end, Pius V coordinated the re-formation of a forgotten military alliance: the Holy League. He invited Europe’s Christian monarchs to put their differences aside and contribute to a common naval fleet. In the end, only Genoa, the Papal States, Spain and Venice answered the call. The navy of the Holy League was entrusted to the command of the twenty-six-year-old Don John of Austria, who had a distinguished military record. The Holy League’s navy consisted of around 200 ships, whilst the navy of the Ottoman Empire numbered 280 ships. The Holy League navy sailed from Sicily on 16 September 1571 and headed directly east. The Ottoman navy came into sight on 7 October 1571 off the coast of Greece’s Gulf of Patras.
At the same time, Pius V coordinated a spiritual campaign, centered on penance and the prayer of the Rosary. In the lead-up to the battle, Pope Pius urged the monasteries of Europe to intensify their life of prayer and penance. He, too, adopted penances. He exhorted the lay faithful to do their part by praying the Rosary, asking for Our Lady’s assistance. In Rome, he organized a public rosary procession. Everything lay at Mary’s feet.
The Battle of Lepanto was fought throughout the day on Sunday 7th October 1571. At the time, it was the single-largest naval battle in history. At the very moment the fleets came together, a miraculous change in wind threw the advantage in favour of the Christian fleet. Though the Holy League lost around 7,000 men, the Ottomans lost over 25,000. By 5pm, the Holy League had secured an against-the-odds victory.
The vision of Pope Saint Pius V
In the evening of that day, Pius V was working through some administrative tasks. At around 5pm that evening, the moment of victory, he suddenly stood up and went to the window, moved by grace: “Let us concern ourselves with business no more,” he exclaimed to his assistants. “Let us go and thank God, because at this very moment our armada has obtained victory.” Official news of the victory finally reached Rome three weeks later, confirming the details of the Pope’s supernatural intuition.
Pope Pius V was convinced that human history lay primarily in the hands of the good God. He understood that prayer and penance were far more powerful weapons against evil than human strength. This conviction led him to turn to Our Lady and the Rosary for help. Remarkably, this same theme will be echoed by Our Lady herself during her apparitions at Fatima. Next week, we will see how, at another moment of civilizational crisis, Our Lady instructed humanity to turn again to penance and the prayer of the Rosary in order to obtain peace.