John of Capistrano saves the Church and Europe

Summary:

Pope Callixtus III asked the old Franciscan John of Capistrano, respected throughout Europe for his ardent preaching and love of Christ, to mobilise the sovereigns against the Ottoman threat. All turned a deaf ear or prepared to submit to the invader. The road to Vienna, Italy and the West was therefore open, and it is said that some cardinals in Rome had already sent letters to the Ottoman sultan to assure him of their submission when he arrived. In the spring of 1456, John of Capistrano decided to resist, despite his age - he was 70 at the time - and an illness that made walking painful. Only the old Prince Hunyadi was prepared to follow him, with a few thousand men, to face an army of more than 150,000 soldiers and 300 ships, sailing up the Danube towards central Europe. But Capistrano's courage inspired peasants and craftsmen from Poland and other countries, armed only with pitchforks and scythes, to join him.

Belgrade was already under siege by Mehmet II when Capistrano and his unusual army arrived nearby. Capistrano decided to repeat Gideon's epic: boats of all kinds were found and those who accompanied the Franciscan, often unarmed, were gathered on board, at the prow of the first boat with his standard. The makeshift fleet sailed down the Danube towards the Ottoman armada, to great fanfare of hymns, trumpets and din. When they saw them coming, the Ottomans laughed at them but, carried along by a strong current, the boats arrived at full speed on the Turkish galleys and pushed them aside, while Hunyadi entered Belgrade with his troops. Mehmet II, who could see everything from a promontory overlooking the city, was furious and had the walls of the city cannoned until they were reduced to dust. He then sent his troops to attack. But the Christians, outnumbered less than one to ten, held out victoriously in the narrow streets.

Even more astonishingly, despite his exhaustion, Capistrano launched the 2,000 men at his disposal to attack the sultan's camp: this was a move of pure boldness, or "madness"! And the miracle happened: the Ottomans, hidden behind their batteries, fled! Their cannons were taken without a drop of blood. Capistrano and his men courageously continued their advance amidst the rout of the Ottoman troops. The Franciscan friar climbed a small hill and exhorted his men: "Fight for our endangered faith, but don't kill the Turks. I want their conversion or their humiliation, but not their death." The battle lasted five hours and, in another miracle, the Ottomans fled. The wounded Sultan Mehmet II only escaped capture by fleeing to Constantinople. Not since Gideon and David had weakness so impressively outweighed strength.

John Hunyadi died three weeks later, and John of Capistran a little later. But Rome, the Church and Europe were saved. On August 6, on learning of the victory, Pope Callixtus III decided that from then on, in the Latin Church, the universal feast of the Transfiguration of Christ would be celebrated on the anniversary day of the Christian victory of Belgrade.

Beyond reasons to believe:

The battle to free Belgrade and rout the Ottomans involved an old monk who stood up for Christendom and put his faith in God's strength, saving the Church and of Europe, when everyone else was ready to yield to an enemy muslim force.

Going further:

St. John Capistran: A Reformer in Battle by John Hofer (Author), REV Patrick Cummings (Translator), Mediatrix Press (July 11, 2018)

More information:

• Saint John Capistran Paperback by Mary Helen Allies Allies, hansebooks (July 29, 2024)

• 1456: The Siege of Belgrade (Epic Battles of History) by Anthony Holland, Kindle edition,  June 17, 2017