The Holy Name of Mary and the major victory of Vienna (1683)

After its naval defeat at Lepanto (1571), the numerically superior Ottoman Empire decided to invade Europe by land. In 1683, the Turks reached Vienna, which they surrounded with more than 150,000 soldiers on July 14. Known as the Holy League and led by John III Sobieski, the Christian force combined with Charles V of Lorraine's troops defeated the besieging army at the Battle of Vienna on September 11, 1683. Inspired by Blessed Capuchin Marco d'Aviano, Sobieski decided to solemnly entrust himself to the Virgin Mary and place himself under her protection. After hearing mass, receiving holy Communion and saying the consecration prayer together, the Christian army rose up with fervor, declaring: "Let us march under the almighty protection of the Mother of God!", and won a resounding victory. Struck with panic, the Turks fled in disorder. Although their aim had been to reach Rome, the Turks withdrew from Austria and the territories below the Carpathians and the Danube. Christian Western Europe retained its integrity and recovered Hungary, Transylvania, Slovenia and Croatia.

The feast of the Holy Name of Mary first appeared in Spain in the 14th century, but numerous saints such as Saint Ambrose, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Saint Bonaventure, had beforehand preached that the name of Mary was like a balm of grace and a sure protection against demons. Forty years after the victory of Vienna, Pope Innocent XI extended that feast to the whole of Christendom. The feast was for a while removed from the Roman calendar in 1970 after the Second Vatican Council, but was recently reinstated in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, who was very attached to it.

Frans Geffels, The Battle of Vienna, 1683-1684, Vienna Museum at Karlsplatz / © CC0/wikimedia

Reasons to believe:

The events of the Battle of Vienna are historically indisputable and well documented.

The Turkish forces, far superior to their opponents in strength, numbers (150,000 to 300,000 men) and weapons, believed that victory was assured. The two Christian armies of King John III Sobieski and Charles of Lorraine were made up of only 40,000 and 13,000 men respectively: the Christians were three to five times outnumbered by the Turks.

The Capuchin Blessed Marco d'Aviano, a mystic and miracle-worker, bolstered everyone's courage and predicted an unprecedented victory. Instead of ending the Mass with the liturgical words "Ite missa est", he shouted " Ioannes vinces" ("John, you will win").

After the miraculous victory of Lepanto, attributed to the Virgin of Loreto, this second great military victory brought peace for many years. The Battle of Vienna marked a turning point: the end of Ottoman expansion in Central Europe and the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. All the protagonists attributed the victory of the Battle of Vienna to Mary's intercession, saying: "Vedi, veni, Deus vicit", meaning "I saw, I came, and God conquered".

Summary:

"Today, the deliverance of Vienna, the preservation of Poland and the salvation of the whole of Christendom are at stake!" King John Sobieski said when he decided to fight under the banner and protection of the Virgin Mary.

Self-entrustment (or consecration) to Mary's intercession has been recommended by many saints:

The name of Mary is a means of salvation. Saint Ephrem (306 - 373) called it "the key to heaven".
Saint Ambrose (339 - 397): "Your name, O Mary, is a delicious balm that spreads the fragrance of grace!"
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153): "The name of Mary alone puts all demons to flight."
Peter of Blois (1135-1203): "In the name of Mary, the Church bends her knee; the vows and prayers of the people resound from all sides."
Saint Albert the Great (1200 - 1280)" Sweet is the name of Mary, which melts the heart of the Church's faithful into devotion everywhere. Tell me, I beg you, where do these sighs come from, and the murmur, and the prostration of the devout crowd in church, when a cleric pronounces the name of Mary? She is like a date, full of sweetness and sweet within us... Sweet is the image of Mary, which artists make with such magnificence, such zeal and such gentleness, in preference to other images of saints, and which the faithful venerate with such joy above all others. Don't you see that the churches are full of the image of Mary, a sure sign that every heart should be full of her devout memory? Here are the sweet fruits of the palm tree! Here are the dates that Mary sprinkled on the land of the dying! Those dates must be of supreme quality, which she distributes to the citizens of heaven in the land of the living! This is where we shall see her, no longer in her image of gold or ivory, but face to face, in her most holy body; where with our own eyes we will see her face, which for so long here on earth we have longed for with tears; where we will sit beside our Mother, from whom we are now so far; where we will no longer speak of her, but to her; and where we will never leave her glorious presence. Oh, when will that be?"
Saint Bonaventure (1217 - 1274): "How glorious is your name, O holy Mother of God! How glorious is the name that has been the source of so many marvels!"
Blessed Henri Suso (1296 - 1366): "O name full of sweetness!O Mary! Who are you yourself, if your name alone is already so lovable and so full of charm?"
Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696 - 1787): "The Song of Songs allows us to believe that, at the time of the Assumption of the Virgin, the angels asked about her name on three different occasions. On the first occasion, they cried out, 'Who is she who rises from the desert like a perfumed mist?' Then they asked: 'Who is the one that advances like the dawning day?' Finally, they said to each other, 'Who is she who come up from the desert, full of delight?' Why were they so insistent in asking to hear the name of their Queen?- 'Certainly,' replied Richard of Saint-Lawrence, "because they wanted to hear the sweet name of Mary!" (The Glories of Mary)
A Spanish Trinitarian priest called Simón de Rojas composed the first liturgical office of the Sweet Name of Mary, which he submitted for papal approval on June 5, 1622.
In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI recommended invoking the Name of Mary for the conversion of the baptised. "To the Virgin Mary, whose Most Holy Name is celebrated today in the Church, we entrust our journey of conversion to God," he declared.

The name of Mary is still the most popular name for baby girls today.

Olivier Bonnassies

Beyond reasons to believe:

Entrusting oneself personally and collectively to Mary, as Jesus himself did, is, according to all the saints, a most excellent idea.

Going further:

"The miracle of this victory came through my intercession..." : homily for the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, on the website of the Missionary Family of Notre-Dame.