Today ask Our Lady to turn back the evils of secularism and evil, of atheism, of at-tacks on the Pope, clergy and faithful as she turned back Sultan Selim II in his final assault on Europe, his great effort to force Islam on West-ern Europe in 1571. St. Pius V rallied the monarchs of Europe in defence of Christian Civilization and Holy Church. Spain, Genoa and Venice sent troops under command of Don Juan of Austria. St. Francis Borgia and the Jesuits, as well as Dominicans, Franciscans, Capuchins and other priests accompanied the soldiers, day and night, be-fore the great battle urging the soldiers to give up all sin in God’s Fleet and Army. The Papal Nuncio blessed the Christian fleet and brought parts of the True Cross to place on each vessel. Prayers of Europe were organized, 24 hours a day, in the churches, as the faithful prayed the Rosary to turn back the Mohammedans. A Rosary and Crucifix was attached to the flagship of the Chris-tian fleet. The Pope’s banner with the image of Christ Crucified rose above the Real, the flagship of Admiral Don Juan. The blue flag of Our Lady of Guadalupe rose alongside the Pope’s banner. After several hours of bloody combat on the sea, the Christian soldiers boarded the flagship of the Turkish Admiral, Ali Pasha, and his head soon decorated a spear. When the Turkish fleet saw dead, they lost heart.
Over 200 Turkish vessels were destroyed, 50,000 of the enemy lost their lives and 20,000 Christian captives were freed. As the battle raged, the Pope rose from his seat with several Cardinals, looked over the sky for a few minutes, then returned to give thanks to God for a great victory. The Saintly Pope seemed to have a premonition from Heaven of the outcome of the battle. Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of Our Lady of Victories to be celebrated annually on the 7th of October which Feast Day name was later changed to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. The Feast Day was placed on the First Sunday of October.
Had the 4th October not fallen as a Sunday, today would have been the feast of St. Francis of Assisi C., who established the Franciscan Order in 1209, that grew to 5,000 in 10 years, later formed the Poor Clares, while sending missionaries throughout Europe. Not commemorated in the Mass, using the newer rubrics, but pray to S. Francis for many converts to the Church and banishment of evil in our country and society. The proof that prayer and fasting will do more good than complaining is exemplified by the life of St. Francis of Assisi. He entered upon the scene when many churches in Europe were in decay and abandon. Struck by this, he heard the prompting of the Holy Ghost, began the work of restoration, and his followers became the Franciscans. A humble man, who never sought the honour of the priesthood, but remained a deacon, he undertook with almost no resources, the restoration of the Faith. He sought to restore all things in Christ with the help of God alone. Our Lord sent him many laborers for the vineyard. St. Francis was known for his kindness to others, his love for animals, his ability to instill respect and love from others who saw his great concern for their souls. When St. Francis visited a home, if food was offered, he would always accept a small portion, even if he disliked the offering, even if meat was being served on Friday, rather than cause offense and lose the person to the Catholic Faith forever. Although not usually thought of as such, St. Francis was a great missionary in Italy who brought many to the Faith as well as into the Catholic Religion.