Our lady of the Rsary and the Battle of Lepanto

On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish fleet was won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and Genoa under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle at sea between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was powered by the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. We know today that the victory was decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and evidenced the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.

What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the Battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.

At Lepanto, the Victory over the Moslems was won by the faithful praying the Rosary. Even though they had superior numbers, the Turks really were overmatched. Blessed Padre Pio, the Spiritual Father of the Blue Army, said: "The Rosary is the weapon," and how right he was!

The Battle of Lepanto was at first celebrated liturgically as "Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716 (who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712).

(Courtesy - EWTN)

Battle of Lepanto

If you belong to the generation that I am a part of, chances are you have not studied or heard a lot of the history of the Catholic Church. The tragedy of not knowing the History of the Catholic Church is that one is then forced to learn a warped version of Church history from the popular media. A consequence of this is that one ends up with wrong notions of the Crusades and the Knights Templar and one is unable to defend the Church in the face of such calumnies.

Our history lesson today covers one of the greatest naval battles in history; The battle of Lepanto.


(Please Click on Picture to see a large image of it. Mexico_San_Miguel_de_allende_atotonilco_chapel_of_the_rosary)

When Saint Pius V ascended the Papacy in 1566, Christendom faced perils both internal and external. One of the greatest external threats came from the agitated and violent followers of Mohammed. All the information and intelligence that Pope Pius V had been gathering indicated that the Ottoman juggernaut was about to roll across the Mediterranean and adjacent lands, spearheaded by the Turkish fleet. Its target was Italy and Rome. No nation could stand up to the marauding infidels and the candidates for an alliance were few. Northern Europe had risen up in armed rebellion against the Church with France deeply involved in the conflict, this was a part of the internal struggles in the Church. The Ottoman Empire felt that neutrality was the best policy after the Turks occupied a large chunk of its land in the Danube River Valley.

Only Spain and Venice had the resources to resist, and they hated each other with a deep mistrust. Yet Saint Pius through means of prayer forged an alliance with them as the core of an organized fleet of over 200 galleys. With his considerable tact and diplomatic skills, he not only kept them unified, but he convinced them to attack the enveloping menace.

A Christian naval fleet was assembled under the overall command of Admiral Don John of Austria. Although just in his twenties, Don John was a capable naval commander. The Spaniards were led by Santa Cruz, the Genoese by Andrea Doria, and the Venetians by Agostin Barbarigo and Sebastian Veniero. The fleet under Don John's command was some 300 ships strong, with over 100 ships and 30,000 men being supplied by Philip II of Spain alone. The Pope personally outfitted and supplied 12 Papal galleys, and provided funding for many of the others as well. The Venetian contingent was around 100 ships, manned in part by additional Spanish soldiers. In the Venetian fleet there were six galleys. Heavier, broader, and much slower than conventional galleys, they were nonetheless technologically advanced - the heavy gun platforms and battleships of their day. All total, over 50,000 men served the fleet as rowers, and another 30,000 were fighting soldiers.

In September of 1571, Don John moved the Catholic fleet East to intercept the Turks at Corfu, but the Turks had already landed, terrorized the population, and then moved on. While anchored off the coast of Cephalonia, news reached Don John that the Christian stronghold at Famagusta on Cyprus had fallen to the Turks, with all prisoners being tortured and then executed by the Moslems.

Don John then pulled up anchor and moved to engage the Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto, off the southern coast of Greece. The Turkish fleet, some 330 ships strong, under the command of Ali Pasha, had been reinforced by Uluch Ali, the Bey of Algiers, and head of the notorious band of Moslem corsairs (pirates) that had long terrorized Catholic ships in the Mediterranean.

On the night of October 6, with a favorable wind behind him, Ali Pasha moved his fleet westward toward the mouth of the Gulf of Patras to intercept the approaching ships of the Holy League.

At dawn, on October 7, 1571, the two fleets met. Don Juan split his fleet into three sections: on the left (north), the Venetians under Agostin Barbarigo; on the right (south), Andrea Doria led the Genoese and Papal galleys; in the center, Don John commanded his flagship and galleys. Santa Cruz, with a force of 35 Spanish and Venetian ships, was held in reserve. He ordered his captains not to fire until 'close enough to be splattered with Moslem blood.' The iron rams were removed from the Christian ships, as the plan was for boarding and close quarter fighting. Two of the large Venetian galleasses were towed into position in front of each of the three Christian divisions.

Ali Pasha's fleet approached in a giant crescent formation, and seeing the opposing fleet, he also ordered his fleet split into three divisions. Ali Pasha himself took up the middle position opposite Don John, and charged forward to engage Don John's ships. The Venetian galleasses opened fire, and almost immediately eight Moslem ships were hit and began to sink. The Catholic galleys, their decks filled with soldiers, opened fire with arquebuses and crossbows as the Moslem ships drew alongside. Ali Pasha's men attempted to board the Catholic ships, but the Spanish soldiers were experienced and well disciplined. Attack after attack was beaten back with deadly shots from their crossbows and arquebuses.

Don John ordered the ship of Ali Pasha to be boarded and taken. Two times the boarding attack of the Spanish soldiers was beaten back, but on the third attempt they swarmed over the deck, now awash in blood, and took the ship. Ali Pasha was captured and beheaded on the spot (against the wishes of Don John), and the Battle Flag of the Ottoman Fleet came down off the mainmast. The head of the Turkish admiral was spitted on a long pike and raised on high for all the enemy ships to see. The Turkish attack in the center collapsed, and Don John sent his ships in pursuit of the retreating Turks, and also turned to aid in the battles raging on his flanks.

On the Catholic right, Uluch Ali and his pirates had broken through Doria's lines and managed to capture the flagship of the Knights of St. John. Santa Cruz, seeing what had happened, came up to the rescue, and Uluch Ali was forced to abandon his prize. The Genoese were in a fight for their lives with the remainder of Uluch Ali's ships, but after Don John had broken the enemy fleet in the center, he turned and came to the aid of the Genoese. The Algerian corsairs were finally overcome, and fled for their lives in full retreat.

Admiral Mahomet Sirocco, commanding the Turkish right (on the Catholic left), sailed close to the rocks and shallows on the northern shore of the gulf and was able to outflank Barbarigo's Venetian galleys. Barbarigo's flagship was surrounded by eight enemy galleys, and the Catholic Admiral fell dead from Turkish arrows. His flagship was taken for a time, but aid finally arrived, and Sirocco's flagship galley was sunk. The Turkish admiral was yanked out of the water, and, like Ali Pasha, killed right on the spot.

The engagement lasted, all total, around four to five hours. When it was all over, 8,000 men who had sailed with Don John were dead and another 16,000 wounded. The Turks and Uluch Ali's corsairs had over 25,000 dead, and untold thousands more wounded and captured. Over 12,000 Catholic galley slaves had also been rescued from the Moslems. The Venetian galleasses had taken a heavy toll on the Turkish fleet. It was a major victory for the Holy League and Christendom.

During this battle, Pope Pius V, a Dominican prelate before his elevation, did what Catholics have always done in times of acute danger: fly into the arms of the most powerful Mother of God. He ordered all monasteries and convents in Rome to increase their prayers for the impending battle and organized rosary processions in which he, as sick as he was, participated.

As the Christian fleet sailed toward the great clash of cultures, Mass was celebrated and the rosary recited daily on each vessel. This heartfelt request for divine assistance resulted in a crushing defeat of the Ottomans at Lepanto that ended their dominance in the Mediterranean.

At dawn, on October 7, 1571, as recorded in the Vatican Archives, Pope Pius V, accompanied by a group of the faithful, entered the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray the Rosary and ask Our Lady to intercede for a Catholic victory. The prayers continued in Rome as the Catholic and Moslem fleets battled far away in the Gulf of Lepanto. Later in the day, the Pope is said to have suddenly interrupted his business with some Cardinals, and looking up, cried out,

"A truce to business! Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Catholic army."

The Pope, of course, had no way of knowing that the battle was taking place and being decided on that very day.

To celebrate Our Lady’s intercession, the Church has designated October 7 as the Feast of the Holy Rosary and Saint Pius V added Help of Christians (Auxilium Christianorum) to the Litany of Our Lady (Loreto).



(Pope Pius V Praying to Our Lady Mexico_San_Miguel_de_allende_atotonilco_chapel_of_the_rosary)


Sources : Tradition in Action and TFP

Our Lady of the Rosary – 7 October 2008

Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Let us read the commentary of Dr. Plinio Correa.

The feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted by St. Pius V in commemoration of the victory of the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571 against the Turks who were threatening Europe. In 1716, the feast was extended to the entire Church in thanksgiving for the defeat of the Muslim Crescent in Hungary.

The devotion of the rosary was revealed to St. Dominic by Our Lady. It was born, therefore, in a private revelation. And we know that such revelations are abhorred by the enemies of the Church – internal and external. Although it came from a private revelation, the praying of the Rosary was extended to the entire Catholic Church, and was considered by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort as the characteristic devotion of predestined souls.

Before Vatican II, the habits of many religious Orders had rosaries that hung on their cinctures, and good Catholics used to carry the rosary with them all day. It was considered not only an item for counting the Hail-Mary’s, but a blessed object, the seal of a special liaison of the person with Our Lady. Many times, the mere physical presence of the rosary would repel the Devil and attract special graces. It became the classic religious object to fight against the Devil.

What is the rosary? The rosary is a series of mediations on the mysteries from the lives of Our Lord and Our Lady. These mysteries are simultaneously prayers that one says vocally and meditations that one makes mentally. This mixture of vocal prayer and meditation is a splendid thing, because while the lips pronounce a plea, the mind concentrates on a point of the mystery. It is a dual activity that intimately unites one with God.

The practice of praying the rosary to beg a grace from God supposes the theological truth that Our Lady is the Universal Mediatrix of all graces. It is, therefore, a small masterpiece of spirituality and Catholic doctrine as they should be understood. The rosary is not a religious custom relying on emotions, but rather a serious, solid, and meditative pious practice, which explains why the rosary has obtained so many graces.

It is very beautiful and valuable to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary, because for each decade, one contemplates a different thing with its special graces: There are particular graces for the mystery of the Annunciation, others for the Agony in the Garden, yet others associated with the Ascension of Our Lord. Each one of the decades has its special graces, and the person who meditates on all of them attracts to his soul the ensemble of graces from the lives of Our Lord and Our Lady. It is a complete circumnavigation that brings a supernatural plenitude to the soul of the person, which helps us to better understand the salutary influence of the rosary.

A Catholic, thinking and reflecting on things of the Faith, should draw conclusions that build upon each other and constitute a kind of architectural construct. This should be the spiritual life of a Catholic. It follows in accordance with the way God governs the universe. He wisely judges the weight and measure of everything. This is another reason why the rosary is an excellent devotion.

We know that the victory of the Battle of Lepanto was achieved when St. Pius V interrupted a meeting with Cardinals at the Vatican and went to a window and started to pray the rosary. He was deeply concerned about the future of the Church and Christendom that was being decided in those Mediterranean waters. After the Pontiff finishing praying the rosary, he returned to the meeting and told the Cardinals that the Catholic fleet had been victorious. That is, he had a revelation while he was praying the rosary. It was the way Our Lady showed him that she linked that victory to his praying of the rosary. Understanding this, St. Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which was extended to the whole Church in commemoration for another great victory over the Mohammedans in 1716.

The fact that this devotion is specially linked to victories over the enemies of the Church and Christendom induces us to think that it will protect all those who fight against the enemies of the Catholic cause. It is a devotion that most probably will endure until the end time, when the enemies of the Church will be more dangerous than ever.

Therefore, also during the chastisement predicted at Fatima, the assiduous recitation of the holy rosary should be a decisive factor of victory for those who would be defending the Catholic cause. The historical antecedents of the value of the rosary are a pledge of analogous future victories.

When St. Alphonsus of Liguori was already old, sick, and in a wheelchair, a lay brother used to wheel him around the cloister of his monastery in the evening so he could take some fresh air. Engaging the brother in conversation, St. Alphonsus asked him:

“Did you pray your rosary today?”
“I don’t remember,” the brother answered,
“Then, let us pray it now,” the Saint said.
“But you are already so tired. What difference does it make if we don’t pray the rosary for one day?” protested the brother.
St. Alphonsus answered: “If I did not pray my rosary for even one day, I would fear for my eternal salvation.”

This is what a Saint said. I like this episode because it teaches us that we should do precisely the same. The daily rosary is a great guarantee of final perseverance and fidelity for the times ahead when the prophecies of Fatima will be fulfilled. The victory in our everyday Lepanto is linked to the recitation of the rosary.

Let us ask Our Lady of the Rosary to bless this intention of saying the Rosary daily and give us the grace to carry it out.

Special Lepanto Mass for Our lady of The Rosary

The Oratory of St. Philip Neri & Holy Family Church will be having a mass in the Usus Antiquior format to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary as well as the Victory at Lepanto

Location: 1372 King Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 1H3

Date: 10th October 2009
Time 11:00AM

For more details click the link

Solemn Mass in Toronto

I cannot believe it. This is a Solemn mass in Toronto. I hope all my blog readers who are in Toronto and the vicinity will be able to attend this. Please drop me a line if you can we can meet before or after the mass. This mass commemorates Our Lady of the Rosary, remember the Battle of Lepanto.

St John Eudes

Amongst the greatest tragedies facing Catholics today is that we have stopped having devotions to the Saints. We spend hours watching TV and knowing the ins and outs of the lives of the rich and famous, much to the detriment of our souls. It profits us nothing to know about wealth and immorality. If only we looked at the lives of the saints and tried to imitate their virtues, we would learn that we are miserable sinners and in need of God's grace. Through the intercession of the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary we would grow in holiness and one day be counted amongst the Good and Faithful servants.
Today let us contemplate on the life of St Jean Eudes.St. John Eudes, August 19

Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira

Biographical selection:


The font where St. John Eudes was baptized
St. John Eudes was born in 1601 in the village of Ri, Normandy, France, to pious parents who consecrated him to the Holy Virgin. In 1615 he made a vow of chastity while he was studying with the Jesuits of Caen. On that occasion he consecrated himself to Mary, and from then was notable for his fervent devotion to her.

He left the Jesuits to enter the Congregation of the Oratory, founded by the famous Fr. Pierre de Berulle, who worked to re-establish orthodoxy of doctrine and sanctity of life among the clergy. St. John Eudes thought that the training of priests should also be a priority, so in 1643, he left the Oratory and founded the Society of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists Fathers) to specialize in seminary education. Its first seminary opened in Caen, shortly followed by many others.

In order to convert women of ill-fame and assist those who had converted from a wayward life, he founded another institution, the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity. He also instituted the parish mission to evangelize the neglected souls. For long years, he preached to large crowds in churches or the open fields, or in the courts of nobles and the King. His sermons were known for his strong condemnation of the vices of his audience and their great eloquence supported by his eminent sanctity.

He spread the devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and was responsible for getting the church to accept liturgical offices in its honor. Always faithful to the Chair of Peter, he was persecuted by the Jansenists, whom he counter-attacked with energy.

He died August 19, 1680, pronouncing the names of Jesus and Mary.


Comments of Prof. Plinio:

There is a parallel between the spiritual and the juridical work developed by St. John Eudes during his lifetime.


St. John Eudes lived, as you just heard, in a Catholic country, France. His mission was not to combat the declared, external enemies of the Church, but rather to try to restore the fervor of tepid Catholics.

The country at that time was suffering a profound religious crisis from which the French Revolution was born. This religious crisis had its substance in the fact that love of God and true fervor had almost disappeared in the souls of the people, and the Catholic sense of the faithful had dimmed.

Divine Providence, wanting to avoid the coming tragedy of the French Revolution and, above all, the apostasy that it represented, called great souls in different ways to reignite Catholic fervor in France. Many saints of the 17th and 18th centuries were zealous and fiery souls. They were not characteristically great theologians, but saints whose role was to spread the love of God and stoke the coals that still smoked and fan them into burning flames.

Among such souls, you have St. Vincent de Paul who was a man with an incandescent love of God and St. Francis of Sales who spread a profound love of God in the highest levels of society. But, in particular, there were two fundamental burning fires at that time:

• The work of St. Louis Grignion de Monfort in the 18th century in the Vendée and Bretagne, which gave birth to the Chouannerie;

• and the work of St. John Eudes, which we are commenting on now.

Anyone who reads the revelations of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque sees that the goal of those apparitions was to inaugurate devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of its main characteristics was to move tepid Catholics out of their their tepidity, to light the love of God in souls that had cooled. St. Margaret Mary received that devotion as a great treasure, but she was a Visitation religious who could not leave her convent. Her mission was to record the devotion, practice it, and become a saint. Her canonization was a confirmation and approval of the Church for that devotion.

The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

St. Margaret Mary wrote to King Louis XIV of France telling him to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and place the Sacred Heart on the flag of France. The King refused to do both things. The result: the royal power deteriorated in France. When Louis XVI was a prisoner in the Temple in 1792, he finally made that consecration, but he did it without the adhesion of the French people. He still had the de jure power to make the consecration, but no longer a de facto power. It was already too late.

St. Margaret Mary also wrote to missionary priests to make them aware of the devotion, and it began to spread in pious circles. One of those who heard about it was St. John Eudes, who soon after embarked on his great work as the apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

A great orator, he founded a new congregation hoping that, with the prestige of his sanctity and the work of that institution, the devotion would take off in France. But this did not happen. There was another refusal of grace. This time it was not the refusal of the King, but the hardness of heart of the French people. The devotion made little impression and did not raise great enthusiasm. The writings of John Eudes, who became a saint, formed the basis for a generalized devotion to the Sacred Hearts in the 19th century, but the 18th century did not accept that devotion. He was a kind of rejected prophet who fought with all his strength unsuccessfully against the tepidity of the French Catholics.

St. John Eudes in St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican
To fight against such tepidity, he used juridical methods in parallel with spiritual ones. Seminaries were nonexistent in France, so he founded seminaries. In this way, the men studying to be priests could be removed from their families and formed in a fervent ambience so that when they were ordained priests, they would be enthusiasts of that devotion, with no links to world. The seminaries – until they became the sad reality we see today – were a truly admirable thing for the formation of the clergy. They acted as a lever to restore the Catholic spirit in Europe in the 19th century.

You see, then, a saint who fought against tepidity in two ways: spiritually, by founding a congregation destined to spread this devotion; and juridically, by founding a new way of teaching and forming the clergy that existed in thesis, but was not yet a fact in France.

What does the life of St. John Eudes teach us? I think that one of the most dangerous things for a counter-revolutionary is to become mediocre and tepid. To become a person who no longer cares about the great panoramas and the grand needs of our cause, but one who just wants to live his petty life with its small pleasures. In many ways, this is more dangerous than depraved movies, immoral magazines, and bad company, because it corrodes the very core of the love of God in a soul. Such a spirit of mediocrity and tepidity makes a person insensible to the Passion of the Church in our days and the grandeur of the fight to save the Church from her enemies. No Lepanto, no Covadonga, just the small pleasures of the little life of self.

The devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary is an adequate means to correct such a spirit. If we have this problem, or even this temptation, we should pray to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to restore us to fervor. It is the specific remedy for such a serious illness. We should also ask the patronage of St. John Eudes to achieve this objective.

St. Francis Borgia - 10th October 2008

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis Borgia. Lets us contemplate the life of this saint through the words of Dr. Plinio Correa.


(The adoration of the Eucharist in the hands of St. Francis Borgia is the subject of one of the quadrants of the dome of the Gesù.)

Biographical selection:

For the Church, the 16th century was a dolorous epoch. The rebirth of Paganism, the spread of Protestantism and then Jansenism devastated Catholic Europe, while Islamism became an arrogant and menacing danger. In Golkun, Holland, 40 Catholics were martyred; in England St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More were beheaded, and Blessed Ignatius of Azevedo along with his 39 blessed companions were massacred by the Calvinists on their way to Brazil.

To remedy so many evils, Divine Providence raised up saints all over Europe. In Spain, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Ávila, St. Peter of Alcantara, St. Paschal Baylon, and St. Thomas of Villanova carried out spiritual reforms that encompassed all Christendom. Others, such as St. Charles Borromeo, St. Felipe Neri, St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis of Paula, St. Jerome Emilianus and the great St. Pius V spread light over Christendom in their fight against the darkness of heresy.

During that stormy century, St. Francis Borgia shone for his nobility, virtue, and combativeness in Catholic Spain. He was born in Valencia into a family of royal blood that was related to the principal reigning houses of Europe, including that of Emperor Charles V. When Francis Borgia entered his service and came to court at age 17, the Emperor was so impressed by his noble and modest behavior that he determined to keep Francis always at his side. Charles V maintained this admiring friendship all his life.

After he became a widower, however, Francis Borgia made the decision to enter the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius advised him to ask the Emperor’s permission. Since Charles V was in the Netherlands, Francis addressed a letter to him there. The Emperor replied with these words:

“I am very sorry to lose the company of a man of your merit, a shining light of counsel, a model in the exercise of the highest offices of State, and, because of your virtue and piety, a factor of edification for all my court. But I recognize that it would be unreasonable to dispute over you with the Master you have chosen to serve. It is, therefore, with sorrow that I grant you the permission you are requesting. I authorize you to renounce your fiefs and titles in favor of your firstborn son.

“The number of those who will envy you will be greater than those who will imitate you, since it is easy to admire beautiful examples, but difficult to follow them. I recommend myself to your prayers and I count upon you to attract divine blessings over me, my States, and all Christendom.”

After holding the office of Superior of the Society of Jesus in Spain, Portugal and the West Indies, St Francis Borgia was elected the third General of the Order when Fr. Laynes died in 1560.

One of the first tasks he faced was that of refuting and fighting the calumnies that the Lutherans and other enemies of the Church were spreading about the Society of Jesus in attempts to bring it to ruin. They were trying to stimulate dissension between the Dominican Order and the Society of Jesus. When Cardinal Alessandrini, a Dominican, was elected Pope, a member of the College of Cardinals tried to influence him to suppress the Jesuits. St. Pius V answered:

“God preserve me from so great a sin. The Lord wants to use these priests for His glory. Their Society is called to produce great fruits for the Church.”

The next day St. Pius V was to be crowned Supreme Pontiff at the solemn ceremony in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. He was carried in the gestatory chair followed by all the dignitaries of the Roman Court. An enormous multitude filled the streets. When the cortege arrived in front of the House of the Society of Jesus, the Pope ordered it to stop. St. Pius V called for St. Francis Borgia, who respectfully approached. The Pope embraced him and offered his friendship and support for whatever he would need. He also thanked him for the service the Order had already given to the Church and expressed his warmest wishes to see their members work for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. The cortege then continued on its way.


Comments of Prof. Plinio:

This selection has two distinct parts. The first is a brief description of the life of St. Francis Borgia when he was a layman, and the second presents an episode from his government as General of the Society of Jesus.

To evaluate the biographical data in this selection, one needs to consider the general panorama of the times. His Sovereign was Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman and German Empire. He was Emperor, and also King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Lord of numerous Italian territories, and King of Spain, and, therefore, of the Spanish colonies spread all over the world. It was at this time that it became common to say that the sun never set on his Empire. That is, when the sun was rising in one part of his Empire, night had not yet fallen in another. There was always daylight within the domains of his Empire.

He was one of the most powerful Monarchs in History. The 16th century was certainly already a decadent century in comparison with the Middle Ages, but it was not that distant from those blessed centuries, and many of its values were still alive at that time. One of these values was that people still appreciated justice more than power. It was generally recognized that Charles V, as Emperor, deserved the most honor and reverence. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was considered the natural head of all Christendom, superior to all Kings. Above him was only the Pope.

St. Francis Borgia was a man of high lineage who descended from a royal family that had reigned over Valencia. The different kingdoms of Spain had united to face the Moorish invasion, and even though many of those royal families no longer had thrones, they were still very highly considered. St. Francis Borgia was a descendent of one of those families, which still had fiefs. His situation was similar to that of a prince.

As a youth he was sent to Charles V’s court. Since it was the highest court in the world, it attracted countless men of value: nobles, personages, famous artists, financial magnates, reputed diplomats, and brilliant military officers. It was a gathering point for the best of Europe. Over all them was the Emperor, who successfully ruled over his numerous Kingdoms. Into this extraordinary scenario an adolescent of 17-years entered. He was so remarkable that he attracted the attention of the Emperor. That is to say, he stood out among those countless princes and outstanding men who were there vying for the Emperor’s attention.

The selection tells us that he was very noble and modest, which means he possessed a great superiority and dignity in manners. We should not think of modest in the modern sense of the term, as describing a man who is trying to flee social life. Rather, the word would retain its old-fashioned meaning, coming from modus – that is, someone who had distinguished and reserved manners in his way of being.

The sanctity of St. Francis Borgia attracted the Emperor so much that he wanted him always near to give him counsel. St. Francis was Duke of Gandia, which he governed. He married and founded a large family with many descendants. That is, he had many temporal matters to deal with on a daily basis.

In 1539 the wife of Charles V, Empress Isabel, was struck with fever and died. As the Marquis of Lombay, Francis Borgia was required to head the funeral cortege to Granada, where a Requiem Mass was sung and official identification of the body made before burial. When Francis opened the coffin and lifted the cloth from the face of the dead Empress, the cadaver had already beginning to deteriorate. This sight made a strong impression on St. Francis Borgia, who realized the futility of all the glories of the world. He resolved to abandon them and ask St. Ignatius to enter the Society of Jesus.

One condition that St. Ignatius made was that he must obtain the Emperor’s permission. Then Charles V wrote him the beautiful letter we just read. It is a high eulogy of St. Francis Borgia, which ended with the line that expresses well the spirit of the time: Many people will admire you, but only a few will follow you.

This explains the difference between that time and the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, many admired the good examples, and many followed them. In the time of Charles V, many admired the good examples, and just a few followed them. Today the good examples are neither admired nor followed. You have here the different steps of the Revolution.

St. Francis Borgia entered the Society of Jesus and became its General. There was a rivalry between the two Orders: the Dominicans and the Jesuits. The enemies of the Church were interested in destroying the Society of Jesus because of its more zealous combativeness against the Protestants. So they stimulated rumors and calumnies that were spread against the Jesuits. When St. Pius V, a Dominican, was elected Pope, those same enemies found ways to influence Vatican ecclesiastics, who immediately tried to maneuver the new Pope to close the Jesuits. Instead, St. Pius V planned a way to do the opposite, to confer added prestige to their Order.

You know that until Paul VI, the Popes used the gestatory chair, which was a portable throne for the Pope carried on the shoulders of a dozen men so that the Pontiff could be seen by all the public. That custom, which began in the early days of the Church, was enriched as time passed with a ceremonial cortege and trumpets.

St. Pius V resolved to break the long established protocol of the cortege of coronation. He did so, stopping its progression in front of the House of the Jesuits and calling for St. Francis Borgia, who most probably was standing outside with the other directors of the Society of Jesus waiting for the Pope to pass.

You can imagine the scene: St. Pius V a man who had been Inquisitor, tall, thin, with a great sharp nose like an eagle, already advanced in years, sublime, approaching the highest phase of his life where he would shine brilliantly as the militant Pope who broke the Muslim power at the Battle of Lepanto. St. Francis Borgia, General of the Society of Jesus, with the air of a grand-seigneur beneath his Jesuit cassock. St. Francis Borgia approached the Pontiff with respect and admiration, venerating the Saint whom God had sent the world to be the Pope of the Church. He knelt before him, and St. Pius V bent to embrace him. Then they exchanged some words.

St. Pius V said that he loved the Society of Jesus with all his heart, that he wished every good for its priests, and that he considered himself its protector. His only desire was that the Society of Jesus fight for the glory of God. St. Francis Borgia thanked the Pope and promised the complete fidelity of the Order to St. Pius V and the Papacy.

Then the cortege continued on. St. Francis Borgia and his Jesuits entered the Church of Gesù, next to the Jesuit house in Rome, to make an act of thanksgiving before the Blessed Sacrament. What splendor, what an exquisite perfume emanates from the encounter of those two saints!

I think it is legitimate for us to turn our eyes from the contemporary epoch – filled with corruption and treason – to end the day admiring the encounter of those two saints. That encounter, the words they exchanged, and their mutual admiration for one another express something of the supreme happiness we will have in Heaven.

Let us ask St. Francis Borgia to give us his Catholic spirit, which impressed everyone in his life, including Emperor Charles V, and his dedication to the Papacy, which was the main characteristic of the Society of Jesus in its first times.


(God, Francis Xavier, Francis Borgia, and Ignatius Loyola are the subjects of the quadrants of the dome. Note the railing below and high up a part of the name of Alessandro Farnese, a cardinal and Pope Paul III's nephew, whose financial patronage made the Gesù possible.)