I thought it was
appropriate to make a post explaining the story behind the title of this blog. The
part of history that I am about to describe was something that I again came to
know through a homily by Fr. George on the feast of the Holy Name of Mary
(September 12).
(The materials used
to put this post together were from Dr. Warren Carroll’s A History of
Christendom Vol. 5: The Revolution against Christendom and the Catholic
Encyclopedia)
In May of 1682, the
Ottoman Turkish Empire launched an attack headed by Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa
to capture Vienna, the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor. Over 100,000 Turkish
soldiers laid siege to the city of Vienna and started bombarding the city with
canons. Losing Vienna would have been a dire blow for Christendom. The Emperor
had sent word to King John Sobieski of Poland asking for help in a fight which
Vienna had no hope of winning alone.
King Sobieski was
famous around that time as a fierce warrior who had already won many battles
against the Turks in his attempts to free Poland. Upon hearing the siege in
Vienna, he is known to have said “at every moment of the day I bestir myself to
succor Christianity with the help of God, for Christianity finds itself in
danger through the threat to Vienna”
King Sobieski agreed
and immediately marched south to help. On the way, the King stopped at the
Marian shrine of Czestochowa and heard mass. Then he and his troops marched 350
km to reach Vienna in just 14 days. Sobieski wrote to the Pope saying that he
will fight to the end.
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| Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Poland |
On September 12th,
Sobieski lead his men to battle, clad in white and blue, and emerging
victorious even before the day was over. He wrote to his beloved wife describing
the event as “God and Our Lord gave such a victory and glory to our nation as
never before was heard in past centuries.” This victory would set off a chain
of subsequent victories against the Turks pushing them back and leading Christendom
to ultimately break free once and for all from the Ottoman threat.
After the victory,
Sobieski sent a letter to Pope Innocent XI containing the words “Veni, vidi,
Deus vicit” (I came, I saw, God conquered) attributing his victory to the help
of God. Shortly after, Pope Innocent XI extended the already existing feast of
the Holy Name of Mary (which was limited to certain orders and locals at the time)
to the entire Universal Church by decree to recognize the help of Mary in
interceding with God on behalf of Christians during the battle of Vienna.
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