Conservative Casual Friday—St. Pius V’s Spirit of Lepanto, 1571-2021

Roberto de Mattei, a leading Catholic historian at the European University of Rome and a prominent contemporary Catholic commentator, has published a new book, Saint Pius V:  The Legendary Pope Who Excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, Standardized the Mass, and Defeated the Ottoman Empire.  Therein Mattei examines in detail the life of Michele Ghislieri, who was Pope Pius V for the tumultuous six years of 1566-1572.  Perhaps most notably during this critical period as the Protestant Reformation divided a once unitary European Christendom under the Catholic Church even as Muslim aggressors threatened from abroad, Pius V organized the Holy League among Spain, the Vatican, and Venice.  On October 7, 1571, 450 years ago, the Holy League's ships destroyed an Ottoman Empire fleet at the Battle of the Lepanto off of Greece's western coast.  The Ottoman defeat marked a decisive setback in the Ottoman jihad to conquer Europe.  Mattei will join show host Andrew E. Harrod to examine this bygone, often misunderstood, era and discover what important lessons it holds for the modern world's challenges.