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October 23: ST. JOHN OF CAPISTRANO: The Friar Who Led an Army
- Religion
St. John of Capistrano was a seventy-year-old friar with no sword — and he rode out to help save Europe from an Ottoman siege. A former lawyer who joined the Franciscans after a dream of St. Francis changed his life, John became one of the greatest preachers of his age, drawing tens of thousands wherever he spoke. When Constantinople fell and Belgrade came under siege, he answered the Pope's call to preach the crusade, using fasting and penance to prepare himself before joining the charge that helped save the city. "Courage in the service of God do...
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It's October 23rd, so join us for St. John of Capistrano, the friar who led an army.
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The Islamic Ottoman army, one of the mightiest military forces in the world, had surrounded
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 95% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 123 words a minute: slow, clear speech.
- 39 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
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The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
Welcome back to the Catholic Sproust podcast, where we know that every day is a feast day. It's October 23rd, so join us for St. John of Capistrano, the friar who led an army. It was July 22, 1456, and the walls of Belgrade were under siege. The Islamic Ottoman army, one of the mightiest military forces in the world, had surrounded
the city weeks earlier with tens of thousands of soldiers and enough artillery to turn the stone walls into rubble. The Christian defenders were exhausted and outnumbered. Finally there was movement among their ranks.
Riding out to meet the enemy, holding a cross above his head and shouting prayers at the top of his lungs was a seventy-year-old Franciscan friar in a humble brown habit. He had no sword. He had only the cross and his voice and an unshakable belief that Christ would be victorious.
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