|
It’s the year 1570.
Fourteen-year-old Guido Callatta, son of a wealthy Venetian merchant,
spends his free time roaming the docks, listening to the tales of
gnarled old sailors, and dreaming of adventures at sea.
But his carefree life is
about to change forever. Armies of Ottoman Turks threaten Europe from
all sides, conquering Christian towns and forcing their people to
convert. Moslem corsairs raid the coastlines at will.
Guido even hears talk of a
massive Turkish fleet preparing to sail from the East, bent on
destroying Europe’s forces once and for all. The Ottoman Sultan even
boasts that he will set the crescent moon of Allah over the dome of St.
Peter’s — a crescent stained red with the blood of Christians.
When Pope Pius V calls for
the creation of a Holy League of men and ships to face down the Moslem
armada, Guido vows to join the fight: for his family, for his city, for
his Faith.
And although his father tells
him he’s too young for war, soon he’s caught up in a whirlwind of
knights and nobles, bloody battles and arduous journeys. Finally, Guido
finds himself alongside Don John of Austria, who will lead the Holy
League in its last desperate fight to save Christian Europe: the
legendary Battle of Lepanto.
In this historical tale of
Catholic heroism, courage, and holiness, readers of all ages will be
reminded that when the Faith is threatened, extraordinary valor may be
demanded of any one of us — even the very young.
|
