1 Testone - Pius V

Pius V issued this testone during the single most consequential year of his pontificate. The Battle of Lepanto — October 7, 1571 — was the direct result of his relentless diplomatic campaign to form the Holy League against Ottoman naval expansion, a coalition he browbeat Venice and Spain into joining despite their mutual suspicion. When the Christian fleet destroyed the Ottoman navy off the Greek coast, Pius attributed the victory to the Virgin and instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, later renamed the Feast of the Holy Rosary. He died the following May, before the alliance he had forged completely collapsed.