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Father Alberto Guglielmotti 20 September 1571, Lepanto, Italy - A flaming column guides the fleet
Identifier
028927
Type of Spiritual Experience
None
Background
A description of the experience
As quoted in Wonders In The Sky - Unexplained Aerial Objects From Antiquity To Modern Times - and Their Impact on Human Culture, History, and Beliefs - Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck
On the night of September 20th 1571 a fiery object was seen over Lepanto. The official historian of the papal fleet of Rome, Alberto Guglielmotti, recorded the event in a report based on statements given by two witnesses, Sereno and Caracciolo. In his summary, Father Guglielmotti wrote that the "sign in the sky... was considered by everyone to be a miracle."
"It was a clear, starry night with a cool wind coming from the north. Suddenly, a colossal fire in the shape of a shining, flaming column was seen by everyone to cross the sky over a long period of time, filling all the witnesses with great admiration... All the witnesses regarded this as a good omen and sensed they were on the verge of a great victory. They believed this column of fire was showing them the way, guiding the Christian fleet in the sea in the same way the people of Israel were guided across the desert in biblical times.
On October 7th, Selim II, the Sultan of Turkey, was defeated at sea by the Christian fleet, just off the shore of Lepanto.
Source: Padre Alberto Guglielmotti, La Guerra dei pirati e la marina pontificia dal 1500 al 1560 (Florence: Le Monnier, 1876).