Ilok lecture commemorates St. John Capistran and defense of Belgrade

Dr. Anica Bilić delivered a lecture at the City Library and Reading Room in Ilok titled “Kome zvona zvone točno u podne” (To whom the bells ring exactly at noon). The presentation commemorated the 640th anniversary of the birth and 570th anniversary of the death of Saint John Capistran.

A central theme of the lecture was the 1456 defense of Belgrade against the Ottoman forces of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror. The defense was led by Hungarian commander János Hunyadi alongside papal envoys John Capistran and Cardinal Carvajal. Following the Christian victory, Pope Callixtus III decreed that the Feast of the Transfiguration be celebrated on August 6 to mark the success and to call for prayer against Ottoman expansion.

The lecture also noted the historical connection to Ilok, where John Capistran fell ill at the Franciscan monastery and passed away in 1456. His tomb in Ilok remains a site of pilgrimage and cultural memory.