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http://www.tldm.org/news6/lepanto.htm

At dawn on October 7, at the entrance to the Gulf of Patras, the Christian and Moslem fleets finally came face to face for the battle of Lepanto.

The wind and all military factors favored the Muslims, but Don John was confident. He boarded a fast ship for a final review of his fleet. He shouted encouraging words to the men and they shouted back. After Don John returned to his own position, the wind mysteriously changed to the advantage of the Christian fleet. First-hand witnesses wrote about this moment as a most dramatic turn-of-events resulting from an “unknown factor”.

At that very moment, at dawn on October 7, 1571— as Vatican Archives later revealed—Pope Pius V, accompanied by many faithful, was praying the Rosary in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. From dawn to dusk the prayers continued in Rome as the Christians and the Muslims battled at Lepanto. When it was all over the Muslims had been defeated. Of some 270 Moslem ships, at least 200 were destroyed. The Turks also lost 30,000 men while Christian casualties numbered between 4,000 and 5,000.

The Rosary had won a great military victory. Like all truly great military leaders who hate war and love peace, Don John retired after his victory at Lepanto. He died a few years later at the age of 31. Another who took part in the great battle of Lepanto, Miguel de Cervantes, lived longer to write his famous tribute to Christian chivalry, Don Quixote.

Great stuff, and thanks for posting! John didn't exactly retire, though - he was thrown into suppressing the Dutch rebellion by his brother, Philip II of Spain, after the Duke of Alba died. Died of typhus in camp...or was he poisoned? (Well, probably not, but it's a great story).

Probably one of the most romantic characters in that little section of history. Another of his subordinates at the Battle of Lepanto was a young fellow named Sir Richard Bingham, who Elizabeth later sent to negotiate with John to get Spain out of the Dutch intervention (unsuccessfully). He was the same fellow she later sent to Ireland to suppress the Irish rebellions and whose name is not remembered altogether kindly in that country.

Don John had this wild idea to grab a Spanish army in the Netherlands, cross the channel with it, invade England, free and marry Mary Queen of Scots, and become King himself. The English took it pretty seriously (hence the speculation that he may have been poisoned). It's not accidental that something like that is exactly what his big brother Phil tried in 1588 with the Armada. That'd be the same Phil who had already married Elizabeth's big sister Mary Tudor and was actually legally King of England himself for a couple of years until she died and little sister Liz took over. So Liz was technically her enemy Phil's sister in law. Wild, wild story.

One of the Muslim corsairs that fought in that battle (probably their best commander) was Sirocco, the very same guy who captured Cervantes and used him as a galley slave for five years until Cervantes was ransomed. Cervantes wrote very kindly about him and refers to him in Don Quixote. There were more buckles swashed at Lepanto than there were people to record it. ;-)