Virtue is rewarded.
Pope John Paul has beatified a 17th-century friar credited with halting a Muslim invasion of Europe and in the process discovering the frothy coffee-drink cappuccino. More than 300 years after his death, Marco d'Aviano cleared the last step before sainthood, as the pope recognised the friar's miraculous work including curing a nun who had been bedridden for 13 years. History books also show that with a vast Ottoman Turk army beating a path to Vienna in 1683, d'Aviano was sent by the then-pope to unite the outnumbered Christian troops, spurring them to victory. As the Turks fled, legend has it they left behind sacks of coffee, which the Christians found too bitter, so they sweetened it with honey and milk. The drink, now supped by millions around the world, was called cappuccino after the Capuchin order of monks to which d'Aviano belonged.
Posted by Alan at April 27, 2003 10:13 AM