REUTERS - 15th century Italians who rejected conversion to Islam proclaimed saints, May 12, 2013

"VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed as saints some 800 Italians killed in the 15th century for refusing to convert to Islam, and said many Christians were still being persecuted for their faith. The Vatican seemed at pains not to allow the first canonisations of Francis' two-month-old papacy to be interpreted as anti-Islamic, saying the deaths of the 'Otranto Marytrs' must be understood in their historical context. The 800 were killed in 1480 in the siege of Otranto, on the southeastern Adriatic, by Ottoman Turks who sacked the city, killed its archbishop and told the citizens to surrender and convert. When they refused, the Ottoman commanding officer ordered the execution of all men aged 15 or older, most by beheading."
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