February 24 - 27: The Crusades on EWTN at 2 am CT and 5:30 pm CT

TUESDAY-FRIDAY, Feb. 24-27, 2 am CT, 5:30 pm CT

The Crusades on EWTN

This four-part docudrama miniseries from EWTN refutes perennial anti-Catholic distortion by portraying the Crusades as they really were. Historians and dramatizations reveal the reasons for the Crusades, their nature, their successes and failures, as well as their legacy. 

Here's an overview of a fascinating – and timely – series:

• Episode 1: A look at the history and reasons for the Crusades, which were originally known as "armed pilgrimages" because they sought to protect pilgrims visiting the Holy Land against Muslim conquerors. 

• Episode 2: A look at the Crusader States, which were set up by the Crusader hierarchy after the miraculous success of the First Crusade; the formation of Military Orders such as the Knights Templars; the re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the rise of Sultan Saladin and his conquest of Jerusalem.

• Episode 3: A look at the Third Crusade, which was led by King Richard the Lionheart of England, King Philip of France and German Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa; the famous meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Al-Kamil; and the role that devotion to the Apostle James and the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela played in Crusader successes.

• Episode 4: A look at the failures and successes of the Crusades and their legacy, including the role of St. Louis IX, the rise of the Ottoman Empire; the epic Battle of Lepanto, a turning point in the war, and a triumph of faith; the final Christian victory in the Iberian Peninsula, and the loss of the Holy Land, in particular, Jerusalem.