Friar made saint who gave us cappuccino to drink

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- Pope John Paul II on Sunday 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 recognized 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.

Under a cloudy sky in St Peter's Square on Sunday, the pope paid tribute to d'Aviano and five other Italians whom he also beatified.

"They show us the path to follow, always confident in God's help," the pope told thousands of gathered faithful.

The 82-year-old pontiff has formally beatified 1,310 people, more than all of his predecessors of the last four centuries combined.