Spiritual and secular service once had to go hand in hand, it was not like today.
So it was with the archbishop's chairs. Often called to judge, defend the weak, and even seize or hand over property by force, clerics often waged real wars. They were obliged to establish their estates, to be an example to others in life and even death.
Pavao (Pal) Tomori, a humble Franciscan who reached the title of Archbishop of Kalocsa, was initially just an ordinary man of Bosnian roots, in the service of a local nobleman. He soon distinguished himself with his military skills, so he was given the entire Fogaraš fortress for administration. With the rise, he even came to the position of King Vladislav's ambassador to the Ottoman court. He quelled the peasant uprisings in what was then Hungary and became the commander of the Buda fortress.
After getting engaged, his fiancée soon dies. Then, having been betrothed a second time, another bride dies, which Paul interprets as God's hand. Driven by sadness and disappointment because of all this, he went to the Franciscan monastery in our Ilok and devoted himself to prayers and work, then went to Palota and then to Ostrogon to study.
With the fall of Belgrade in 1521 under the Turkish Empire, many in Tomori saw a quality general who could respond to attacks. It was not until the Pope's order in 1523 that he reluctantly accepted the chair of the Archbishop of Kalocsa and the command over the Bačka and Petrovaradin fortresses.
Ferhat-pasha (Smederevo's Sandzakbeg and Belgrade commander) broke into Srijem with 12,000 soldiers. In three great battles around Vrdnik in Srijem, Pavao Tomori defeated Ferhat Pasha. By 1525, he strengthened the fortifications in Srijem and the southern defense of Hungary, so the Ottoman attacks became less frequent. Strengthening the defense, he counterattacked the Ottoman territory that year, conquered the Kulic fortress near Smederevo and made his way to Jajce. Since he had financial aid only from his diocese and something from the pope, he was unable to expand his activities in enemy territory. It is known that Clement VII. wanted to promote Tomori as a cardinal.
The Ottoman danger does not abate, the king does not pay enough soldiers, so Tomori threatens the king to step down from the archbishop's chair. Between the Ottomans and the Buddhas stood only the old medieval, ruined fortifications that could not cope with the firepower threatened by the Ottomans. Instead of help, King Louis II instructed him to move with the main forces to the left bank of the Danube. He then crosses and tries to camp on the left bank of the Drava, trying to suppress the Ottoman attack.
This he succeeded in the battle in the swamps of Karašica, where he defeated cavalry units with the help of armored chariots and Petar Pereny. The king orders him to return to the camp of the royal army near Mohács where the battle is decided. We know about him that by attacking the Rumelia troops, he also threatened the camp of Sultan Suleiman, whose armor was hit by Hungarian arrows.
Thus began the famous Battle of Mohács in which Tomori dies from a rain of arrows piercing his armor. This Franciscan, Archbishop I General, did not give up his gray Franciscan robes throughout the military campaign. He only wore armor and a girdled sword over it.
