Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary:

07 October

“Queen of the Holy Rosary, Pray for us”

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The feast was instituted in 1571 by Pope Pius V to celebrate the miraculous victory of the Christian armed forces over the Turks, in the Battle of Lepanto. The victory was extremely significant in arresting the invasion of the Turks into Christian Europe. Pope Pius V had formed a Holy League, an allied army of several European countries to fight against the invasion of the Turks. The Christian fleet and army were still far outnumbered by the Turks. The Holy Pope called for praying the Rosary and seeking intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the intervention of Our Mother who never fails her children, the Turks were miraculously defeated in battle. As thanksgiving, the Holy Pope announced October 7th to be celebrated every year as the feast of ‘Our Lady of Victory’. In 1573, the feast was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" by Pope Gregory XIII and extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716.

The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 is one of the most significant victories of the Church in its battle against invasive forces. Between the period 1350 to 1500 the Turkish armies had conquered several territories of Europe including Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Croatia. Large parts of Hungary too had fallen into the hands of the Turks by 1526. The lands around Greece were also constantly under threat from the Turks and many Christian forces were already taken captive.

In 1569, Pope Pius V had officially approved the five decade Rosary through a papal bull Consueverent Romani Pontifices wherein he urged all the faithful to follow the example of thier predecessors in praying the Rosary to overcome the forces of darkness. He also formed a Holy League, an allied army which included Spain, Venice, Genoa, the Knights of Malta and the Papal States to fight against the Turks. The Holy Pope called for extensive prayers among all the Catholics for victory of the Holy League. Convent and religious houses were asked to double their prayers. Confraternities promoted the Holy Rosary and the faithful took to the streets in processions, praying the Holy Rosary for protection of Christians from the Turks.

In the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, the Christian armies were clearly outnumbered by the Turks. The Holy League was under the command of twenty two year old Don Juan, the half brother of Philip II of Spain. As they prepared for the battle, Don Juan, guided by the Holy Pope, enforced a strict discipline among the soldiers. They all went to Confession, received the Holy Communion and fasted for three days. A large team of priests helped in carrying out this spiritual cleansing among the soldiers. Before the battle began, Don Juan with a raised crucifix circled the entire fleet and encouraged them. The Holy Pope gave every ship a small piece of the True Cross and blessed each ship as it set sail into battle whilst the faithful fervently prayed the Rosary seeking a miraculous victory.

By the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, though the fleet and army of the Turks far outnumbered the Christian fleet and army, they were miraculously defeated. The Turks lost 224 ships and 25000 men. In gratitude for this great victory, Pope Pius V instituted the feast in 1571 to be celebrated each year as the feast of Our Lady of Victory, commemorating the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title to feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1716, the feast was extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI.