Our Lady of the Rosary

Their story

In 1571 a powerful Ottoman fleet threatened to invade Europe. Pope St. Pius V organized an alliance of Christian states to resist it, and he asked Christians everywhere to pray the rosary for victory. On October 7, 1571, the Christian fleet defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto, off the coast of Greece. In thanksgiving the pope established a feast of Our Lady of Victory, which was later renamed Our Lady of the Rosary and extended to the whole Church. The rosary grew out of the medieval custom of praying 150 Hail Marys in place of the 150 Psalms, and tradition associates it especially with St. Dominic and his friars. In the rosary we meditate on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary, the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries, along with the Luminous mysteries added by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002. Pope Leo XIII dedicated the whole month of October to the rosary, and at Fatima Mary called herself "the Lady of the Rosary." The rosary is a simple prayer that anyone can pray, alone or with others, in a car, at a bedside or in church. As we repeat its familiar words, we walk with Mary through the life of her Son.