At various times in history, the rosary has been cited as a decisive factor in the outcome of significant battles. The fight for control of the Mediterranean and the conquest of Europe was one of them. The Battle of Lepanto, in 1571, would be the largest naval engagement since the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C. To the mind and eyes of the world, it seemed as if the Turks, or Moslems, would have a decisive victory. Pope Pius V, a former aesthetic and devout Dominican monk, blessed the mission fleet led by Don Juan, the half brother of Philip II of Spain, instructing him to take no evil sailors and requested that the faithful pray the rosary unceasingly.

When Don Juan heard that Cyprus had fallen to the Moslems and that all prisoners were being tortured and executed, he pulled up anchor and headed directly to the Gulf of Lepanto to engage the enemy. Ali Pasha commanded the Turkish fleet of 330 ships, reinforced by Uluch Ali, the notorious leader of the Moslem corsairs (pirates), infamous for terrorizing Catholic ships in the Mediterranean. Don Juan commanded about 300 ships consisting of Venetians, Genoese, Spanish, Knights of Malta and the Papal States.

At dawn, October 7, 1571, the two fleets clashed. Don John commanded his flagship and galleys. Iron rams were removed from the Christian ships, as the plan was for boarding and close quarter fighting. At the same time, Pope Pius V, accompanied by a group of the faithful, entered the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray the Rosary and ask Our Lady to intercede for a Catholic victory. The prayers continued in Rome as the Catholic and Moslem fleets battled. Later in the day, the Pope is said to have suddenly interrupted his business exclaiming, “A truce to business! Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Catholic army.”

The Pope declared October 7 the feast day of “Our Lady of Victory.” Years later, the feast was renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary” by Pope Clement XI. In 1712 Pope Pius V was canonized.

The Rosary is a powerful prayer that has proven to be effective numerous times throughout history.  Our Lady has often interceded with Our Lord to alter the course of events when people have asked for her assistance through this invocation.  One of the earliest, history-altering incidents affected by the Rosary occurred on October 7, 1571.  The Mohammedan Ottoman Empire, which then was at the peak of its naval power and threatening to overrun Christian Europe, sent a fleet of some 300 galleys into the Gulf of Lepanto.  A smaller fleet of about 200 galleys was formed in defense.  In the weeks preceding their engagement, Pope Pius V had ordered all churches and monasteries to offer the Forty Hours Devotion, with public processions and recitation of the Rosary for a Christian victory.  The resulting battle was decisive, as the invaders lost some 25,000 men and most of their ships.  Never again was the Ottoman Empire a threat in the Mediterranean Sea.  The Venetian Senate declared that it was not the might of arms that brought victory, but the Blessed Virgin’s intercession.  In thanksgiving, the Pope designated October 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

In 1683, Christian Europe again was under assault by Turkish Muslims; this time by land.  The invading army of 140,000-180,000 men put Vienna under siege.  As an opposing force was being assembled, Pope Innocent XI called for a Christendom-wide recitation of the Rosary for its victory.  The city was about to fall when King Jan Sobieski of Poland, who had placed his kingdom under the protection of Our Lady of Czestochowa, arrived at the head of an army of 85,000 men.   The Turks were totally routed, losing about four times as many men as the Christians.  In tribute, the Pope designated September 12, the day of the victory, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

On August 6, 1945, Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the world’s first use of this horrendous weapon.  For miles in every direction buildings were leveled, people were burned beyond recognition, and bodies littered the streets.  Eight blocks from the epicenter was the Church of Our Lady’s Assumption, with an adjoining residence where eight Jesuits missionaries from Germany lived.  The Church was severely damaged by the blast, but the residence was intact.  Although some 50,000 people were killed by the blast and another 20,000 died soon after from radiation exposure, the priests were unharmed.  None suffered radiation sickness, blistering from the heat, loss of hearing, or other bomb-related illness, and all lived for several more decades.  Fr. Hubert Schiffer, one of the survivors, attributed the miracle to the group’s devotion to the Blessed Mother and their faithfulness in praying the Rosary every day.

At the end of World War II, Austria, a country strategically located between East and West, was divided among the victorious allies.  Soviet Russia took the most important quarter, which included Vienna, and subjected it to the oppression of Communism.  Fr. Petrus Pevlicek, obeying a voice he heard at a Marian Shrine, founded the Holy Rosary Atonement Crusade in 1947 to pray for thee nation’s freedom.  The faithful began saying the Rosary almost continuously, and on the 13^th of each month paraded through the streets praying to Our Lady of Fatima for independence.  The marchers grew in number, reaching in 1955 about 500,000 people, one tenth the population of Austria.  Then, on May 13, 1955, the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, the Russians unexpectedly withdrew.  Inspired by Austria’s independence, Hungary, in October 1956, demanded similar freedom from the Soviets.  Instead of prayer, however, Hungary relied on tens of thousands of Freedom Fighters and mass demonstrations.  In less than three weeks, the Soviets suppressed all public opposition.  The Rosary succeeded, while reliance on arms failed.

When Nikita Khrushchev visited the United Nations in October, 1960, he pounded the desk with his shoe shouting that the Soviets “would bury” America.  This was no idle threat, as the Soviets were completing development of the R-16 Inter Continental Ballistic Missile.  Pope John XXIII instructed the Bishop of Leiria (whose see includes Fatima) to write to the bishops of the world, asking them to unite with the pilgrims of Fatima on the night of October 12, 1960, in prayer and penance for Russia’s conversion and world peace.  That evening, about a million pilgrims at Fatima spent the night outdoors in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and some 300 dioceses throughout the world joined with them.  On October 26, as the final test launch was in progress, the ICBM exploded killing some 250 people, including the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces and the chief designer of the R-16, setting the Russian nuclear missile program back many years.  Again, the Rosary prevailed.

On March 1, 2008, a crisis between Colombia and its neighboring states, Ecuador and Venezuela arose.  The President of Columbia had ordered a military raid into Ecuador’s territory against a rebel camp used by Marxist guerrillas to launch terrorist strikes.  In response, Ecuador’s President cut all diplomatic relationships with Colombia, while Venezuela, Ecuador’s political ally, ordered a massive military surge to the Colombian border.  On March 5, as tensions increased, Columbia’s President invited all officials to pray the Rosary in the chapel at the Presidential Palace.  It was offered to Our Lady of Chiquinquira, Our Lady of Coromoto and Our Lady of Mercy, respectively the patronesses of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.  Two days later, Columbia’s President apologized and the presidents of the three countries shook hands ending the crisis.

These are just a few of many examples of how public devotion to the Rosary has affected world events.  Jamie Cardinal Sin speaking of the effect of the Rosary in the overthrow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, said: “All the ends of the earth have seen the Power of the Rosary, the Power of prayer, the Power of GOD…More Powerful than funds are Prayers. More effective than strategic planning are ‘fasting and sacrifices.’ Mightier than military force is the mighty Power of a vigilant people. Indeed when we give our best to the Lord, and leave the rest to His Providence, the Lord always responds.”

As Catholics, we have a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin.  She has demonstrated the power of the Rosary numerous times, and at Fatima asked that it be said for world peace.  It is not very difficult to carry the Rosary with you always, and say it as often as you can.  The world will be a better place if the Rosary is the weapon of choice.

A slightly modified version of this article appeared in numerous publications of the Knights of Columbus in Maryland.  For further information, contact the author at

By, Lawrence P. Grayson

October has long been the month dedicated to the Rosary. Pope St. Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7^th) in 1573 to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto, a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Pope Clement XI expanded the feast to the universal Church in 1716. The dedication of the entire month to this devotion was officially established by Pope Pius XII in 1884. While devotion to this prayer form waned a bit in the years immediately after Vatican II, interest in this long-practiced devotion is experiencing a resurgence as the faithful rediscover the beauty and spiritual benefit of this meditative practice. The name “rosary” comes from the Latin “rosarium” which means “rose garden.” A rosary is widely considered a gift of roses to Our Blessed Mother in heaven.

The rosary has had a long history and gone through many stages of development. The use of prayer beads actually precedes the time of Christ. Hindus used them to help keep track of prayers said throughout the day. In the Christian tradition, early monastic orders would pray the 150 psalms daily. At first they would use 150 pebbles in a small pouch in order to keep track. This later developed into a string with 150 knots and finally a rope with 150 wooden beads. Members of the laity who did not necessarily know the psalms by heart wanted to have a comparable version of this practice and so the tradition of praying 150 “Our Fathers” each day was born. A similar string of beads was used to keep track of this as well. In time, the “angelic salutation” of Gabriel was added before each “Our Father”: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Later on, Elizabeth’s greeting was added to this: “Blessed are you among women.” Still later, the prayer of “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” was added and the “Hail Mary” as we know it was developed.

Meanwhile, in the year 1214, Mary appeared to St. Dominic and encouraged him to spread devotion to the rosary. She promised him that if he did so, he would be successful in converting the Albigensians and that his religious order that he founded would prosper. He spent the rest of his life encouraging others to pray the Rosary and founded a Rosary Confraternity to aid in this task. One hundred years later, Blessed Alan de la Roche picked up where Dominic’s work had ended. He divided the rosary into 10 “Hail Mary” decades preceded by the “Our Father.” In the 15^th centuries, the mysteries of the rosary were assigned to each of the decades. This gave people an opportunity to reflect on Scripture while offering up this meditative prayer. In 1917, Our Lady appeared to three young shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She declared herself to be “Our Lady of the Rosary” and repeatedly urged the children to recite the rosary daily.

In more recent times, Pope John XXIII taught that the Rosary must have a threefold purpose: “mystical contemplation, intimate reflection, and pious intention.” On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II added a new set of five mysteries to the rosary. Known as the “Luminous Mysteries” or “The Mysteries of Light,” they focus on Jesus’ public ministry. In his apostolic letter “The Rosary of the Virgin Mary”, he wrote that “The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at a heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb.”

          The devotion of the rosary can be traced back to the 9^th century, when monks would recite the 150 psalms of the bible as part of their daily worship.  Over time people became drawn to this beautiful, synchronized form of prayer.   Although many people desired to make this prayer a part of their own worship, the psalms were very difficult to memorize, and copies of the Psalter, which is the book the psalms were contained in, were not readily available.  Due to this fact, an alternative was proposed to the people, that they recite a series of 150 “Our Father” prayers in place of the 150 Psalms.

         Over time, as this form of prayer became increasingly popular, people began to devise methods to keep track of the prayers.  Eventually, a long rope containing 50 knots began to be used, and slowly evolved into a string of beads. 

         As Lay People, as well as Clergy assumed this devotion as part of their prayer life, they began to recite the “Angelic Salutation” (the first part of what we now know as the “Hail Mary”).  The popularity of this prayer led to the adoption of the 50 Angelic Salutations, said on each of the 50 beads. 

         In the early 12^th or 13^th century, theologians began to recognize the hidden mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, contained within each of the Psalms.  They began to compose a series of praises that honored Jesus as He was represented in each Psalm.  In addition to these mysteries of Christ, 150 Psalters honoring Mary were added to emphasize her special role in the plan of salvation.  In order for these Psalters to fit the existing prayer string, they were divided into sets of 50 and were referred to as “Rosariums”.  The word “rosarium” refers to roses, or a bouquet of roses, which, in regards to the rosary, represents a collection or “bouquet” of prayers.

         It was in 1520 that Pope Leo X officially acknowledged the rosary.  However, it was not until 1569 that the rosary was universally accepted and, promulgated by Pope St. Pius V who encouraged its use to combat the evil taking place in the world at the time.  In 1571 Pope Pius V officially declared the feast of Our Lady of Victories, now known as the feast of the Most Holy Rosary, which is celebrated on October 7^th.

        In 1917 the Blessed Mother appeared to the children of Fatima and declared herself as Our Lady of the Rosary.  Through her apparitions at Fatima, Mary implored the world to turn their hearts back to God by urging each and everyone to “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world . . . for she alone can save it.” (Our Lady, July 13, 1917).  Mary introduced 15 promises to those who responded to this request faithfully. 

        In 2002, with his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II introduced the fourth set of mysteries to the rosary.  These msyteries are known as the “Luminous” or “Mysteries of Light”, which carry us from the infancy to the public life of Jesus.  It is in these mysteries that we can in a more profound way come to know Christ during His ministry here on Earth.  At the same time, it is through these mysteries that we are given a peak into Christ’s mission of redemption, and His establishement of the universal Church.