The Rosary Saved Christendom and It Can Save Us

In the month of October we turn to Our Lady’s blessed gift, the Holy Rosary, to assist us in our spiritual warfare and release us from the burdens of our daily problems. Is our Lady deaf to the problems of this world? History answers that question with a resounding No! 

Among many examples, the striking historical event that brought us the feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7th gives us a view into the power of Our Lady’s intercession for the Church when we call out to her with a united voice.  

The Looming Storm 

In the late 1500s, facing the reality of Islamic aggression towards Christianity, Pope Pius V desperately tried to unite the Catholic countries of Europe to save Christian civilization from the coming onslaught, but he met with very little success. 

It was no easy task bringing such diverse cultures together. France, Portugal, and Germany were all AWOL from the field of battle because they were fighting other wars (and each other). England had fallen to Henry VIII’s takeover of the Church and was lost to the effort. Thankfully the Pope in Rome was not. 

Finally, when the Muslim invaders captured the strategic island of Cyprus in 1570, the enemies were literally at the gates of Christendom. Pope Pius V brought together the nine maritime Catholic nations and formed the Holy League to defend Christendom from invasion. The combined fleets of these countries assembled for battle under the leadership of Don Juan of Austria, who was just 24-years-old at the time. 

The Vile Enemy Meets the Rosary

Müezzinzade Ali Pasha and the vicious Mustafa Pasha, protégés of Suleiman the Magnificent, were in command of the Islamic fleet of more than 270 ships, while the Christian fleet numbered only 206 ships but possessed better artillery. However the greater size of the Islamic fleet was a formidable force and could easily bode a victory. The two sides met in the Gulf of Patras, in the west of Greece, on the morning of October 7th, 1571.

Leading up to the conflict, the Pope had called all of Christendom to unite in the recitation of Our Lady’s Rosary as a spiritual force to protect Europe from the vile Islamic aggression. On the day of battle the Christian soldiers and sailors went to war with Rosaries around their necks or on their persons, and Christian Europe prayed with the Pope for victory.

While the details of the naval battle are too many to recount here, it is clear that the conquering Christian forces that day attributed their victory to the power of the Rosary. There was a miraculous change of winds at a crucial moment of fighting that turned the tide of battle in favor of the Christian fleet leading to their decisive victory. 

The captured Islamic vessels were filled with more than 15,000 Christian slaves, who were liberated when the Muslims surrendered.

It is said that Pope Pius V, later to be canonized St. Pius V, seven hundred miles away in Rome, was given a vision of the Christian victory at sea as it took place and went immediately to his chapel to give thanks to Our Lady for her patronage of the Christian effort. 

The Holy Rosary had won the day!

Pius V established the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on the anniversary of that famous Battle of Lepanto. It was originally called Our Lady of Victory for a good reason. It is an everlasting testament to Mary’s patronage in Christian warfare. 

Onward Christian Soldier!

Some conflicts in our lives, like the Islamic oppression of Christendom in the 16th century, require forceful responses. Often we must fight to defend the things we hold dear. Even if we do not desire it or initiate it, war may still be thrust upon us through the interpersonal and human problems we encounter on a daily basis. Evil exists in the world, and sometimes it tangles us in its web. 

But are we to think of Our Lady as a warrior? Yes, because Our Lady is Mother of the Church, Help of Christians, and Refuge of Sinners! She stands with us in our conflicts.

With Rosary in hand – which has often been described as a sort of “spiritual weapon” – we turn to her and confront the serious problems of life with great confidence that she will assist us to find the right solution to all our difficulties. 

But here is the rule: If our trust in her is weak, her help is weak. She does not force her help on anyone. Conversely, the greater our confidence in her power, the greater the victory. Pure and simple. 

This is one of the reasons Catholic Action asks everyone to “storm heaven” with prayer on a regular basis. Our Operation Storm Heaven campaign is fundamentally based in the prayer of the Rosary, and every month we ask the whole world to express this overwhelming confidence in Our Lady’s power to intercede for us and the desperate needs of this sad world. 

The Blessed Virgin defended Christendom when a whole civilization humbled itself and stormed heaven with the prayer of the Rosary. Surely she can bring about any victory for her children who turn to her in their need!

Thomas McKenna

Catholic Action for Faith and Family

P.S. If you have not had a chance to join or would like to submit or update your intentions for our special Operation Storm Heaven devotion invoking Our Lady of Good Remedy, please take a moment to submit your intentions now.