Battle of Lepanto

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7 because in 1571 it was the day of the victory of the Christian army over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto. Through the power of the rosary, the battle was won and many lives were saved. Pope Leo XIII was particularly devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, In the 1883's he echoed the words of the oldest known Marian prayer (known in the Latin tradition as the “Sub Tuum Praesidium”), when he wrote, “It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troublous times to fly for refuge to Mary.” “This devotion, so great and so confident, to the august Queen of Heaven,” Pope Leo continued, “has never shone forth with such brilliancy as when the militant Church of God has seemed to be endangered by the violence of heresy … or by an intolerable moral corruption, or by the attacks of powerful enemies.” Foremost among such “attacks” was the battle of Lepanto, a perilous and decisive moment in European and world history. BATTLE OF LEPANTO In 1571, Pope St. Pius V was very worried. The Turks were threatening to attack and conquer Christian Europe, beginning with Italy and Rome. For many years, the Turks had been increasing their empire, called the Ottoman Empire, and they began attacking cities and countries on the Mediterranean Sea. After many victories, the Turks turned their attention to Venice and Rome. Pope Pius V knew that if they conquered these cities, much of Christian Europe would also fall to the Turks and a lot o the churches and people would suffer. DAY 9 He asked the Christian countries to send ships to aid in defending Europe, but most would not send help. Only Don Juan of Austria pledged support and brought dozens of ships to help. However, the Turks had almost 300 ships and were undefeated in many sea- battles. The Christian fleet set out on September 16, seeking to find and engage this undefeated force in battle. One of the admirals, hung an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his ship, and the men were given Rosaries to pray. Meanwhile in Rome, Pope Pius V began encouraging all Christians to pray the Rosary for the victory in the upcoming battle. The faithful in Rome began to pray the Rosary in earnest, begging Mary to protect Christian Europe from the threat of the Turks. On October 7, the two armies finally came together. As they approached, the wind favored the Turks , but as the battle was about to begin, it suddenly switched to the Christian side. In the ensuing battle, the Christian fleet lost only about a dozen ships but sank over 50 of the Turkish ships! Don Juan’s fleet also captured over 100 of the Ottoman ships, and freed thousands of Christian slaves who were forced to man the oars in those ships. Don Juan credited the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary saying, “It was not generals nor battalions, nor arms that brought us victory, but Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary!” When Pope Pius V heard of the great victory, he immediately gave the credit to Mary, and made October 7 the Feast of Our Lady of Victory. The feast day was later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary, and we still celebrate that feast on October 7. DAY 9 .

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