Our Lady of the Rosary

The Rosary grew during the Middle Ages as a way for ordinary people to pray 150 Hail Marys in place of the 150 Psalms, and the Dominicans spread it widely. Tradition links it closely with Saint Dominic.

On October 7, 1571, a Christian fleet defeated the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto while confraternities in Rome prayed the Rosary. Pope Saint Pius V, a Dominican, attributed the victory to Mary's intercession and established a feast of Our Lady of Victory. Gregory XIII renamed it Our Lady of the Rosary in 1573, and Clement XI extended it to the whole Church in 1716. Pope Leo XIII later dedicated the whole month of October to the Rosary, and Saint John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries in 2002.

October is the month of the Rosary. Parishes and families pray it daily, and many organize a living rosary in which each person represents a bead. In Spain and parts of Latin America, the dawn rosary (rosario de la aurora) processes through the streets before sunrise.

In the Philippines, the feast of La Naval de Manila honors Our Lady of the Rosary in October with a great procession.