The Life of Our Lady of The Holy Rosary

Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, is
a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the Rosary. The Feast of Our
Lady of the Rosary is on October 7, the anniversary of the decisive victory of
the combined Christian fleet in 1571 at the Battle of Lepanto, defeating an
Ottoman fleet off western Greece. It was formerly sometimes known as the
Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Visions of Our Lady of the Rosary

According to Dominican tradition, in 1206, St. Dominic was in Prouille, France,
attempting to convert the Albigensians back to the Catholic faith. The young
priest had little success until one day he received a vision of the Blessed
Virgin, who gave him the Rosary as a tool against heretics. While Mary's
giving the rosary to St. Dominic is generally acknowledged as a legend, the
development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of St. Dominic,
including the 15th-century priest and teacher, Alanus de Rupe.
On December 3, 1836, Fr. Charles Elonor des Genettes had an interior
locution directing him to dedicate the parish of Our Lady of Victory to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
On October 13, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima told the shepherd children, "I am
the Lady of the Rosary".
In 1987, during the civil war with the anti-clerical Sandinista government
in Nicaragua, sacristan Bernardo Martinez reported seeing an apparition of Our
Lady who urged him to pray the rosary and work for peace. One of the appearances
was in the parish church of Our Lady of Victories near Cuapa.

Our Lady of The Holy Rosary

In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of the "Feast of Our Lady of
Victory" to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". Pope Clement XI extended the feast to the
whole of the Latin Rite, inserting it into the General Roman Calendar in 1716, and
assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Pope St. Pius X changed the date to
October 7 in 1913, as part of his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of

the Sundays. In 1960 Pope John XXIII changed the title to "Feast of Our Lady of
the Rosary".

Churches named for Our Lady of the Rosary

The cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary is located in Duluth, Minnesota. The
cathedral church of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, is also named
in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary. The church of Our Lady of the Rosary on
State Street in New York City began in 1883 as the Mission of Our Lady of
the Rosary for the protection of Irish immigrant girls; it houses the shrine of
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.