Lepanto: The Great Rosary Victory

On this anniversary day of October 7, 1571, the year of the Battle of Lepanto, the most important naval contest in human history, is not well known to Americans. October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrates the victory at Lepanto, the battle that saved the Christian West from defeat at the hands of the Moslem Turks.

At dawn, on October 7, 1571, as recorded in the Vatican Archives, Pope Pius V, accompanied by a group of the faithful, entered the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore 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 far away in the Gulf of Lepanto. Later in the day, the Pope is said to have suddenly interrupted his business with some Cardinals, and looking up, cried out,
"A truce to business! Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Catholic army."

[ljsedivy]

First time seeing this and I'm so glad I did. Lepanto has been on my mind much the past 4-6 weeks. We need to pay attention to this most important part of history, especially, with all that is going on in our world today.