October 7 marks one of the most glorious and decisive feasts in the Catholic calendar—Our Lady of the Rosary. Established by Pope St. Pius V in 1571, the feast commemorates the miraculous victory of the Christian fleet over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto, a triumph attributed not to military might, but to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the Holy Rosary.>This feast is not a quaint historical observance; it is a call to arms for Catholic men today—to reclaim the discipline of prayer, the courage of faith, and the conviction that the Rosary is a weapon of war.>

A Civilization on the Brink

In the autumn of 1571, Christian Europe teetered on the edge of annihilation. The Ottoman Empire, then the greatest military power on earth, sought to crush Christendom and extend the Crescent over the Cross. After centuries of encroachment—Constantinople having fallen a century before—it seemed that the last bulwarks of Christian civilization might crumble.

Originally published in Catholic Manhood. Read original article