The Excellence of the Rosary | Page 8

France and had caused
great havoc in Church and State.
St. Bernard complained in those times: "The churches are empty, the
people without priests, the Sacraments without reverence. People on
their deathbed refuse the assistance of the Church, ridicule penance."
How the weapon with which this heresy was conquered was the rosary
we have related in a previous sermon. This was the first glorious
victory through the devotion of the rosary. It was the sword with which
the Church slew the proud Goliath of heresy.

Another wonderful victory through this miraculous weapon of
Christianity was the defeat of the Turkish navy at Lepanto, on October
7, 1571. The so-called reformation, of which Martin Luther was the
originator, had spread over the whole of Europe, bringing in its trail
destruction, dissension and war. The Turks, who had long thirsted for
vengeance upon the Christians, found situations favorable for their
plans. They gathered all their forces to assail the Christian lands. The
princes of Europe were either indifferent, or were besieged with
difficulties in their own lands, and Luther even said he preferred the
Turks to the papacy. Pope Pius V alone realized the great danger that
threatened Christianity and he called upon the Christian people to
defend country and Church against the common enemy.
The Christian forces which could be assembled were very small
compared with those of the Turks. Nevertheless Pius V knew of
another power which he realized would be a mighty ally. With all his
energy he exhorted his people to implore the Blessed Virgin and
glorious Queen of heaven, through the rosary, to come to the assistance
of the Christian army. It was, as Leo XIII said in his Commendation of
the rosary, an ennobling sight, which drew the eyes of the whole world;
on one side, not far from the Corinthian Sea, the Christians prepared to
sacrifice life for religion and country; while gathered on the other side,
imploring through the rosary Mary's assistance for the fighting
Christians, were many Christians unable to take up arms.
The small army of Christians attacking the great force of the Turkish
fleet was an undertaking similar to the assault of David upon the giant
Goliath. On October 7, 1571, the deciding battle was fought, in the Bay
of Lepanto. The battle raged from six o'clock in the morning until six
o'clock at night. It was one of the most terrific battles ever fought. And,
lo! in the evening, toward six o'clock, the battle ended in the victory of
the Christians over their powerful enemy. This wonderful victory of the
Christians was undoubtedly due to the assistance of the Blessed Virgin.
Pope Pius V so declared, and in memory of this wonderful achievement
he added to the litany of the Blessed Virgin the supplication: "Help of
Christians, pray for us!" He also ordained that the anniversary of this
victory be celebrated as the feast of "Our Lady of Victory," which

Gregory XIII subsequently styled the "Feast of the Rosary."
In the annals of the Church there is another great victory over the Turks
recorded which once more demonstrated the power of the rosary. It was
the great victory in the campaign against the Turks at the beginning of
the eighteenth century.
After the Turks had been defeated at sea, they endeavored to conquer
on land. They forced their way to Hungary, and had taken possession of
eight provinces, when Emperor Charles VII sent an army against them
under the command of Prince Eugene. This army was composed of
only seventy thousand men. With this meager force Prince Eugene
defeated two hundred thousand Turks and laid siege to Belgrade, their
stronghold.
Prince Eugene, before engaging the enemy, implored the help of the
Blessed Virgin, through the rosary, and then with confidence in God's
assistance went to battle and to glorious victory. Thirty thousand Turks
were slain on the battlefield; the others fled. The rosary again had won
the victory, and on the feast day of the Blessed Virgin.
In the same manner as the rosary was a successful weapon against
heretics and other enemies of the Church, it has demonstrated its
wonderful efficiency in individual cases of stress, and of such I will
mention a few instances. In the year 1578 a fearful epidemic devastated
the city of Pavia. The terrified people made a public vow to build a
chapel to our Blessed Lady of the Rosary if the epidemic would cease.
And the very day the vow was made the epidemic did abate. A similar
case happened in Cologne, where people were saved from an epidemic
after such a vow had been made. That cases like these are innumerable'
is manifested by the many chapels built as a result of such vows, and
by the votive tablets in pilgrimage churches dedicated to