In the Catholic Church, every month of the year is traditionally devoted to one common devotion. The month of October is devoted to the Holy Rosary. Likewise, on the liturgical calendar, October 7th is celebrated as the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (also known as Our Lady of Victory) — on the anniversary of the 1571 Battle of Lepanto. Prior to that pivotal battle, Pope St. Pius V urged the Christian faithful to pray the Holy Rosary for the defense of Christendom. The Christian Holy League won a decisive victory against the Muslim Ottoman Empire, and Pope St. Pius V rightly attributed that victory to devotion to the Holy Rosary. As I will cover in this article, the Holy Rosary has always been seen as a “spiritual weapon” — to combat heresy, to convert sinners and unbelievers, to obtain world peace, and to grow in personal holiness, for the greater glory of God and His Blessed Mother. The Holy Rosary has been, and continues to be, a powerful evangelization tool for groups including, but not limited to, the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), the World Apostolate of Fatima, the Legion of Mary, and our own St. Paul Street Evangelization.
Chotki, Psalters and precursors to the Rosary
The chotki is perhaps the first Christian “prayer rope,” dating back to the 300s. It is still common among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics alike. Most chotki have thirty-three knots, while some have fifty knots, or even 100 and 150. Each knot counts repetitions of the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Likewise, monks have prayed all 150 of the psalms in common for centuries. Starting in the Ninth Century, illiterate monks and laypeople recited the Our Father 150 times in place of reading and chanting the psalms. Throughout later centuries, some communities altered the number of Our Fathers and added in Hail Marys.
Origins of the Holy Rosary
A dualist heresy called Albigenses, named after the city of Albi, was common in the 12th and 13th centuries throughout southern France. This heresy falsely professed that the spiritual realm is inherently good while the physical realm is inherently evil. Albigensianism went so far to say that the human body was a prison for the soul and the only way to find salvation was to be liberated from your body. Many adherents encouraged abortion, suicide, starvation, etc. to free the soul from the evil body. Albigensians denied the existence of Purgatory, rejected the ordained priesthood, denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and claimed anyone could celebrate the Holy Eucharist. They further blasphemed and claimed that Jesus was not Incarnate but was merely an angel in disguise. The Albigensian heresy directly and expressly contradicted core tenets of the Christian Faith—the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
St. Dominic went to southern France to preach to these heretics, traveling from town to town. His first attempts were unsuccessful, so in 1208, St. Dominic went on a three-day retreat in the forests of southern France. On the last day of his retreat, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic and gave him the Holy Rosary (Calloway, 36). Our Lady told St. Dominic to divide the 150 Hail Marys of the Marian Psalter into decades, or sets of ten. These decades then focused on the dogmas that the heretics denied—the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection. St. Dominic resumed his itinerant preaching and converted many souls by preaching the Marian Psalter.
Decline then renewal through Confraternity of the Holy Rosary
St. Dominic died in 1221 and his successors continued his work of preaching the Holy Rosary. However, in the 1300s, devotion waned during schism and the Black Plague. It was at this time that the second half of the Hail Mary was added—”Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” In 1464, Blessed Alan de la Roche, a Dominican friar, experienced multiple visions of Our Lord, Our Lady, and Saint Dominic. Blessed Alan established the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary in the 1470s and preached devotion to the Holy Rosary until his death.
The first fifteen mysteries were established by many confraternities founded after Blessed Alan de la Roche’s preaching and were formalized with Pope Saint Pius V’s 1569 encyclical, Consueverunt Romani. The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary (known also as the Rosary Altar Society in the United States) remains an active and integral organization in promoting devotion to the Holy Rosary.
Marian apparitions in the 19th and 20th Centuries
Several approved Marian apparitions have occurred in the last two hundred years (Lourdes, Fatima, Akita, Kibeho, etc.). In all of these apparitions, Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Holy Rosary. It is worth noting that Our Lady appeared in Lourdes—150 miles from Albi—and identified herself: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” One of the Fatima witnesses, Sister Lucia dos Santos, declared,
The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.
Servant of God Lucia dos Santos (Calloway, 247)
What popes say about the Holy Rosary
Pope Leo XIII, often called “The Pope of the Rosary”, was perhaps the most influential promoter of the Holy Rosary, as he wrote eleven encyclicals on the Holy Rosary (Calloway, 229). Leo XIII also dedicated the month of October to the Holy Rosary, granted many indulgences for the prayer, encouraged daily recitation, and added “Queen of the Most Holy Rosary” to the Litany of Loreto (Calloway, 229). In his 1895 encyclical, Adiutricem, Pope Leo XIII spoke about evangelization and the Kingdom of God:
It is mainly to expand the kingdom of Christ that We look to the Rosary for the most effective help. …
The rosary is by far the best prayer by which to plead before her (Mary) the cause of our separated brethren.
Pope Leo XIII, Adiutricem, par. 4, par. 27
Likewise, Pope St. John XXIII spoke about the Rosary as a universal and accessible form of prayer:
This prayer—the holy rosary—is the simplest and easiest one of all for the Christian people.
St. John XXIII, (Calloway, 295)
Pope St. John Paul II, in his 2002 apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, wrote about the essence of Christianity and the Holy Rosary as a tool to evangelize and catechize:
The Rosary, reclaimed in its full meaning, goes to the very heart of Christian life (emphasis added); it offers a familiar yet fruitful spiritual and educational opportunity for personal contemplation, the formation of the People of God, and the new evangelization. …
The Rosary retains all its power and continues to be a valuable pastoral resource for every good evangelizer (emphasis added).
St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, par. 3, par. 17
The Holy Rosary as a tool for evangelization
In my street evangelization experiences, I most often start a conversation by first offering someone a blessed Rosary. Few non-Catholics will recognize a Miraculous Medal, but a Rosary is easily recognizable by most people regardless of what religion they might practice. Many people see the Rosary simply as a decoration—vain jewelry to be worn around the neck or over a car’s rearview mirror. However, I take special care to emphasize its sacred significance and religious purpose. It’s “the Bible on beads” and “every bead is a prayer”.
Many others will see the Holy Rosary as a reminder of another person’s faith, e.g., “My grandmother always prayed the Rosary”, “We prayed the Rosary at her funeral”, etc. I take this opportunity to invite, even challenge, that they take up the devotion in memory of their loved one. I might say, “Since the Rosary was so important to your grandmother, maybe you should try it yourself.”
In the last several years, I have noticed a huge increase in the popularity of meditation apps. These apps and meditations are largely inspired by Buddhist, Hindu, and/or New Age spiritualities. These popular meditations are often seen as ways to reduce stress, to relax, and promise other mental/physical health benefits. I note that the Holy Rosary offers the same calming effects but with added spiritual benefits—increase in faith, hope, charity and other virtues. I say, “If you’re going to meditate on anything, why not meditate on the life of Jesus?” When I see someone particularly interested in a Buddhist meditation, I take special interest and encourage them to try a Christian meditation.
I will close with the words of the recently beatified, beloved Blessed Fulton Sheen, as he wrote in The World’s First Love: “If you wish to convert anyone to the fullness of the knowledge of Our Lord and of his Mystical Body, then teach him the Rosary. One of two things will happen. Either he will stop saying the Rosary—or he will get the gift of faith”
Main Source: Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon. Stockbridge: Marian Press, 2016.