The great historical miracles of the Holy Rosary

The great historical miracles of the Holy Rosary

Historical Compilation · XVI.XX Century

For centuries, the prayer of the Holy Rosary has been linked to some of the most decisive moments in human history. From naval battles to impossible survival in the face of the first atomic bomb, the Church and millions of witnesses have recognized a presence that reason alone cannot explain.

1. The Battle of Lepanto (1571): the rosary that saved the West

On October 7, 1571, in the Gulf of Patras - off the coast of Greece - two colossal fleets were faced: the Holy Christian League and the Ottoman Empire. The Turks outnumbered the allies in number of ships, in soldiers and in strategic advantage. For the observers of the time, the result seemed predictable.

Pope Pius V, a Dominican and deep devotee of the Rosary, understood that the material disadvantage could only be balanced with prayer. He ordered that all the churches in Rome remain open continuously and invited the faithful from all over Europe to join the prayer of the Rosary. Don Juan de Austria, commander of the Christian fleet, distributed a rosary to each boarding soldier.

The battle began on October 7. The Holy League fleet overcame in an overwhelming way: the Ottomans lost 210 of their 250 ships, 25,000 men and released more than 12,000 Christian prisoners who were reeling in chains in the Turkish galleys.

Lo que convirtió esta victoria en algo más que una hazaña militar fue lo que ocurrió en el Vaticano. El Papa Pío V, que se hallaba en una reunión con varios cardenales, se levantó abruptamente, se asomó a la ventana y exclamó: «¡La flota cristiana es victoriosa! ¡Demos gracias a Dios!». Estaba a cientos de kilómetros del combate. Las primeras noticias oficiales tardaron varios días en llegar a Roma, pero el Papa ya había llorado de alegría y dado gracias.

En acción de gracias, instituyó el 7 de octubre como fiesta de «Nuestra Señora de la Victoria», que el Papa Gregorio XIII transformaría después en «Nuestra Señora del Rosario». Este es el origen de la festividad que la Iglesia celebra cada 7 de octubre.

2. The Battle of Vienna (1683): "We came, we saw, God conquered"

In the summer of 1683, an Ottoman army of more than 300,000 men - the largest military force that had ever marched over Central Europe - put into place Vienna. The city had been resisting for two months when the king of Poland, John III Sobieski, came in relief at the head of a polar-imperial relief army.

In the morning of September 12, 1683, in the ruins of the church of St. Joseph of Mount Kahlenberg - burned by the Turks themselves - the Italian cappuccino Marco de Aviano celebrated the Holy Mass. King Sobieski served her on her knees. Both prayed the Rosary together with the army before coming down to the fight.

La batalla fue una de las derrotas más devastadoras del Imperio Otomano. La caballería polaca («Húsares alados») lanzó la carga más grande de la historia militar, con más de 20.000 jinetes, y partió en dos el flanco otomano. El gran visir Kara Mustafá huyó y fue ejecutado poco después en Belgrado por orden del sultán.

El rey Sobieski atribuyó expresamente la victoria a la protección de la Virgen María. En su carta al Papa, parafraseando con fe las palabras de Julio César, escribió la frase que ha quedado para la historia: no «Yo conquisté», sino «Dios conquistó». La fiesta del Santo Nombre de María —que se celebra el 12 de septiembre— recuerda desde entonces esta victoria.

3. The Pest of Milan (1576): San Carlos Borromeo and the processions of the Rosary

In 1576, one of the most deadly epidemics in modern history struck Milan. The bubonic plague killed hundreds of people every day; panic caused the sick to be left in the streets and even the priests to refuse to administer the sacraments for fear of contagion.

The Archbishop of Milan, Carlos Borromeo - who would be canonized in 1610 - responded with a heroic faith and charity. As the nobles and civil authorities fled the city, he stayed. He sold his dishes and furniture to finance care for the sick and organized a care network for the sick.

His spiritual strategy was the procession of the Rosary. Despite the danger of contagion, he organized public processions on the streets of Milan, headed by himself with his barefoot and a rope to the neck in a sign of penance, while the people prayed the Rosary. The most famous procession took place on October 20, 1576.

The epidemic began to spread in the following months. Milan, who had lost 17,000 of its 120,000 inhabitants, regained health. Tradition attributes this improvement in part to the intercession of the Virgin invoked through the Rosary. Carlos Borromeo was canonized in 1610, and the Council of Trento told him among the great reformers of the Church.

4. Hiroshima (1945): the eight Jesuits who survived the atomic bomb

El 6 de agosto de 1945, a las 8:15 de la mañana, la bomba atómica «Little Boy» detonó sobre Hiroshima a una altitud de 576 metros. En un radio de 1,6 kilómetros desde el epicentro, la temperatura alcanzó los 4.000 grados. Murieron entre 70.000 y 80.000 personas de forma inmediata; otras tantas fallecerían en los meses siguientes por las quemaduras y la radiación.

Just 1.3 kilometres from the epicenter was the Jesuit mission house. There were eight Jesuit priests: Father Hugo Lassalle, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Father Hubert Schiffer, Father Hubert Cieslik and four other companions. They all survived. None of them suffered serious damage. None developed cancer or radiation disease in subsequent years.

El padre Hubert Schiffer describió así el momento de la explosión: «De repente una luz terrible. Un trueno ensordecedor. Una fuerza invisible me levantó de la silla, me lanzó por el aire y me agitó como una hoja en el viento de otoño.» Cuando el ruido cesó, pudo ponerse en pie. Sólo tenía pequeños cortes causados por los cristales.

Los ocho jesuitas fueron examinados a lo largo de los años por médicos, científicos y expertos en radiación de varios países. El padre Schiffer afirmó haber sido entrevistado más de 200 veces. Ningún médico pudo encontrar en su organismo ni en el de sus compañeros secuelas de la radiación. El padre Schiffer publicó su testimonio en el libro «El Rosario de Hiroshima» (1953), en el que relata con detalle los hechos y atribuye la supervivencia a la devoción diaria al Rosario de Fátima.

La casa de misiones jesuita, situada donde hoy se alza el «Monumento a la Paz de Hiroshima», fue uno de los pocos edificios que quedaron en pie en ese radio de distancia.

5. Fatima and the "dance of the sun" (October 13, 1917)

On October 13, 1917, over 70,000 people concentrated in the Cova da Iria de Fátima, in Portugal, in a torrential rain. The three pastors - Lucia, Jacinta and Francis - had announced that on that day the Virgin would perform a miracle for the world to believe.

What happened at 13: 00 was witnessed by believers and non-believers, by anti-lerical journalists and by scientists. The sun - described by all witnesses with almost identical words - began to turn on itself with dizzy movements, emitting color lights. Then he seemed to hasten on the earth in zigzag. The rain and mud of the field disappeared: the wet clothes were completely dry in moments. Witnesses fell on their knees, terrified, convinced it was the end of the world.

Avelino de Almeida had traveled to Fatima to ridicule the phenomenon in his chronicle. His report of October 15, 1917, published in the newspaper O Século, was the first to confirm the miracle with all the details. He himself confessed that he had no words to explain what he had seen.

The diocesan investigation lasted for 13 years. On 13 October 1930, the Bishop of Leiria, Monsignor José Correia da Silva, officially declared the miracle worthy of faith and approved the worship of Our Lady of Fatima. The message of Fatima expressly requested the prayer of the Rosary.

O Virgin of the Rosary, you who over the centuries have shown your power in the darkest moments of history, also protect the Church and the world today. Through the Rosary, bring us closer to your Son's Heart. Amen.