Miracles of the Rosary in North America in the 20th century

Stories of faith, healing and providence in the US and Canada

The 20th century was, for North America, a century of world wars, economic crises, social movements and profound cultural transformations. And in the midst of all that, the rosary remained for millions of American families what it had always been: a golden thread between heaven and earth. These are some of the most memorable stories.

The eyes of the Virgin of the Capt. of the Madeleine (Quebec, 1888)

On June 22, 1888, three men carried the old stone altar of the old church of Cap-de-la-Madeleine to the new chapel. It was Father Luc Désilets - the parish priest who had asked the Virgin nine years earlier to freeze the river to be able to cross the construction stones -, Pierre Lacroix, an employee of the parish, and Frédérico-Louis Massicotte, an occasional witness.

The three of them kneeled before the ancient statue of the Virgin of the Rosary. Then something happened that left them paralyzed: the eyes of the image, which until that moment had been slightly closed and with a low look, opened and rose to the sky. The face expression changed. The three men saw it for a time they couldn't measure. Then Father Désilets said, "We have been very favored."

All three signed a detailed notarial statement. The original statue is still in the Basilica of Capt. de-la-Madeleine, which was raised to the national sanctuary of Canada and visited by John Paul II in 1984. The Catholic Church recognized the prodigy within the set of Marian favors linked to that sanctuary.

The Great Silence of Lopolis: the rosary that crossed the Atlantic (Quebec, 1900-1940)

In the late 19th century, the Catholic Church in Quebec launched a Marian renewal movement: the League of the Rosary (Liga del Rosario), who in a few years came to have hundreds of thousands of families committed to praying the rosary in the family every night. The parishes carried statistics of the "rosary homes"; the priests preached that the rosary in the family was the shield of the Christian family.

When the Great Depression hit Canada in the 1930s, devotion intensified. Father Marie-Clément Staub, an asunitionist, organized in 1931 the first radio broadcast of the rosary in Canada from Montreal: thousands of families tuned their radio apparatus at 9: 00 p.m. and prayed together through the waves. It was the first Marian mass devotion radio in North America. The model was extended to the United States with Father Patrick Peyton, who launched his famous campaign "The family that prays together remains united" in 1942.

Father Patrick Peyton and the Rosary Rallies (USA, 1942-1980)

Patrick Peyton was born in Ireland in 1909, emigrated to the United States and became ill with advanced tuberculosis when he was studying for a priest in Notre Dame, Indiana. Without medical hope, the rosary prayed for the intercession of the Virgin. It was completely cured. That miracle transformed his vocation.

Ordained a priest in 1941, he launched in 1942 the cross of the rosary in family with the motto that would become legendary: «The family that prays together stays together» (The family that prays together remains united). For 40 years, Father Peyton organized mass concentrations - the Rosary Rallies- in stadiums and squares all over the world. In San Francisco in 1961, more than 500 thousand people attended. In Manila in 1948, a million.

His radio program came to be broadcast on three hundred and forty U.S. stations. His films on the mysteries of the rosary were seen by millions in Latin America, the Philippines and Europe. He died in 1992. His cause of beatification was open; in 2017 Pope Francis gave him the title of "Venerable."

The Rosary of American Soldiers in World War II

During World War II, Catholic organizations distributed millions of rosaries to American and Canadian soldiers. The organization Our Lady’s Rosary Makersfounded in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1949 - although its activity began before the war - it distributed more than 90 million hand-made rosaries by volunteers.

The testimonies of soldiers who survived impossible battles carrying the rosary in their pocket filled dozens of books. The chaplain Francis Sampson, a parachute who jumped over Normandy on June 6, 1944, described how he prayed the rosary kneeling in a field under the cross fire while administering the last sacraments to the dying. He was made a prisoner of war, survived and later became head of chaplains of the United States Army.

On the beaches of the Desembarkation, in the Pacific archipelagos, in the forests of the Ardenas, the rosary accompanied hundreds of thousands of soldiers who found in prayer the only way to face death. Many of those who returned said that the Virgin had kept them. Many of those who did not return left the rosary as the only belonging to their hands.

Katéri Tekakwitha: la primera santa nativa de América del Norte (siglo XX)

Although Katéri Tekakwitha lived in the 17th century (1656-1680), his canonization in the 21st century was preceded by a long process that collected testimonies of miraculous cures attributed to his intercession throughout the 20th century. The most significant was Jake Finkbonner, a six-year-old boy from the Lummi Reserve in Washington, who in 2006 contracted a devastating bacterial infection - necrotizing fascitis - that doctors considered fatal.

The Finkbonner family, which had devotion to Katéri Tekakwitha, began to ask for his intercession. The entire community, native and non-native, joined in prayer. The child recovered so that the doctors could not explain. The Vatican recognized the case as the miracle required for canonization. Katéri Tekakwitha was canonized on October 21, 2012, the first indigenous saint in North America.

Jake Finkbonner, an adult, has told his story in universities and parishes all over the United States: "Katéri is my older sister. She interceded for me. This is not a story; this is what happened."

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