This past week, on October 7, the Church celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. (For us here in our Diocese it rises to the level of a Solemnity.) The feast day recalls a 16th century naval victory which saved Europe from an Ottoman Empire (Muslim) invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was invoked on the day of the battle, by praying the Rosary throughout Europe. Pope Leo XIII was especially devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, producing 11 Papal letters on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and its importance in his pontificate. He once wrote, “It has always been the habit of Catholics in danger and in troublous times to fly for refuge to Mary. This devotion, so great and so confident, to the august Queen of Heaven,” Pope Leo continued, “has never shone forth with such brilliancy as when the militant Church of God has seemed to be endangered by the violence of heresy … or by an intolerable moral corruption, or by the attacks of powerful enemies.” Foremost among such “attacks” was the battle of Lepanto, which I spoke about at the beginning of this article. So, what happened?

 Troops of the Ottoman Empire had invaded and occupied the Byzantine empire by 1453, bringing a large portion of the increasingly divided Christian world under Islamic law. For the next hundred years, the Ottomans expanded their empire westward on land, and asserted their naval power in the Mediterranean. In 1565 they attacked Malta, hoping for an eventual invasion of Rome. Though repelled at Malta, the Ottomans captured Cyprus in the fall of 1570.

The next year, three Catholic powers on the continent – Genoa, Spain, and the Papal States - formed an alliance called the Holy League, to defend their Christian civilization against an Ottoman invasion. Its fleets sailed to confront them near the west coast of Greece on October 7, 1571. Crew members on more than 200 ships prayed the Rosary in preparation for the battle, as did Christians throughout Europe, encouraged by the Pope to gather in their churches to invoke the Virgin Mary against the daunting Ottoman forces. Some accounts say that Pope Pius V was granted a miraculous vision of the Holy League's stunning victory. Without a doubt, the Pope understood the significance of the day's events, when he was eventually informed that all but 13 of the nearly 300 Ottoman ships had been captured or sunk. He was moved to institute the feast now celebrated universally as Our Lady of the Rosary.

So, my dear friends, realize that invoking Our Lady’s help by praying the Most Holy Rosary is powerful indeed! What a patron we have for our Diocese!

-Fr. Tony

We have a limited supply of both at the church!

For holy water bottles, please bring your own.  It should be clean inside and out.  A little remaining paper on the outside of the bottle is acceptable.  If you need more than a small bottle, bring your own filled water bottle and ask Father to bless it.  

For hand sanitizer, if you have any at home, please bring your own supply to church. It will assist us in helping you to stay healthy!  

Thank you for your continued financial support of our parish. Your contributions have enabled us to continue the important work and mission of St. Mary Star of the Sea!

Contributions can also be mailed or dropped off at the parish office at 325 E. 3rd Street Duluth, MN 55805 or made through our online giving platform at https://www.duluthcathedral.com/ and clicking on the Giving Tab, then St. Mary Star of the Sea Fund.  Please contact Lauren McCracken, Business Manager at 218-728-3646 or lauren.mccracken@duluthcatholic.org if you need assistance.