O n October 7, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, a commemoration that traces its origins to a 16th-century naval triumph credited to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Originally known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, it honors the Christian forces’ victory at the Battle of Lepanto, which safeguarded Europe from Turkish invasion. Pope St. Pius V attributed the success to Mary’s intercession, as Catholics across Europe had been urged to pray the Rosary on the day of the battle.

This feast falls one week after the Byzantine observance of the Protection of the Mother of God, celebrated on October 1 by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians. That commemoration recalls a 10th-century Marian apparition believed to have protected C

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