The Battle of Lepanto

The Christian army was vastly outnumbered by its opponent, their Turkish army, in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Recognizing the disadvantage as well as the importance of the battle in order to prevent the Islams from invading Europe, Pope St. Pius V placed the cause in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking all of Christian Europe to pray the Rosary for the success of the battle. Each man aboard the Christian fleet carried a Rosary so that he might pray with those he was defending. Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was mounted in the cabin of one of the three Admirals of the army in anticipation of the Battle of Lepanto. Despite their disadvantage in number and their unfamiliarity with enemy waters, in a way that is unexplicable to historians, the Christians won a great victory over the Turks that day. The victory is attributed to Our Lady of Victory and the powerful intercession of the Holy Rosary. Learn more about the Battle of Lepanto and the power of the Rosary by clicking here.

St. Joseph Community in St. Louis

Closer to home, in 1866 a cholera epidemic broke out in St. Louis. Hundreds of people died every day. Father Joseph Weber, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church (now the Shrine of St. Joseph), called his parishioners together. Together they prayed to St. Joseph to protect them from the scourge of cholera epidemic. From that Sunday on, not a single member of any family who had signed the prayer pledge died of the dreaded disease. In gratitude a special altar was designed and dedicated to St. Joseph.

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