October 7
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Paolo Veronese, The Battle of Lepanto, 1572, oil on canvas, 167 x 139 cm. Palazzo Ducale, Venice.
Pope St. Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto — a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church in 1716.
The development of the rosary has a long history. First, a practice developed of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then there was a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Soon a mystery of Jesus' life was attached to each Hail Mary.
Though Mary's giving the rosary to St. Dominic is recognized as NOT historical, the development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of St. Dominic. One of them, Alan de la Roche, was known as "the apostle of the rosary." He founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary in the 15th century.
In the 16th century the rosary was developed to its present form —with the 15 mysteries (joyful, sorrowful and glorious). In 2002, Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light to this devotion.
Comment:
The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the gospel. The main focus is on Jesus —h is birth, life, death and resurrection.
The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus' Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The Glorys remind us that the purpose of all life is the glory of the Trinity.
The rosary appeals to many. It is simple. The constant repetition of words helps create an atmosphere in which to contemplate the mysteries of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of Jesus and Mary forever.
Quote:
“[The rosary] sets forth the mystery of Christ in the very way in which it is seen by St. Paul in the celebrated ‘hymn’ of the Epistle to the Philippians — kenosis [self-emptying], death and exaltation (2:6-11).... By its nature the recitation of the rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as grasped by the heart of her who was closer to the Lord than all others” (Paul VI, Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, 45, 47).
From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
Feast of the Holy Rosary
Apart from the signal defeat of the Albigensian heretics at the battle of Muret in 1213 which legend has attributed to the recitation of the Rosary by St. Dominic, it is believed that Heaven has on many occasions rewarded the faith of those who had recourse to this devotion in times of special danger.
More particularly, the naval victory of Lepanto gained by Don John of Austria over the Turkish fleet on the first Sunday of October in 1571 responded wonderfully to the processions made at Rome on that same day by the members of the Rosary confraternity.
St. Pius V thereupon ordered that a commemoration of the Rosary should be made upon that day, and at the request of the Dominican Order.
Gregory XIII in 1573 allowed this feast to be kept in all churches which possessed an altar dedicated to the Holy Rosary.
In 1671 the observance of this festival was extended by Clement X to the whole of Spain, and somewhat later Clement XI after the important victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene on August 6, 1716 (the feast of our Lady of the Snows), at Peterwardein in Hungary, commanded the feast of the Rosary to be celebrated by the universal Church.
A set of "proper" lessons in the second nocturn were conceded by Benedict XIII. Leo XIII has since raised the feast to the rank of a double of the second class and has added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary". On this feast, in every church in which the Rosary confraternity has been duly erected, a plenary indulgence
toties quoties is granted upon certain conditions to all who visit therein the Rosary chapel or statue of Our Lady. This has been called the "Portiuncula" of the Rosary.
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Although countless images of the Madonna are associated with the Rosary, including those of the famous Marian apparitions, Italy has a particular shrine to Our Lady of the Rosary, and it is found in Pompeii.
Our Lady of Pompeii
by M. Jean Frisk
Five minutes from the ruins of Pompeii Italy, the great Roman city destroyed by the volcano of Mt. Vesuvius, there is a an area called Valle di Pompei where the town of Campania is located. In the shadow of the ancient volcano, a Marian Shrine was erected in the latter half of the 1800's. The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, named for the Marian image elevated on its high altar.
The image represents Our Lady of the Rosary. It is a variation of the Marian icons representing Mary enthroned. She is the reigning Madonna. She reigns but she is herself the throne of the King of kings, Jesus Christ, her son. He extends his blessing hand and at the same time bestows the blessing of the rosary on the saint at his feet.
The Pompei image is a derivation of the Eastern icon type traced back to the 6th century. Both in the East and West, the image represents Mary as Queen of Heaven. The throne is usually situated in a church, as is this one in the image of Our Lady of Pompei.
Pompei was destroyed in 79 AD. In the fourth century, Christians settled in the area. Early records indicate that a large church dedicated to the Most Holy Savior was erected there, and by the 11th century entrusted to the care of the Benedictines.
In time, the church was destroyed and a small chapel built on the site. The lands were eventually ceded to a Neapolitan noble who allowed the property to deteriorate. Local inhabitants acquired the right of patronage, and Valle di Pompei became one of eighteen parishes in Italy where the priest was elected by the people.
An article written in 1891 discovered in the files of The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute states: "The church twenty years ago was small and dilapidated; the poverty of the place made a school an impossibility; the inhabitants were superstitious and criminal, many of them being thieves." It was a layman and his wife who would change the face of Valle di Pompei.
Bartolo Longo, founder of the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of the Rosary, was born in 1841, the son of a doctor. Longo studied to be a lawyer. During his studies, he joined a sect and was ordained as a priest of Satan. He publicly ridiculed Christianity and did all in his power to subvert Catholic influence.
A good friend, Vincent Pede, eventually showed Bartolo the gentleness of Christ and arranged for him to meet a saintly Dominican priest, Alberto Radente. The Dominican had a deep, personal devotion to Mary and fostered the devotion of the rosary.
When Bartolo Longo was baptized, he chose the second name, Maria, to be his baptismal name. He saw Mary as a "Refuge of Sinners," and attributed his miraculous conversion to her. She was the "Refuge" who would lead him to Christ.
After his conversion, Bartolo Maria Longo wanted to do penance for his past life and serve the Church he had so viciously slandered. He made a promise to work for the poor and destitute. He also published a pamphlet entitled, "The Rosary of New Pompei" and did all in his power to spread the devotion.
One evening, as he walked near the ruined rat-and-lizard-infested chapel at Pompeii, he had a profound mystical experience. He wrote:
As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "If you seek salvation, promulgate the Rosary. This is Mary's own promise." These words illumined my soul. I went on my knees: "If it is true ... I will not leave this valley until I have propagated your Rosary.
Bartolo Maria persuaded people of the area to help him clean out the dilapidated church. Then he invited the people to join him one evening to pray the rosary. Only a few curious children came.
Despite the fact that the intrepid disciple of the rosary visited every hut and farm house to distribute rosaries, medals, and encouragement, his apostolate met with meager success. The people loved and respected Don Bartolo, but they neither understood nor cared to learn about the rosary.
Bartolo then sponsored a festival on the Feast of the Holy Rosary in 1873. His first effort failed. It rained, and the preacher spoke in classical Italian instead of the local dialect which the people understood. He tried the next year; he wasn't much more successful, but he had taught some of the people to pray the rosary.
The third year, he invited the Redemptorist Fathers to hold a two-week mission. In preparation, he fully restored the little church. The mission was a successful revival and blessed by the bishop. It was, in fact, the bishop who envisioned a large church and pilgrimage place in the future.
Bartolo began the project by first hunting for a picture of Our Lady of the Rosary. The only one he could afford was an oleograph on paper. At the time, church law required sacred images to be painted in oils on canvas or wood. He was told about a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary being kept in a convent that had been purchased in a junk shop for 3,40 Lire. Longo described it himself:
Not only was it worm-eaten, but the face of the Madonna was that of a course, rough country-woman ... a piece of canvas was missing just above her head ... her mantle was cracked. Nothing need be said of the hideousness of the other figures. St. Dominic looked like a street idiot. To Our Lady's left was a St. Rose. This I had changed later into a St. Catherine of Siena ... I hesitated whether to refuse the gift or to accept ... I took it.
The image was too large to carry from Naples to Pompei, but Bartolo finally found someone who would take it to the chapel for him. When it arrived it was lying on a wagon of manure.
An attempt was made by an amateur to restore it, and it was placed in the church on February 13, 1876, the foundation day for the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary there. In 1880 the famous Italian painter, Federico Madlarelli, offered to restore the image. It was again finally restored by Vatican artists in 1965.
The image was first placed in the small, restored chapel in 1875, but plans were made to build a large church worthy of Our Lady of the Rosary. 300 people of the area pledged a penny a month for Our Lady's work. The cornerstone laying was held on May 8, 1876.
Within the month, miraculous events began to take place at the shrine. Four healings were recorded. From that time on, especially between 1891 and 1894, hundreds of miracles have been officially recorded at the sanctuary. When the construction was completed in 1883, Bartolo appealed to the people:
In this place selected for its prodigies, we wish to leave to present and future generations a monument to the Queen of Victories that will be less unworthy of her greatness but more worthy of our faith and love.
In 1894, Bartolo and his wife, Countess Marianna Farnararo De Fusco, gave the new church to the papacy, in whose care the shrine has remained since. The image was crowned immediately after its enthronement on the inauguration day of the opening of the new shrine.
A painting of Bartolo Longo presenting the shrine of Our Lady of Pompei to Pope Leo XIII, 19 February 1894.
In 1965, after the third restoration of the image, Pope Paul VI said the following during a homily: "Just as the image of the Virgin has been repaired and decorated ..., so may the image of Mary that all Christians must have within themselves be restored, renovated, and enriched." At the end of this solemn celebration, Pope Paul VI placed two new precious diadems on the heads of Jesus and Mary, crowns that had been offered by the people.
During the time when the pilgrimage church was being built, Bartolo Maria Longo began to undertake many works of charity. He and his wife established an orphanage for little girls. The first children he took in were 15 small orphans, one for each decade of the rosary. He also established a hospice for boys, sons of prisoners, and a corresponding hospice for girls.
He founded the Daughters of the Holy Rosary of Pompei, a religious women's institute to care for the shrine and the educational houses attached to it. He also established the Dominican Tertiaries near the shrine.
A special devotion known as the "Supplication to the Queen of Victories" was begun on October 1883 and is recited all over the world, especially on May 8 and on the first Sunday in October. The devotion includes a request thought to have been given by Our Lady to one of the children healed at Pompei, "Whoever desires favors of me should make three novenas of petition and three of thanksgiving."
On October 21, 1979, Pope John Paul II visited Pompei. The gathering was a national pilgrimage to Our Lady of Pompei. On October 26, 1980, Bartolo Longo was beatified by John Paul II and called "the man of the Madonna" and the "Apostle of the Rosary."
The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pompeii, Italy
The present structure was begun in 1934 at the request of Pope Pius XI.
The image of Our Lady of the Rosary represents the long tradition of the faithful who turn to Mary for refuge and hope in their needs. Mary is the throne for her small Son, Jesus. He found his first home on earth within her womb and on her lap. Mary is seated on a throne. It is the throne of the Church. Mary with her divine son reigns in the Church and from the Church, sign of heaven's continuation on earth. But what church is it?
The church in the painting's background is formed of simple, plain lines. The throne is of wood, not the highly carved wood of the period found in wealthy homes, but the wood of the poorer people. The Madonna's feet rest on a plain pedestal, not a cushion of velvet. The people of Pompei wished to honor the Son and his mother by erecting a magnificent shrine of stone. The shrine of beauty, golden decorations, and sacrificed jewels was the way the culture of the time expressed their love and devotion. Bartolo Longo, however, knew that shrines of stones must be built by the living stones of charity and peace. It was his first intention to teach the people to pray, then to care for their needs.
The rosaries in the painting each have six decades. This, too, was the custom of the time. Many times, this sixth decade was prayed for the intentions of those caring for the Church and the apostolic works of the Church. Whatever form the rosary devotion takes, it remains a prayer of Sacred Scripture. The unknown artist of the image has not forgotten this truth. A book is painted at the base of the throne. Our eye moves to this point, away from the pearls and gold, to the book containing the wisdom of God among us, the reality of the Virgin and the Word Made Flesh who dwells among us.
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In New York City, there is a Church of Our Lady of Pompeii in lower Manhattan. It was built in 1926 on the site of a church where St. Frances Cabrini used to worship.
For an 'endless' gallery of images on Our Lady of the Rosary:
images.google.com/images?q=our+lady+of+the+rosary&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_en___US223&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=images&...
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Here is a very informative article that ties up a lot of related Marian topics relevant to a better understanding of the significance of the devotion to Mary and the rosary:
OUR LADY AND ISLAM:
HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN
Fr. Ladis J. Cizik
National Executive Director
Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima (USA)
SOUL Magazine
September-October 2001
Islam
Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also: Moors, Turks, and Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one God. Yet, over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with Christians and Jews. It would seem that there is little hope for peace. However, Heaven's Peace Plan, involving Our Lady, is evidenced at Fatima, Portugal as well as other places around the world.
Fatima
The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name of Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima," like many other Moslem girls, in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima, the founder of Islam, Mohammed, said: "She has the highest place in heaven after the Virgin Mary."
It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems. God is writing straight with crooked lines, as we will see. Fatima is a part of Heaven's Peace Plan. It is hope for the world.
The Koran
In the Koran, the holy name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is mentioned no less than thirty times. No other woman's name is even mentioned, not even that of Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. Among men, only Abraham, Moses, and Noah are mentioned more times than Our Lady. In the Koran, Our Blessed Mother is described as "Virgin, ever Virgin." The Islamic belief in the virginity of Mary puts to shame the heretical beliefs of those who call themselves Christian, while denying the perpetual virginity of Mary. Make no mistake about it, there is a very special relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Moslems!
The Holy Land
The Holy Land has been a real battleground between the Islamic peoples and Christianity over the centuries. Evidence of this are the numerous churches and basilicas that have been built by the Church, destroyed by, the Moslems, rebuilt by Catholic Crusaders, leveled again by the followers of Islam, and so on over the course of history. However, there is one remarkable exception: the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem.
The Crusaders built this church and named it in honor of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Crypt of St. Anne's Basilica, a statue of the Infant Mary is venerated on what is believed to be the exact spot where Our Lady was born. Their great reverence for Our Lady precluded the Moslems from destroying her birthplace. The foundation for Heaven's Peace Plan at Fatima, Portugal, can be found in the Land of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Spain
As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a great religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth, high in the Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our Lady holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of Moorish occupation, the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision of Our Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very special statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to the "Wolf River."
The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually named the river. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guada = River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain has been known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of "Our Lady of Guadalupe."
Mexico
In the fullness of time, we can be sure that Almighty God knew that the Islamic religion would pose a serious threat to Christianity. God also knew that the Spanish missionaries would face grave resistance in the "new world" from the mighty Aztec Indians. The Aztecs worshipped an evil stone "serpent god" that demanded human sacrifice. It was extremely difficult to win souls for Christ from these bloodthirsty savages. However, with God all things are possible. Our Lady appeared to a humble Aztec Indian convert by the name of Juan Diego in 1531. When asked her name by Juan Diego, at the request of the local bishop, Our Lady's response, in the Aztec language, included the words "te coatlaxopeuh" (pronounced: "te quatlasupe") and meant "one who crushes the head of the stone serpent."
To Juan Diego and his fellow Aztecs, this revelation had great meaning, coupled with the miraculous image of Our Lady standing on top of a "crescent," the symbol of this evil serpent god. A tidal wave of conversions to Catholicism ensued. However, Bishop Zumarraga, who was from Spain, made what was no doubt a "heavenly mistake" that one day may lead to the mass conversion of Moslems. To the Bishop's Spanish ears, Our Lady's Aztec name of "Te Quatlasupe" sounded just like the name of the revered Madonna from Spain with the Islamic name, "Guadalupe." Hence, the bishop named the Mexican Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It is interesting that the "crescent" is also the symbol for Islam and that America's Shrine to Our Lady has an Islamic name.
Battle of Lepanto
On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish fleet was won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and Genoa under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle at sea between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was powered by the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory. We know today that the victory was decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and evidenced the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.
What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the Battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.
The Rosary
At Lepanto, the Victory over the Moslems was won by the faithful praying the Rosary. Even though they had superior numbers, the Turks really were overmatched. Blessed Padre Pio, the Spiritual Father of the Blue Army, said: "The Rosary is the weapon," and how right he was!
The Battle of Lepanto was at first celebrated liturgically as "Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716 (who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712).
And with that we are back to Fatima, Portugal where Our Lady, when asked her name, said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary." At Fatima, Our Lady taught us to pray the Rosary every day. Heaven presented its peace plan at Fatima and truly gave us hope for the world. Conversions were promised at Fatima: the conversion of sinners; the conversion of Russia; and what also appears to be the conversion of Islam. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
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On October 7, 2006, this article appeared in WorldNet Daily, in the context of Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture.
Clash of civilizations:
Battle of Lepanto revisited
Today marks anniversary of
crucial war between Islam and West
Posted: October 7, 2006
By Mary Jo Anderson
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Today, Christians quietly recall the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto, Oct. 7, 1571. On that date the forces of Islam battled the Holy League in a crucial engagement at Lepanto, the modern day Gulf of Corinth. The date assumes larger significance in light of recent struggles between the West and Islamic jihad.
Sparked by the events like the Danish Cartoon Wars, Pope Benedict XVI's speech at Regensburg and the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, a firestorm of renewed debate about the nature of Islamic jihad fills Western magazines and newspapers. Some maintain that the "war on terror" is the result of the Bush administration's mishandling of the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Others have revised their thinking after five years.
Jonathan Last, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer Oct. 1 states, "It's the West vs. the Islamic world, a clash that has never abated. … It predates America itself. It is a clash between Western civilization and the Islamic world."
Last quotes Samuel Huntington, author of the 1993 article "Clash of Civilizations" and subsequent book of the same title. Huntington, a Harvard professor, wrote, "Conflict along the fault line between Western and Islamic civilizations has been going on for 1,300 years." Islam advanced under the sword conquering North Africa, Sicily, Spain, Portugal and parts of France. Twice "the forces of Islam laid siege to Vienna. For 1,000 years, Islam advanced and Christendom retreated," observed Last.
But at Lepanto, Christendom did not retreat.
The Ottoman Turks had attacked and captured Christian strongholds throughout the Mediterranean. Their strategy was to control the sea, the trade routes, and thus crush European navies and commerce. In 1522, the Knights of St. John were driven from Rhodes by the Moslems. The year 1529 saw an attack on Vienna. By 1570 Cyprus was under siege. According to historian H.W. Crocker III, the Turks skinned the commander of Cyprus while the officer was still alive. More than 12,000 Christians were enslaved on Moslem galleys, lashed to the oars of Turkish ships that then threatened Europe. Feared as "invincible," the Moslem fleet terrorized cities along the coasts of Italy and Greece.
The Turkish fleet, under the command of Ali Pasha, gathered at Lepanto (Gulf of Corinth). They were reinforced with lawless Corsairs under the command of the ferocious Moslem pirate, Uluch Ali.
Europe's Holy League was an allied fleet of the Knights of Malta, Spanish, Venetian and Papal ships assembled by Pope Pius the V. The famous Don Juan of Austria, assisted by equally famous Andrea Dorian, led the Holy League. Maritime historians note that the Battle of Lepanto was the last of the great sea battles between oared vessels, and the largest battle since the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C.
An estimated 50,000 seamen and another 30,000 fighting men fought for Europe against a stronger, better armed Ottoman force of 330 ships. Ottoman ships flew flags emblazoned with verses from the Quran. Christian galleys were named "Resurrected Christ," "Christ of Venice," "Angel of Venice," "St. Euphemia" and "Our Lady of Venice."
As the day dawned over Lepanto, in Rome Pius V called the faithful to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. There he led the people to pray, asking God for a Christian victory. Throughout the morning the prayers of the people continued until, it is said, the pope had a vision of the victory and shouted, "Our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given us."
The Battle of Lepanto sacrificed nearly 8,000 European soldiers who had fought under Don Juan. Yet, the Moslem forces suffered catastrophic losses; more than 25,000 perished. Don Juan rescued the 12,000 Catholic galley slaves. All Christendom rejoiced.
Within a decade, the Moslem fleet was rebuilt and the Islamic assaults again threatened Europe. For this reason few historians credit the Battle of Lepanto as a decisive military victory against Islamic forces. However, few deny the great psychological victory that Oct. 7, 1571, marks for Europeans who refused to retreat before the "invincible" flag of the crescent.
Jonathan Last of the
Philadelphia Inquirer noted, "As Pope Benedict XVI explains in his book
Without Roots, the very concept of 'Europe' emerged as a reaction to the surge of Islam. Not until the failure of the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683 did the Islamic tide recede definitively. For the next 300 years, Western civilization was ascendant and the Islamic world stagnated."
Crocker, author of
Don't Tread On Me, wrote in the Oct. 6 issue of
The American Spectator, "As we (or the better informed among us at least) celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto this Saturday, marking the date in 1571 when the navy of Pope Pius V's Holy League turned back the Ottoman Turks from one of their recurrent jihads, it might be opportune to consider how the Islamic world has advanced politically over the last half century."
Meanwhile, despite Islamic furor over his remarks at Regensburg, Benedict XVI has not canceled his plans to visit Turkey in November.
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Related links:
For G. K. Chesterton's rousing poem, LEPANTO -
www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/lepanto.html
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/10/2007 01:09]