The Power of a Rosary Crusade
1. A Rosary Crusade is like a Mighty River!:
“Think of the power of a river. It is made up of tiny drops of water, numberless tiny drops of rain. Together these tiny drops make a mighty river, which can carry heavy ships and change arid deserts into fruitful farms and gardens. So, too, the Rosary Crusade, the rosaries of countless persons all over the world becomes an immense and irresistible spiritual force for peace.”1
2. The Power of the Rosary for Nations:
“At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation.”2 Pope John Paul II
1571 Battle of Lepanto Victory:
“The Turks planned to capture Italy and Spain. If they had gained these footholds on the continent, all Europe would have been in great danger. Pope Pius V recognized the threat and called upon the countries of Europe to unite into one great coalition and crush the aggressors. By this time, the Protestant Revolt had taken place, and the Pope did not have the influence that had been his in the Middle Ages. Only Venice and Spain answered the Pope’s plea. The Christian fleet that was assembled was placed under the command of Don Juan of Austria. During all the time that the armada was at sea, the Pope waited anxiously for news. He asked Christians everywhere to say the rosary for victory. He instructed the cardinals to fast and give alms in order to obtain by penance the mercy of God. Devotions were held in all the Churches of Rome. The Pope himself fasted three days and spent many hours on his knees. The Confraternities of the Rosary were holding their devotions in Rome, and they added their prayers to millions of others throughout Christendom.
“On the morning of October 7, 1571, the two fleets met near Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth. Just before the battle began, the wind, which had been favoring the Turks, changed suddenly. The battle raged all day. It ended resounding victory for the Christians. Christian Europe was saved. Pope Pius V, who has been canonized, was firmly convinced that the victory of Lepanto was due to Our Lady. He ordered that every year the anniversary of the battle, October 7, should be celebrated as the feast of Our Lady of Victory. This was later changed to the feast of the Most Holy Rosary.”3
1871 Pontmain, France:
“On January 17, 1871, the Mother of God appeared to four children at Pontmain, about 180 miles west of Paris. Everyone prayed the rosary; the children reported that each time they prayed the rosary, the image of Mary increased in size. Mary encouraged their prayer, saying, “My children, God will hear you in a short time. My Son permits Himself to be moved. They did as Mary asked: they prayed the rosary. As if by magic, the westward sweep of the German armies halted. And within ten days an armistice was signed January 28, 1871. In gratitude to the Mother of God for her intervention, the French nation built a basilica of Our Lady at Pontmain.”4
1917 Fatima, Portugal:
Our Lady gave Heaven’s Peace Plan to three little children at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. On July 13th she told them, “I want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to continue to pray the rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you.”5
On October 13th she revealed her name as “Our Lady of the Rosary” and told the children: “Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes.”6 The end of World War I was truly a victory of Our Lady of the Rosary!
1945 Hiroshima, Japan:
On August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. the first atomic bomb exploded eight city blocks from the Jesuit Church of Our Lady’s Assumption in Hiroshima. Four Jesuit fathers stationed there survived. However, they should have died since they were within the one-mile radius of the explosion. Nine days later on August 15, Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption, peace came. The priests attribute the miracle of their survival to their devotion to Our Lady and her holy rosary. Their response to the atom bomb was to launch a Rosary Crusade for peace in Japan!
1955 Austria:
Father Peter Petrus called for a Rosary Crusade against the Soviets. “He asked for a tithe: that ten percent of the Austrians, 700,000, would pledge to say the rosary daily for the Soviets to leave their country. 700,000 pledged. For seven years the Austrians prayed the rosary. Then, on May 13, the anniversary of the apparition of Fatima, in 1955, the Russians left Austria.”7
1980’s Philippines:
A bloodless revolution which removed Ferdinand Marcos from power in the Philippines was largely attributed to the praying of the Rosary. 8
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1,4,7,8 The Power of the Rosary, By Rev. Albert J.M. Shamon, pp. 8, 30, 39
2 Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II
3 The Woman Shall Conquer, Don Sharkey,pp. 206,207
5,6 The Fatima Message – In Lucia’s own words, pp 16, 29