As we begin the month of October, I pray that we will all be nourished with great hope and peace. I found the recent visit by Pope Leo to France extremely inspiring. France one of the world’s most secular countries surprisingly gave Pope Leo a huge welcome. At times the pontiff visibly moved with emotion gave great witness to the relevance of Jesus Christ and his gospel message in today’s world. In Lourdes, a place where many seek healing, Pope Leo embraced the wounds and vulnerability of over 200,000 people gathered.
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary in the Catholic Church, a traditional time of heightened devotion to this form of prayer centred on the life of Jesus Christ as seen through the Blessed Virgin Mary. The connection comes primarily from the Memorial (or Feast) of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. This commemorates the Christian victory at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. A Holy League fleet (including forces from Spain, Venice, the Papal States, and others) defeated the Ottoman Turkish navy in a major Mediterranean naval battle. Pope St. Pius V had urged the faithful across Europe to pray the Rosary for protection and victory; he attributed the unexpected success more to Mary’s intercession through the Rosary than to military means alone. He established a feast of thanksgiving, initially called Our Lady of Victory (or Victories). It was later renamed Our Lady of the Rosary (under Pope Gregory XIII and subsequent popes) and fixed on October 7.
The practice of dedicating the entire month of October to the Rosary developed later and was strongly promoted by Pope Leo XIII (often called the “Rosary Pope”). Beginning in the 1880s, he issued multiple encyclicals encouraging the faithful to recite the Rosary throughout October—often publicly in churches, with the Litany of Loreto—and framed the month as especially sacred to the Queen of the Rosary.
Church tradition links the Rosary’s popular form to St. Dominic in the early 13th century (around 1206–1214), when Mary is said to have given it to him as a spiritual aid against the Albigensian heresy. It combines vocal prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be) with meditation on “mysteries”—key events in the lives of Jesus and Mary (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and, since St. John Paul II, Luminous). Popes and saints have long recommended it as a simple yet powerful contemplative prayer that draws people closer to Christ. In practice, October often features daily or more frequent Rosary recitation (individually, in families, or in parishes), processions, and special intentions for the Church, peace, or personal needs. It complements May (traditionally the Month of Mary) as another Marian focus in the liturgical year. In short, it’s a month rooted in historical gratitude for Mary’s intercession at a pivotal moment, reinforced by papal teaching, and oriented toward praying the Rosary as a way of meditating on the Gospel.
Here in Abbeyleix, our church is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. It is very rare to visit a church where candles are not lighting in front of a sacred space dedicated to Mary mother of Jesus. Devotion to Mary stems from her empathy and maternal love for all of us. A mother’s love is both rich and deep. In the scripture Mary says very little, but her presence speaks louder than her words. Mary had the courage to say yes to cooperate with God’s desire to become one of us. Mary nourished Jesus with all that was necessary in his young life. No doubt when he went missing as a teenager in the temple, she was troubled and anxious. She trusted that in a time of crisis, like at a friend’s wedding, her son, would transform water into wine. Mary’s heart must have bled when she saw her son dying on the cross and her joy was great when he rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death.
I pray throughout this month dedicated to the Holy Rosary grace and peace will fill us with hope and joy.
Prayer for strength
“Take my hand O Blessed Mother,
Hold me firmly lest I fall,
I am nervous when I’m walking,
And to thee I humbly call.
Guide me over every crossing,
Watch me when I am on my way,
Let me know you are beside me,
Listen to my frequent prayers.
Bring me to my destination,
Safely every single day,
Help me with my understanding,
As the hours pass away.
And when evening falls upon me,
And I fear to be alone,
Take my hand O Blessed Mother,
And once again guide me home”.