We can safely say that, during the month of October, most of our parishes celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In a number of parishes, in particular those who have been long established, we find altars or side chapels dedicated to Our Lady under this title, most with confraternities linked to them.
This devotion became widely spread in Malta after the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Engaged in this battle were also the Knights of St John together with Maltese seamen and soldiers. Pope St Pius V attributed this victory to Our Lady since the Christian forces won the battle on 7 October, which coincided with the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. Initially, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was celebrated on the first Sunday in October. However, when the Liturgical Calendar was reformed by Pope St Pius X to emphasise the importance of the Sunday Liturgy, 7 October was chosen for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and we still celebrate it on this day.
Only few years after 1571, Confraternities of the Rosary were being established in Malta by the Dominican Friars who worked tirelessly to spread this devotion. In contrast with other confraternities at that time in Malta—that were groups for men that practiced a specific trade—the Rosary Confraternity was of a devotional nature. The Rosary Confraternity in Valletta assisted those who were condemned to death by hanging. As a result, they were also called “tal-Miżerikordja”—literally, “of Mercy.”
It may be that the conflicts we face today are more subtle and therefore more threatening. But our weapon must remain the same: prayer, in particular the Holy Rosary especially during the month of October through which we contemplate from Our Mother’s perspective the life of the Son of God made man for us.