Yesterday was the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, reminding us of the magnificent circumstances surrounding the granting of this day in honor of the Rosary, which plays a central part in the daily practice of those who would be saints, and should we not all so wish.
The Hallowed Ground Weblog—which should be on your daily web browsing list—has a marvelous collection of art honoring this feast day, and hat tip to Hallowed for the the photo of art from the Vatican, and on their site you can enlarge to see it in its full magnificent glory.
In addition here is an excerpt from the Saint of the Day article.
“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 unhistorical, 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.”
