The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was first established to commemorate the remarkable victory at Lepanto in 1571, when Christian forces defeated the Turks in a decisive naval battle. That day happened to fall on a Sunday, when the Rosary confraternities in Rome were holding a solemn procession. The victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following year, Pope Saint Pius V instituted a special commemoration under the title of Our Lady of Victory.
In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title and made it a feast for all churches and chapels of the Rosary confraternities. Later, in 1716, Pope Clement XI extended it to the entire Church.
For centuries, it was celebrated on the first Sunday of October, but in 1931 the feast was fixed to the actual date of the battle, October 7. With the liturgical reform of 1960, its title was simplified to Our Lady of the Rosary, instead of the older name Feast of the Most Holy Rosary.
