Our Lady Of Larochelle
Country : France
Year :
In the Roman Office during the month of October the church chants with joy the victories of Mary, singing: “The Lord hath blessed thee by His power because through thee He hath brought our enemies to naught.”
And so, it was in the seventh century that Our Blessed Mother obtained a decisive victory for Catholic France against the heretics.
The Duke of Buckingham had been preparing a formidable invasion to help the French Huguenots. He appeared off the coast of France with a large fleet, landed in the isle of Rhe, occupied it and laid siege to the citadel of St. Martin. King Louis XIII, reigning monarch, placed all his trust in Mary – the Isle of Rhe was recaptured.
At the formal request of the King, of Anne of Austria and of Marie de Medici a rosary crusade in thanksgiving was organized. Father Louvet from the Dominican convent of Paris was called to preach the crusade. More than fifteen thousand rosaries were distributed among the troops. In the evening the troops carried Mary’s statue by torchlight around the city, recited the rosary and sang a hymn in her honor. Soon the enemy was obliged to lay down their arms. No one doubted, the king least of all, that Mary, Queen of the Rosary, had won the victory for them.
To commemorate the event, the King dedicated the church of Our Lady of Victories in Paris in honor of the rosary triumph of La Rochelle.
“O powerful Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, triumph over all our foes.”
