Gathering of 8 October 2026

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Catholics often pray the Holy Rosary for a specific intention, often calling our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede to her Divine Son one behalf our intentions.  This type of praying the Rosary is referred to as Intercessory Prayer; we are praying for our Holy Mother to intercede for the cause of our intention.  Intercessory Prayer is most common when we pray for the  well being of a loved one, be it for improved health but particularly for the repose of their souls following their death.  We also ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for our own benefit, preferably so we can better serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

Catholics have also been known to pray for the rosary or Mary to intercede to Jesus to alter the course of world events.  You probably know several world events for which the outcome is for the Glory of God.  One of these world events is the Battle of Lepanto, a sea battle that took place on 7 October 1571 in the Gulf of Patras in the southwest of Greece.  The combatants were the Ottoman Empire, the dominant political (and religious) force in the Eastern Mediterranean region and The Holy League, an alliance consisting of Spainish Empire (including Bavaria and Austria), the Papal States, the Kingdom of Venice and several smaller states such as Malta.  

The Ottoman Empire had a formidable navy of over 300 ships, most of which were galleys, and their leadership was highly organized and disciplined.   The Holy League navy could be called a "coalition of the willing."  Their 200 ships of various size and armament.  Their leaders were from different countries and spoke different languages.  They never worked together and the leaders were unfamiliar with their allies skills and tactics.  

The Holy League was formed at the request of Pope Pius V who feared that the Ottoman Navy would conquer Mediterranean islands of Malta, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain.  He understood that if the Ottomans controlled the Western Mediterranean, the Catholic states of Southern Europe would be at risk.  Pope Pius requested all Catholics of Western Europe to pray the Rosary for a Holy League victory at sea to prevent the western expansion.

Our discussion will include a review of this sea battle of over 600 ships that took place in bay that was six miles between shore lines.  (For a point of reference, this is half the distance than the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay (17 Miles).  We will discuss how over a million people praying the Rosary affected the cause of the Holy League.  We will also discuss other situations in history when praying the Rosary affected the course of civilization.

Finally, we will discuss the power of intercessory prayer.  We will also discuss Pope Leo's comments regarding asking God to affect the outcome of an armed conflict.

Cor will begin at 6:30pm in the PAC Hall.  We will enjoy dinner followed by formation and faith.

Cor follows a very special Holy Hour for Vocations.  We will pray the Knights of Columbus's Holy Hour for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.