Our Lady of the Rosary

thumb|left|Our Lady of Rosary icon at Thoerl
Our Lady of the Rosary (also Our Lady of the Holy Rosary or Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary) is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the method of prayer known as the rosary, whose origin has been attributed to a Marian apparition to Saint Dominic in 1208 in the church of Prouille.
In 1571 Pope Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory of Lepanto. The victory was attributed to Our Lady, as a rosary procession was offered on that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the mission of the Holy League to hold back Muslim forces from overrunning Western Europe. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the title of this feast-day to "Feast of the Holy Rosary". This feast was extended by Pope Clement XII to the whole of the Latin Rite, inserting it into the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1716, and assigning it to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date to 7 October in 1913. In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to "Our Lady of the Rosary",Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 105 and it is celebrated as a memorial in the ordinary form. 
Prior to the battle of Lepanto, in thanks for the victory of the Battle of Muret, Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester built the first shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. 
Our Lady of the Rosary is the patron saint of several places around the world and María del Rosario is a common female Spanish name (colloquially abbreviated to Rosario or Charo). Rosario can also be used as a male first name, particularly in Italian.
==References==
Category:Titles of Mary
Category:Rosary
Category:Catholic holy days
Category:Promoters of the Rosary
de:Rosenkranzfest
es:Virgen del Rosario
fa:باکره تسبیح
it:Madonna del Rosario
nl:Heilige Maagd Maria van de Rozenkrans
pt:Nossa Senhora do Rosário
vec:Madona del Rosario