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St. Louis De Montfort
was a zealous preacher of the rosary. He lived from 1673-1716. He was canonized
July 20, 1947 by Venerable Pope Pius XII. His Feast Day is April 28th. St Louis de Monfort is one of the
greatest Marian saints of all time, if not the greatest. He wrote many books about the Blessed Mother.
One of his most famous books, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, was buried in a chest in a field for 126
years then rediscovered in 1842. After it was found and published, it became the primary book
referenced by Marian saints, scholars, and popes. True Devotion of the Blessed Virgin has been published
in over 300 editions and translated into more than 20 languages. St. Louis de Montfort is known as the
saint of Marian consecration.
He taught that the Blessed Mother is the Mediatrix of All Graces, the heart of the Mystical Body of
Christ, and the air we breathe. She is the easiest way to Jesus and a mediatrix in our sanctification. He
wrote another very famous book called The Secret of the Rosary. It was published in 1911 and millions
of copies were published in many different languages. He titled the book The Secret of the Rosary
because so few know the secret of sanctity that is contained in the beads of the rosary. There is no other
book that gives as much honor to the rosary as this one. St. Louis de Montfort is said to be the apostle
and the greatest writer on the rosary in the history of the Church.
He loved the rosary so much that he became a Third Order Dominican on November 10, 1710. He was
given permission by the order to preach the rosary everywhere he went and established confraternities
of the rosary during his mission. He enrolled over 100,000 people in the Confraternity of the Rosary during his lifetime. He taught that the rosary offers grace in this life and glory in the next. St. Louis used the rosary to preach against Jansenism during the 18th century. He wore a 15-decade rosary attached to his belt as a spiritual sword.
A quote from St. Louis de Montfort about the rosary:
“Somebody who says his rosary alone only gains the merit of one rosary, but if he says it together with
thirty other people, he gains the merit of thirty rosaries. This is the law of public prayer. How profitable,
how advantageous this is!”
St. Alphonsus Liguori
was a Doctor of the Rosary and of the Church. He lived from 1696-1787. He was
canonized May 26, 1839 by Pope Gregory the XVI. His Feast Day is August 1st . He was born near Naples
and lived to be 90 years old. He was extremely intelligent and received a doctorate in law from the
University of Naples at the age of 16. After many years of practicing law, he decided to stop practicing
law and become a priest. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and
spent many hours in adoration.
St. Alphonsus was very devoted to the Blessed Mother from a young age and learned a lot about her
from his mother who was very devoted to Mother Mary. When he heard the call to become a priest he
knelt down before the statue of Our Lady of Mercy and placed his sword in front of her symbolizing his
servantship of the Queen of Heaven. He fasted every Saturday in honor of Our Lady. He often preached
that Mary was the new Noah’s ark in which sinners could find refuge. In 1750 he published The Glories
of Mary. Although he did not know of the writings of St. Louis de Montfort the two books had many
similarities and was translated into many languages. He prayed the rosary every day until his death
holding a statue of the
Blessed Mother. A 15-decade rosary is part of the religious habit of the
Redemptorists.
St. Liguori’s Discoveries About the Rosary:
In an earthquake a poor woman was buried under the ruins of a house which was overthrown. A priest
had the stones and rubbish cleared away, and under them found the mother with her children in her
arms, alive and uninjured. On being asked what devotion she had practiced, she replied, that she never
omitted saying the rosary, and visiting the altar of the Blessed Lady.
A person who was leading an immoral life had not the courage to give it up; he began to say the rosary
and was converted.
If you want to help the souls in purgatory then we should say the rosary for them because the rosary
gives them great relief.
Blessed Bartolo Longo the Apostle of the Rosary.
He was born near Naples, Italy. He lived from 1841- 1926. His family were very devout Catholics.
While he was studying law, he unfortunately turned away from the Catholic faith and got caught up in ideology.
He particularly disliked the papacy, the priesthood, and the Dominicans. He especially disliked the Dominicans
because they defended against the secular philosophies that Bartolo loved so much. He then became involved in
spiritualism and the occult.
This led him to witchcraft, mediums and then participating in seances. He was so fascinated by these
practices that he became an ordained priest of Satan. Because of these practices he became very
depressed and unhappy and suffered from hallucinations, nightmares, body ailments and anxiety. He
was in such torment that he reached out to a friend which led him to a Dominican priest for help.
Thankfully Bartolo experienced a radical conversion by the help of Father Alberto Radente (a Dominican
priest) and of course the praying of the rosary. In turning back to the Catholic faith Bartolo finally was
experiencing peace again. In thanksgiving for being delivered from his satanic practices he became a
Third Order Dominican (taking the name of Brother Rosario) on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
October 7, 1871 and dedicated his life to the spreading of the rosary. He then built the Basilica of Our
Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, Italy in hopes to bring the people back to Catholicism because the people
in Pompeii were practicing the same forms of spiritualism he once did. In his efforts to convert people
back to the true faith he barged into a séance and pulled out his rosary and rebuked what they were
doing and warned them their practices were false and they needed to turn back to God. The people who
were attending the seance started to ridicule him and threw him out.
A miracle through the intercession of Blessed Bartolo Longo:
Bartolo set up many rosary confraternities in Pompeii, Italy. One of the requirements was to have an
image of Our Lady of the Rosary as part of the confraternity. Bartolo received an image of St. Dominic
and St. Rose of Lima that needed restoration. He restored the picture and replaced St. Rose with St.
Catherine of Siena to keep with the practice of the other confraternities. A little girl named Fortuna
Agrelli claimed to have received a vision of the Blessed Mother and experienced a healing through
Blessed Bartolo’s rosary image. Fortuna suffered from many illnesses for many years. All physicians had
given up on her. Her family, however, did not. They began a series of three novenas, praying the rosary
for 27 days total, asking for healing for Fortuna. At the end of the novena, the Blessed Mother
appeared to Fortuna looking exactly like her depiction in the confraternity image restored by Blessed
Bartolo. She appeared holding the Baby Jesus and giving the rosary to St. Dominic and St. Catherine of
Siena. During the apparition, Fortuna begged Mary for healing by calling her “Our Lady of the Rosary.”
healed. The Blessed Mother also told her that anyone who desires to receive graces from God should
pray this 27-day rosary novena and add an additional 27 days (three more novenas of rosaries) in
thanksgiving. This novena became known as the 54 Day Rosary Novena and is often called the
“Irresistible Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.”
eternity. So, despite my repentance, I thought that I was still consecrated to Satan, and that I am still his
slave and property as he awaits me in Hell. As I pondered over my condition, I experienced a deep sense
of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto
repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary:” “One who propagates my rosary shall be saved.”
Fun Fact
Elvis Presley album: Back in Nashville, Elvis wrote a song called Miracle of the Rosary.
Thanks for the miracle of your rosary
Only you can hold back
Your holy son’s hand
Long enough for the whole world to understand
Hail, Mary full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed are thou among women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Oh holy Mary dear mother of God
Please pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death
And give thanks once again
For the miracle of your rosary