The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a double of the second class. The feast had been instituted following the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. In 1573 Gregory XIII extended the feast to those churches where an altar had been dedicated to the Rosary to be kept on the first Sunday of October. In 1716 Clement XI extended the feast to the Universal Church with greater-double rank. Leo XIII raised ther rank of the feast to double second class in 1887 and gave the feast proper texts in the following year. During the reforms of 1911-13 the feast was transferred to October 7th.

The feast has proper texts and begins with first vespers, a commemoration is made of the preceding Office of Saint Bruno. At Compline the hymn is sung to the special tone for feasts of the BVM with its special Doxology, Jesu tibi sit gloria. Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons, the ninth lesson is of St. Mark. At Lauds the Sunday psalms are sung and a commemoration of both St. Mark and then SS Sergius and Companions.

At the Little Hours the psalms are of Sunday, the hymns are sung to the special tone for feasts of the BVM with the Marian Doxology. At Prime psalms 53, 118(i), 118(ii) are sung, the Short Lesson is proper, Quasi cedrus.

Mass is sung after Terce. The Gloria is sung (in private Masses the second collect is of St. Mark and the third collect of SS Sergius and Companions), the Creed is sung, the Preface is of the BVM with the clause Et te in Festivitate.

At second Vespers a commemoration is made of the following feast of St. Bridget.

In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the feast is renamed 'Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary' and is of 2nd class. The feast has no first Vespers and begins with Mattins. The hymn from Old Rite first Vespers, Caelestis aulae Nuntius, is joined to the Mattins hymn In monte olivis consito. Mattins has three nocturns and nine lessons but there is no ninth lesson to commemorate St. Mark but he, alone, is commemorated at Lauds. The Hours have ferial psalms, there is no Marian Doxology to the hymns and the short lesson at Prime is of the season. At Mass St Mark alone is commemorted in read Masses. The feast's Vespers (the former second Vespers) have no commemorations. Sunday Compline concludes the feast but without the Marian Doxology to Te lucis.