Rosary in the Philippines

 In the last post, we saw how both the rosary and Our Lady of Consolation were present in the Spanish Netherlands at the same time. In the 17th century the Dutch Protestants in the north of that region battled with the Spanish for control. Marian devotion helped the region to keep the Catholic faith. 

The Dutch were also battling with the Spanish for control of the Philippines during this same time. We have already seen that the Augustinians had brought devotion to Our Lady of Consolation to the Philippines. The rosary was also being used in the Philippines at the same time. 

In 1646 an armada of 18 Dutch warships came to the Philippines to take control from Spain. The Spanish had only two ships, the Encarnacion and the Rosario. Facing daunting odds, the Spanish and the Filipinos prayed the rosary every day. There were 4 Dominicans with them on the 2 ships who prayed the rosary with them and celebrated mass with them. 5 battles were fought over 6 months, yet the stronger Dutch fleet could not prevail. It lost 2 ships and many men. Other ships were damaged. The Spanish-Filipino navy did not lose one ship. The Dominicans had brought the rosary to the Philippines. The victory was attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary.  For a more in-depth history, see Champions of the Rosary by Fr. Donald Calloway, pages 97 and 98. Also see https://aleteia.org/2019/11/09/how-our-lady-of-the-rosary-rescued-the-philippines/

Thus, we find two Marian devotions, the rosary and Our Lady of Consolation, were both present at the same time in both regions. Both devotions helped the Catholics to keep their faith when confronted by a Protestant enemy.