11/17/2021 – Queen Elizabeth

On November 17, 1558 Queen Mary I died and Queen Elizabeth became Queen of England. Elizabeth would reign for 44 year. Mary in her short five year reign had attempted to restore Catholicism in England, the faith abandoned and banned by her father King Henry VIII twenty years before. Mary carried and sometimes wore her rosary for all to see. For her it was a pledge of fidelity and a prayer for restoration. Elizabeth, though she promised Mary that she would carry on the work of restoring the Catholic faith, began the persecution of Catholics as soon as she secured the crown.Queen Elizabeth banned the Holy Mass, outlawed priests, declared evangelisation equivalent to treason. She had a particular hatred of rosary beads which she gave the legal designation of “superstitious” items. Possessing a rosary would lead to forfeiture of lands and goods.Yet we know rosaries survived though they became treasured but hidden objects. Used and relied on more than ever by the estimated 1% of English who remained faithful to the Catholic faith.Courtesy of 1 in 10 Rosary Mission IrelandDon’t forget – 9pm is Rosary for Ireland on Radio Maria