Rosary Sunday, the first Sunday in October; a feast instituted by Gregory XIII. for the Confraternity of the Rosary, and made of universal observance after the victory of Emperor Charles VI. over the Turks, in gratitude to the Blessed Virgin. An impetus has been given to the devotion of the rosary by Leo XIII., who enjoined its daily use in public during October. Roses are blessed and distributed as souvenirs, and the rosary is recited continually during the day.

Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia, 1912.