Paul VI – Encyclical Christi Matri Rosarii (September 15, 1966): Latin Text and the Rosary for Peace in Vietnam

The encyclical Christi Matri Rosarii (September 15, 1966) is the second Marian encyclical of Paul VI, explicitly devoted to calling for the Rosary for peace in Vietnam. Published on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and addressed to the whole Church. Full text in Enchiridion Vaticanum vol. 2 (1963-1967).

Latin text – beginning

Christi Matri Rosarii sacrum mensem Octobrem proxime ineuntem proximum esse cernimus. Aeris turbines undique nos circumstant, atque pacis et concordiae spes nondum reddita est. Hoc graviore in periculo, ad Christi Matrem confugimus, ad eam quam totus orbis Christianus appellat “Reginam pacis”, eamque deprecamur ut populis omnibus pacem largiri dignetur.

English translation

We see that the month of October consecrated to the Mother of Christ of the Rosary is drawing near. Storms surround us on every side, and the hope of peace and concord has not yet been restored. In this graver danger, we take refuge in the Mother of Christ, in her whom the whole Christian world invokes as “Queen of Peace,” and we beseech her to deign to grant peace to all peoples.

Historical context

The year 1966 was one of the worst moments of the Vietnam War:

• June 30, 1966: American bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong intensifies
• September 1966: the American military presence reaches 385,000 troops in Vietnam
• Vietnamese Catholicism suffered severely on both sides of the conflict

In 1965 Paul VI had already published Mense Maio, asking for prayers for Vietnam. A year later, as the war flared up again, he turns once more to Mary Queen of Peace with this new encyclical.

The three requests of the encyclical

Paul VI makes three specific requests:

1. Daily Rosary during October 1966 in all the churches of the world
2. For the end of the Vietnam War and for all the armed conflicts of the world
3. For the good progress of the Synod of Bishops (created that same year by Paul VI as an instrument of collegial governance)

The Rosary as a weapon of peace

Latin: Beata Virgo Maria, dum Rosarium recitatur, animos hominum ad pacem internam et fraternitatem mutuam ducit. In illa enim mysteria gaudii, doloris et gloriae contemplatione, fideles in se ipsis instituuntur ad sentiendum cum Christo, et per Christum cum aliis hominibus, qui sunt fratres in Christo.

English: The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, while the Rosary is being recited, leads the souls of men to interior peace and to mutual fraternity. For in that contemplation of the mysteries of joy, of sorrow, and of glory, the faithful are trained to feel with Christ, and through Christ with other men, who are brothers in Christ.

Connection with the tradition

The encyclical explicitly takes up:

• Saint Pius V: the Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571), Mary Queen of Victory, later renamed Queen of the Rosary
• Leo XIII: the thirteen encyclicals on the Rosary (1883-1898), the Rosary as the weapon of the Church in the crisis of modernity
• Pius XII: the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart (1942), at a time of world war

Triad of Marian encyclicals of Paul VI

Christi Matri Rosarii is part of the initial Marian triad of Paul VI:

1. Mense Maio (1965) – the Rosary for peace in Vietnam
2. Christi Matri Rosarii (1966) – second call
3. Signum Magnum (1967) – Mary, model of the virtues in the Church
4. Recurrens Mensis October (1969) – third call
5. Marialis Cultus (1974) – the great synthesis of Pauline Mariology

Further reading

Marialis Cultus | Mense Maio | Signum Magnum | Rosarium Virginis Mariae | Apparitions (Fatima)

Learn to pray the Rosary in our guide: How to Pray the Rosary, Step by Step.