“Our Lady of the Rosary — is credited with victory in a number of battles. Chief among these is the Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571), in which a Christian fleet defeated a superior Ottoman Muslim fleet and stopped the westward expansion of Islam in the Mediterranean. In honor of the victory, Pope Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, which is still celebrated today as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7). In 1883, Pope Leo XIII officially dedicated the month of October to the Holy Rosary. He made reference to the battle and the feast. The best way to celebrate the Month of the Holy Rosary is, of course, to pray the rosary daily.” (learnreligions.com)

“Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church.  When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men.  Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living.  We can pray with and to her.  The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.
Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her. 
Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary.  This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord
Jesus, to union with him.“  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 2679, 2682, 2708).