August 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – On August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Catholics around the country will begin a 54-day rosary campaign that ends with a "rosary rally" in Washington, D.C.

This is the second annual "Novena for Our Nation" campaign. It's endorsed by Cardinal Raymond Burke, who said, "I urge as many as are able to participate in these great spiritual works for the sake of our entire nation."

The rally is happening because public schools, the media, the arts, and literature now "elentlessly promote the false Gods of sexual hedonism and radical individualism," a promotional video for the event says.

"Tens of millions of unborn babies have been slaughtered. Illegitimacy rates have soared. Divorce has skyrocketed. Pornography is rampant. Drug use has exploded. Birth control is a way of life. Sex outside of wedlock has become the norm," it says.

And "children have been permanently damaged and their innocence lost because of the proliferation of broken homes. Sodomy and homosexuality are celebrated openly." Because of this, "America has become the new Babylon."

Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, Monsignor Charles Pope, and Father Rick Heilman of the Holy League are among the speakers at the October 7 rosary rally. Doug Barry of the EWTN's Battle Ready, who spoke at the 2016 rally, is another featured guest. So are Jim and Joy Pinto of EWTN and Chuck Neff of Relevant Radio.

"The time is now to call upon God, through the powerful intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, to heal our country and return it to holiness," Fr. Heilman wrote of the upcoming novena and rally. All four mysteries of the rosary will be prayed, in particular for:

Respect for life at all stages of development

The sanctity of marriage and families

Upholding constitutionally protected religious freedom

The return of our nation to God and Holiness

October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, is a particularly special Marian holiday – it's the anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

"The best example of Our Lady's miraculous intervention through the Rosary was the victory She won for the Church at the Battle of Lepanto. It was through this victory that we now have the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary," Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute told LifeSiteNews. "In 1571, after a series of attacks by the Ottoman Empire on Christian Europe, a fleet of 200 ships from different Catholic countries called the Holy League met the larger Ottoman fleet of 300 ships met in the Gulf of Patras, just off the coast of Greece."

"Prior to the battle, Pope Pius V had decreed that all of Christendom were to be united through the Rosary for victory against the Muslim invasion," Hichborn continued. "The morning of the battle, the Christian fleet prepared by confessing to the priests stationed on each ship and attending the Sacrifice of the Mass. And even though most of the men rowing these mighty galleys were criminal slaves, Don Juan ordered them all unchained and issued each a weapon and the Rosary."

The religious sides of the battle eached assumped a formation that reflected their beliefs. The Holy League "assumed a battle formation in the shape of a cross," said Hichborn. "In response, the Ottoman fleet formed up in the shape of a crescent. The battle raged throughout the day and lasted into the evening, and in the end, the Holy League commanded a complete victory."

Catholics praying at the 2016 national rosary rally SOURCE: Claire Chretien / LifeSiteNews

Those interested in participating can sign up at NovenaForOurNation.com to receive daily reflections during the campaign.