The Rosary Crusade that Freed Austria from the Communists

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The Rosary Crusade that Freed Austria from the Communists

TIA | September 11, 2024

“The war [World War I] is going to end. But if they do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illumined by an unknown light, you know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger and of persecution of the Church and the Holy Father...

“If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread its errors throughout the world...”

A warning in 1917: 'Russia will spread her errors throughout the world'

Our Lady of Fatima gave the three shepherd children this prophetic message shortly before the end of World War I. Her predictions sadly came to pass. People continued to offend God and turned the short period of peace into a pursuit of wicked and alluring pleasures in an era that is known as the Roaring Twenties. As is only just, God inflicted the punishment predicted by Our Lady: A worse war came that raged for four long years.

The devastating World War II leveled many European cities and claimed 40-50 million lives across Europe. When at last a peace treaty was negotiated, Germany and her allies were forced to accept harsh punitive terms.

The Soviet Union, one of the Allied powers siding with Britain, France and the United States, was given a large share in the victory spoils: it gained control over large swaths of Eastern Europe, including countries it had occupied like Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Eastern Germany. Communism took advantage of the situation to spread its propaganda and tighten its control of the countries. Unlike the other Allied countries, the communists soon showed that they had no intention of abandoning the prized territories allotted to them in the peace treaty.


Austria falls victim to the Soviets

Austria was one of the victims of the iron hand of the Soviets. During the War, Austria had been annexed by Nazi Germany, which gave it both the claim of victim and accomplice in the ensuing debate over Austria’s responsibility for the Nazi war crimes.

After the war, Austria was divided and given to the Four Powers; Russia received the wealthy Viennese region; below, Stalin's portrait being wheeled through central Vienna in 1952





The Austrian flag alongside the hammer-and-sickle on a tram in Vienna in 1946

Lingering suspicions of Austria’s complicity with the Nazis led the Four Great Powers – United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union – to divide the country into four sections to be monitored by the victor countries. Austria was able to maintain her own government since she had not been fully compliant with the Nazi takeover; however, any new legislation could be vetoed by a unanimous vote from all four powers.

The communist forces occupied the wealthiest region of industry and agriculture that included the capital city of Vienna. Subjecting it to their rule, the Soviet Union demanded reparations from Austria. The regions’ oil and shipping companies, factories and railroads were seized by the communists under the pretext that they had been used by the Nazis. The only way the struggling Austrian business owners could have a share in the revenue was to purchase the industries back at an unreasonable price.

The “conquered people” were also forced to pay for the food and clothing of the Red Army, a considerable sum for the already depleted Austria treasury. The soviet soldiers also committed crimes of looting and rape, which were not sufficiently punished by the officers who often sympathized with their men.

Communists infiltrated Austrian society and attempted to stir up unrest. Although the Austrian Communist Party received very little support in the post-war election, the presence of the Red Army in Vienna emboldened them.

In September 1950, it seemed that the Communist Party was plotting a putsch to seize power. For 10 days, workers went on strike, angry at the post war policy of the Austrian government and roused by the communist spirit of class struggle. At last, the strikes were put down, ending the threat of a Communist Revolution.

The Soviet Union claimed no part in the putsch, led as it was mostly by Austrian communists, but the soviets could not deny their promotion of the communist doctrine that continuously posed a threat to the Austrian government.

As Our Lady of Fatima had predicted, Russia was spreading its errors throughout the world. But the Queen of Heaven had a plan to liberate Austria from the communist tyranny, using neither weapons nor words but rather one of the most powerful tools against evil that a Catholic can wield – the Holy Rosary.


Fr. Pavlicek & Our Lady of Fatima

Petrus Otto Pavlicek was born in Innsbruck in 1902. Although raised a devout Catholic, he left the Church in his youth and led a disorderly life. In 1935, he converted after a near death sickness. He determined to pursue the priesthood despite many obstacles, and was at last ordained as a Capuchin in 1941.

Fr. Petrus Pavlicekria spearheaded the Rosary Reparation Crusade; below, the medieval statue of Our Lady of Mariazell in the famous shrine in Austria

One year later, Fr. Pavlicek was conscripted into the German Army as a paramedic. The Americans took him prisoner on the feast of the Assumption in 1944. From them he learned about Our Lady of Fatima, whose messages strengthened his commitment to the Holy Rosary, which he strove to promote after his release on July 16, 1945.

Inspired by the message of Fatima, Fr. Pavlicek came to see the Rosary as the answer to the liberation of Austria from communist control. To pray for guidance from above, he traveled to Mariazell, the most popular Austrian pilgrimage site that houses a miraculous wooden statue of Our Lady.

While praying before the statue on February 2, 1947, he heard these words from Our Lady: “Do as I tell you and there will be peace.” Convinced of the truth of her words, Fr. Pavlicek founded the Crusade of Reparation of the Holy Rosary.

Those who joined the Rosary Reparation Crusade prayed not only for the liberation of Austria, but also for the conversion of sinners and the true peace promised by Our Lady of Fatima. Public rosary rallies with growing crowds of people led by Fr. Pavlicek were held on the 13th of each month from 1947 to 1955.

Although lacking funds, Fr. Pavlicek managed to acquire a statue of Our Lady of Fatima from a Bishop of Portugal who was impressed by the Austrian priest’s fervor. This statue, which accompanied Fr. Pavlicek on his processions throughout Austria, was crafted by the same sculptor who made the original Pilgrim Statue of Fatima. As he traveled through the villages, he exhorted sinners and lapsed Catholics to repentance, hearing thousands of confessions along the way.

The monthly rosary processions grew so large that Fr. Pavlicek decided to introduce an annual procession, inviting all the parishes of Vienna to participate. The date he chose was September 12, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary; this was the date in the year 1683 that Vienna was delivered from the threat of the Ottomans through the power of the Rosary and the valor of the Polish King Jan Sobieski.

To achieve a similar victory for Vienna years later, notable state officials joined in the annual procession, including Foreign Minister Leopold Figl and Federal Chancellor Julius Raab. Minister Figl nobly proclaimed to Fr. Pavlicek: “Even if just the two of us be present, I will go. My country demands it!” As it turned out, thousands of Austrians gathered each year to ask for the intercession of Our Lady.

Foreign Minister Figl & Chancellor Raab lead the Rosary Procession through the streets of Vienna

Fr. Pavlicek wanted at least one-tenth of the Austrian population – about 700,000 people – to pray the Rosary every day. His goal was reached in 1955, when more than half a million Austrians had pledged to pray the Rosary; some estimates claim 700,000 Austrians made the pledge.

Coincidently, years earlier roughly the same number of Austrians had officially joined the Nazi Party. It was as though Our Lady was calling the same number of souls to make reparation for the sins of Austrians who chose National Socialism over the liberty of the Catholic Church.


Cold War tensions miraculously lift to free Austria

The early 1950s saw an increased tension between the Soviet Union and the other European Powers: The Cold War had emerged. Many countries, fearing a new war, began to prepare for a Soviet blockade. Communist dictator Joseph Stalin took an aggressive stance and raised high tension in the Allied Nations. Intent on spreading Communism throughout the world, Stalin used violent means to achieve his end.

Stalin’s death in 1953 saw a slight shift in Russian policy, with the communist leaders being more open to peace. However, they still kept a strong hold on all of their acquired territories, which they were unwilling to surrender. Continued negotiations and conferences did little to end the Cold War tensions.

On March 24, 1955 – the same year Fr. Pavlicek had received the Rosary pledge of half a million Austrians – the communists unexpectedly invited the Austrians to yet another peace conference: over 260 such meetings had been held since the end of the War with no progress towards Austrian independence.

Before departing, Chancellor Julius Raab sought out Fr. Pavlicek to implore intensified prayer: “Please pray, and ask your people to pray harder than ever.”

All the occupying powers – the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union – gathered for this conference. To the great astonishment of all, the communists agreed to grant Austria independence and to leave Austrian soil with the single condition that Austria remain a neutral country.

Thousands of Austrians join the Rosary Crusade procession to thank Our Lady for freeing the country from the communists in 1955

All four countries signed the Austrian State Treaty on May 15, 1955. This is the only time during the Cold War that the Soviet Union withdrew from a country and signed a treaty with the United States. By October 26, the last Russian soldier had departed Austria, a victory that no other occupied country would see until much later.

Jubilant Austrians gathered in the streets of Vienna processing triumphantly with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Realizing that this success had little to do with himself, Chancellor Raab declared: “Today, we, whose hearts are full of faith, cry out to Heaven in joyful prayer: We are free. O Mary, we thank Thee!”

Hearkening to his words, thousands of Austrians have come to Vienna year after year on the feast of September 12 to thank Our Lady of Fatima for the liberation of their country and to pray for peace and the conversion of sinners.