In 1646, during the wider Eighty Years' War, a fleet of 18 Dutch warships attempted to take Manila — the great Spanish entrepôt of the Pacific — from the Catholic Spanish-Filipino defenders. Two Spanish galleons of Manila, the Encarnación and the Rosario, fought five running engagements against the much-larger Dutch fleet between March and October 1646. The Spanish-Filipino crews — including a substantial Dominican presence — prayed the Rosary continuously throughout each engagement.
All five engagements were Spanish victories despite vastly inferior numbers; the Dutch fleet withdrew without taking Manila. The Archdiocese of Manila formally investigated and on April 9, 1652 the Manila ecclesiastical council declared the victories of 1646 'true miracles' worked by Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. The annual feast of La Naval de Manila — Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval — remains a major Catholic celebration of the Philippines on the second Sunday of October. The image of Our Lady of La Naval at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City is the principal Filipino Marian image.