Rosary
Encyclopedia
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads
used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary. The prayers consist of repeated sequences of the Lord's Prayer
followed by ten prayings of the Hail Mary
and a single praying of "Glory Be to the Father
" and is sometimes accompanied by the Fatima Prayer; each of these sequences is known as a decade. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall the life of Jesus Christ.
The traditional 15 Mysteries of the Rosary were standardized, based on the long-standing custom, by Pope St. Pius V in the 16th century. The mysteries are grouped into three sets: the joyful mysteries, the sorrowful mysteries, and the glorious mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II
announced five new optional mysteries, the luminous mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to 20.
The term has come to be used to refer to similar beads in other religions.
The rosary is part of the Catholic veneration of Mary
, which has been promoted by numerous popes, especially Leo XIII, known as "The Rosary Pope", who issued twelve encyclicals and five apostolic letters
on the rosary and added the invocation Queen of the most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto. Pope Pius V
introduced the rosary into the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar
as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
, celebrated on October 7. Most recently, on May 3, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
stated that the Rosary is experiencing a new springtime: "It is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother." To Benedict XVI, the rosary is a meditation on all important moments of salvation history. Before him, Pope John Paul II
's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae
built on the "total Marian devotion" pioneered by Saint Louis de Montfort. Pope Pius XII
and his successors actively promoted the veneration of the Virgin in Lourdes
and Fatima
, which is credited with a new resurgence of the rosary within the Catholic Church.
The theologian Romano Guardini
defined the Roman Catholic emphasis on the rosary as "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ". His statement echoed the view that in Roman Catholic Mariology the path to Christ is through Mary, with Mariology being inherent in Christology
; a sentiment also expressed by saints such as Louis de Montfort
who was a strong rosary advocate.
Pope Leo XIII also viewed the rosary as a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ (see the section on Rosary Pope below).
Many similar prayer practices exist in other Christian communities, each with its own set of prescribed prayers and its own form of prayer beads
, such as the prayer rope
in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. These other devotions and their associated beads are usually referred to as "chaplets
". The rosary is sometimes used by other Christian
s, especially in Lutheranism
, the Anglican Communion
and the Old Catholic Church
. Other Protestants, however, such as Baptists and Presbyterians, do not use it and actively discourage their members from using this method of prayer.
. Pope John Paul II
placed the rosary at the very center of Christian spirituality and called it "among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation."
Saints and popes have emphasized the meditative and contemplative elements of the rosary and provided specific teachings for how the rosary should be prayed, for instance the need for "focus, respect, reverence and purity of intention" during rosary recitations and contemplations.
From the sixteenth century onwards, rosary recitations often involved "picture texts" that assisted meditation. Such imagery continues to be used to depict the mysteries of the rosary. Saints have stressed the importance of meditation and contemplation. Scriptural meditations on the rosary build on the Christian tradition of Lectio Divina
, (literary divine reading) as a way of using the Gospel
to start a conversation between the soul and Christ. Padre Pio, who was devoted to the rosary, said: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him."
References to the rosary have been part of a number of reported Marian Apparitions
spanning two centuries. The reported messages from these apparitions have influenced the spread of rosary devotions worldwide. In Quamquam Pluries
Pope Leo XIII related rosary devotions to Saint Joseph
and granted indulgence
s for adding a prayer to St. Joseph to the Rosary during the month of October.
in an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1214 in the church of Prouille
. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary
. In the 15th century it was promoted by Blessed Alanus de Rupe
(aka Alain de la Roche or Saint Alan of the Rock), a learned Dominican priest and theologian, who established the "15 rosary promises" and started many rosary confraternities
. However, most scholarly research suggests a more gradual and organic development of the rosary.
The practice of meditation during the praying of the Hail Mary
s is attributed to Dominic of Prussia
(1382–1460), a Carthusian
monk
, who called it "Life of Jesus Rosary" The German monk from Trier
added a sentence to each of the 50 Hail Marys, using quotes from scriptures. In 1569, the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices
by the Dominican Pope Pius V
officially established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church.
From the 16th to the early 20th century, the structure of the rosary remained essentially unchanged. There were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. In the 20th century the addition of the Fatima Prayer
to the end of each decade became more common. There were no other changes until 2002 when John Paul II instituted five optional new Luminous Mysteries.
prayer "O Mary, conceived without sin..." or the Fatima Ave refrain ("Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!"). Others add a praying of a pious Eucharistic prayer "O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine" at the end of each decade in honor of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament
. In the practice of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, they have an additional decade for the intentions of the students or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A pious German custom is to insert a phrase in the middle of each Hail Mary (after "... Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus ... "), which refers to the specific mystery being meditated upon.
This custom was incorporated into St. Louis de Montfort's second method out of his five Methods of Praying the Rosary
.
After Hail, Holy Queen many people add the prayer "O God, by Your Only Begotten Son...", the prayer to archangel Michael, prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father and finish with the Litany of Loreto.
In the practice of the Dominican Order
, the opening prayers of the rosary mirror the opening of the Divine Office
:
, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 2002), recommended an additional set called the Luminous Mysteries (or the "Mysteries of Light"). Traditional Catholics who prefer the original fifteen mysteries point to the belief that the Rosary is Mary's Psalter, containing 150 Hail Marys in its body for the 150 Psalms
. Moreover, traditional Catholics sometimes do not pray the Luminous Mysteries of John Paul II because they assert that the Holy Rosary with its fifteen mysteries was instituted directly by the Mother of God. Traditional Catholics hold that if Mary instituted 150 Hail Mary's with fifteen distinct mysteries, then not even a Pope can "add" to what she commanded - just as a Pope could not also "add" extra Psalms to the Bible. This belief is also based on the vision of Our Lady of Fatima
, which speak of 150 Hail Mary's and "one third of the Rosary" being only five decades. The Luminous Mysteries bring the total to 200 Hail Mary's, which would contradict Mary's words. Moreover, advocates of the traditional fifteen decade Rosary note that it parallels Saint Paul's threefold progression of his argument in Philippians 2: 5-11, namely the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Exaltation of Christ corresponding to the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.
Various other "mysteries" exist; in the German-speaking countries a fifth set of mysteries had become more common before the 1920s, the so-called "Comforting Mysteries", which have an eschatological dimension, meditating Christ as Universal King.
! Day of praying!! With the Luminous Mysteries !! Without the Luminous Mysteries
|-
| Sunday > The Glorious Mysteries
and Christmas
: The Joyful Mysteries
Lent
to Palm Sunday
: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Ordinary Time
, Easter
to Sunday before Advent: The Glorious Mysteries
>-
| Monday The Joyful Mysteries
| Tuesday The Sorrowful Mysteries
| Wednesday The Glorious Mysteries
| Thursday The Luminous Mysteries
| Friday The Sorrowful Mysteries
| Saturday The Joyful Mysteries
The Novena consists of five decades of the Rosary each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for twenty-seven days in thanksgiving, whether or not the request has been granted.The meditations vary from day to day. Now with the new mysteries the table is changed. On the first day meditate on the Joyful Mysteries; on the second day the Light Mysteries; on the third day the sorrowful Mysteries; on the fourth day meditate again on the glorious Mysteries; and so on throughout the fifty-four days.
s said. The fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to keep track of the count mentally, the mind is more able to meditate on the mysteries. A five decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade), with additional large beads before each decade. The Hail Mary
is said on the ten beads within a decade, while the Our Father
is said on the large bead before each decade. A new mystery is meditated upon at each of the large beads. Some rosaries, particularly those used by religious orders, contain 15 decades, corresponding to the traditional 15 mysteries of the rosary. Both five and 15 decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand, which starts with a crucifix
followed by one large, three small, and one large beads before connecting to the rest of the rosary.
The praying of the rosary is started on the short strand, reciting the Apostle's Creed at the crucifix
, an Our Father
at the first large bead, three Hail Mary
s on the next three beads (for faith, hope and charity
), then a Glory be to the Father
on the next large bead. The praying of the decades then follows. Although counting the prayers on a string of beads is customary, the prayers of the rosary do not actually require a set of beads, but can be said using any type of counting device, by counting on one's fingers, or by counting by oneself without any device at all. Since the beginning of the 21st century, some people have begun to pray the rosary on their iPod
s or by watching rosary meditations on YouTube
or other websites.
The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious materials including coral
, crystal, silver, and gold. Rosaries are sometimes made from the seeds of the "rosary pea" or "bead tree". Today, the vast majority of rosary beads are made of glass, plastic, or wood. Early rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often made as a series of chain-linked beads. Our Lady's Rosary Makers
produce some 7 million rosaries annually that are distributed to those in economic and spiritual need.
It is especially common for beads to be made of material with some special significance, such as jet from the shrine of St. James at Santiago de Compostela
, or olive seeds from the Garden of Gethsemane. Beads are sometimes made to enclose sacred relic
s, or drops of holy water
. A set of blessed rosary beads is a sacramental
.
In addition to a string of beads the rosary comes in other forms for ease of use. A ring rosary is a finger ring with eleven knobs on it, ten round ones and one crucifix. A rosary bracelet is one with ten beads and often a cross or medal as well. The most modern form is the rosary card. A rosary card is either one with a "handle" that moves like a slide rule
to count the decade, or it has a whole rosary with bumps similar to Braille
.
Rosary beads are at times used to say Roman Catholic rosary based prayers
which do not primarily involve the Hail Mary and the mysteries of the rosary. Examples include the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
introduced by Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Rosary of the Holy Wounds introduced by the Venerable
Sister Mary Martha Chambon. These prayers often use rosary beads, but their words and format do not correspond to the usual mysteries. Both Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Venerable Sister Mary Martha Chambon attributed these prayers to Jesus as part of their visions of Jesus Christ
.
"The Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable" were words attributed to the Virgin Mary by Lucia Santos
, one of the three children who reported the Marian apparitions
of Our Lady of Fátima
in 1917 and later the Pontevedra apparitions
in 1925, Fátima, Portugal and Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. In these apparitions, the Virgin Mary reportedly called herself The Lady of the Rosary and in one of the final Fátima appearances on October 13, 1917 had a Brown Scapular in one hand and a Rosary in the other. The Lady of the Rosary, reportedly encouraged the praying of the Rosary and the wearing of the Brown scapular.
Throughout history, the Rosary and the Scapular
as Roman Catholic Sacramentals
for devotions
and prayers have been supported, encouraged and linked by a number of Catholic figures such as popes, saints and cardinals and specific promises
and indulgences have been associated with them.
Following their joint growth in the 18th and 19th centuries, by the early 20th century the Rosary and the devotional Scapular had gained such a strong following among Catholics worldwide that the Catholic Encyclopedia
of 1914 stated: "Like the Rosary, the Brown Scapular has become the badge of the devout Catholic." In the mid 20th century, the United States "Scapular Magazine" helped enroll one million Americans to pray the Rosary based on the Our Lady of Fatima
messages. The Rosary and the devotional scapular continue to be linked in the 21st century.
(1878–1903) because he issued a record twelve encyclicals and five Apostolic Letters on the rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary prayer during the month of October, and in 1883 added the invocation Queen of the most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto.
Leo XIII, the Rosary Pope, explained the importance of the rosary as the one road to God, from the father to the Son, to his Mother, and from her to the human race. He emphasized that no human creature can change this and therefore there exists only one road for the faithful, to the mother and from her to Christ and through Christ to the father. The rosary is a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ. This emphasis on the path through Mary to Christ (which was also a basis for some of Louis de Montfort
's writings) has since been a key direction in Roman Catholic Mariology, with Mariology being viewed as inherent in Christology
, and the rosary paving that path.
Rosary as a family prayer was supported by Pope Pius XII
in his encyclical Ingruentium Malorum
: "The custom of the family praying of the Holy Rosary is a most efficacious means.
s to pope
s and continues to be mentioned in reported Marian apparitions
, with a number of promises attributed to the power of the rosary.
As early as the 15th century, through Saint Dominic
and Blessed
Alan de Rupe the Blessed Virgin Mary made 15 specific promises to Christians who pray the rosary.
The Fifteen rosary promises
range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven. In support of this statement Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes of New York
provided his imprimatur
to this effect.
In the 18th century, the French priest Louis de Montfort
elaborated on the importance of the Rosary and its power in his widely read book the Secret of the Rosary
. He emphasized the power of the Rosary and provided specific instructions on how it should be prayed, e.g. with attention, devotion and modesty (reverence), with reflective pauses between the beads and smaller pauses between phrases of the prayers.
If one is a member of the Confraternity of the Rosary
, a spiritual association of the Catholic Church entrusted to the Dominican Order whose members promise to pray 15 decades of the rosary each week, one may receive a number of plenary indulgences throughout the year in addition to participating in the prayers, Masses and apostolic works of the Dominican Order.
after confession
. Penance in this form is not generally intended as a "punishment"; rather, it is meant to encourage reflection upon and spiritual growth from past sins.
Some forms of the Roman Catholic rosary are aimed at reparation for the sins of others. An example is the Rosary of the Holy Wounds first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by the Venerable
Sister Mary Martha Chambon
, a Roman Catholic nun of the Monastery of the Visitation Order in Chambéry
, France. This rosary is somewhat similar in structure to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
, is said on the usual rosary beads and is intended as an Act of Reparation to Jesus Christ for the sins of the world.
instructs the faithful to wear the rosary as "it will help them to love Jesus
more" and serve as a "protection from Satan
." Many households who cannot afford Christian art
work or a crucifix
often hang up a rosary in their place. George Washington Browlow, a painter, often delineated people wearing the rosary in his artwork.
Many religious orders wear the rosary as part of their habit. A rosary hanging from the belt often forms part of the Carthusian
habit. A person may be wearing a rosary as a statement of faith, to keep it handy for praying throughout the day, or to avoid losing it. Nevertheless, Canon 1171
asks individuals to treat all sacramentals
reverently.
England and Ireland were severed from Rome under Henry VIII
by 1540. In Ireland, where separate allegiance to Rome still existed, severe legal penalties were prescribed against practicing Roman Catholics. Small, easily hidden rosaries were used to avoid identification. Sometimes rather than a cross, other symbols of specific meanings were used:
These rosaries, especially the smaller ring-type, have since become known as soldiers' rosaries, because they were often taken into battle by soldiers, most notably during World War I. These single-decade rosary variations can be worn as a ring or carried easily. A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary. This is often worn as jewelry (such as Basque ring rosary
) and used through the day. Some ring rosaries use a small bearing on the inside of the ring to permit easy turning. A finger rosary is similar to a ring, but is a bit larger. Rosaries like these are used by either rotating or just holding them between a finger and thumb while praying. A hand rosary is a decade in a complete loop, with one bead separated from ten other beads, this is meant to be carried while walking or running, so as not to entangle the larger type. Credit card-sized Rosaries have also appeared, especially among members of militaries, where holes or bumps represent the prayers and the persons praying move their fingers along the bumps to count prayers.
Single-decade rosaries are also called chaplets.
and silver
to mother of pearl and Swarovski
black diamond designs. Yet most rosaries used in the world today for praying are made of simple plastic or wooden beads connected by cords or strings. Roman Catholic missionaries in Africa have reported that rosaries made of tree bark
have been used there for praying for the lack of conventional rosaries. It is widely reported that the demand for rosaries in third world countries far outweighs the supply.
Plastic beads are inexpensive to make, but not easy to assemble. Hence the major cost component for making simple rosaries is the assembly effort. A large number of inexpensive rosary beads are manufactured in Asia, especially in China and Taiwan
, although Italy has a strong manufacturing presence in moderate cost and high end rosaries.
Assembled rosaries are often purchased as retail religious items. Yet literally hundreds of millions of rosaries have been made and distributed free of charge by Roman Catholic volunteers worldwide. A number of rosary making clubs exist around the world for the purpose of making and distributing rosaries to missions, hospitals, prisons, etc. free of charge. The largest such non-profit organization in the United States is Our Lady's Rosary Makers
whose 17,000 members annually distribute roughly 7 million free rosaries. Many other volunteer-based clubs and groups exist worldwide and distribute tens of millions of free rosaries every year.
has embarked on a campaign of de-Latinization
reforms. These include the removal of the stations of the cross
, the rosary and the monstrance
from their liturgy and parishes. In response a group, the Society of Saint Josaphat
(abbreviated as SSJK) has formed, with a seminary in Lviv
. It currently has thirty students enrolled and is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X
.
Critics claim that the SSJK's liturgical practice favours severely abbreviated services and imported Roman Catholic devotions over the traditional and authentic practices of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Proponents counter that these symbols and rituals, influenced long ago by their Polish Roman Catholic
neighbors, have been practiced by Ukrainian Greek Catholics for centuries. To deny them today is to deprive the people of a part of sacred heritage which they have learned to regard as their own.
of Anglo-Catholic
churchmanship
. Many Anglo-Catholic prayer books and manuals of devotion contain the Roman Catholic Rosary along with other Marian devotions. The public services of the Anglican churches, as contained in the Book of Common Prayer
, do not directly invoke the Blessed Virgin or any other saint in prayer, and the thirty-nine Articles
of Religion reject the practice of praying to saints, but many Anglo-Catholics feel free to do so in their private devotions. Anglicans who pray the Roman Catholic Rosary tend not to use the Luminous Mysteries or the Fatima decade prayer.
Anglican prayer beads
, also known informally as the "Anglican Rosary", are a recent innovation created in the 1980s. They consist of four "weeks" (the equivalent of a decade) of seven beads each. The weeks are separated from each other by single beads termed "cruciform beads." A variety of different prayers may be said, the most common being the Jesus Prayer
.
No "power and promises" are associated with the Anglican Prayer Beads by those who pray on them. The Anglican Prayer Beads are not a Marian devotion, and there are no appointed meditations. Although it is sometimes called the "Anglican rosary," it is distinct from the Holy Rosary of Our Lady as prayed by Catholics, Anglicans, and other Western Christians.
encourages its members to pray the Rosary. However, though the Lutherans follow the same format of the Rosary as the Roman Catholics, each "Hail Mary" is replaced with the "Jesus Prayer
". The only time the "Hail Mary" is said is at the end of the Mysteries on the medal, where it is then replaced with the "Pre-Trent" version of the prayer (which omits "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death"). The final "Hail Mary" can also be replaced by reciting of either the Magnificat
, or Martin Luther
's "Evangelical praise of the Mother of God".
A number of churches around the world are named after the Rosary. These range from small churches in Poland, Brasil or Hong Kong to key basilica
s at Lourdes
and Fatima
with millions of pilgrims per year.
, often in art that depicts the Virgin Mary. Key examples include Murrillo
's Madonna with the Rosary at the Museo del Prado
in Spain, and the statute of Madonna with Rosary at the church of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan. Several Roman Catholic Marian churches
around the world have also been named after the rosary, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary
Basilica, in Rosario Argentina
, the Rosary Basilica
in Lourdes
and Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Porto Alegre
, Brazil
.
Prayer beads
Prayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Bahá'í Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of Virgin Mary in Christianity and dhikr ...
used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary. The prayers consist of repeated sequences of the Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
followed by ten prayings of the Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
and a single praying of "Glory Be to the Father
Glory Be to the Father
Gloria Patri, also known as Glory Be to the Father’ , is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies...
" and is sometimes accompanied by the Fatima Prayer; each of these sequences is known as a decade. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall the life of Jesus Christ.
The traditional 15 Mysteries of the Rosary were standardized, based on the long-standing custom, by Pope St. Pius V in the 16th century. The mysteries are grouped into three sets: the joyful mysteries, the sorrowful mysteries, and the glorious mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
announced five new optional mysteries, the luminous mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to 20.
The term has come to be used to refer to similar beads in other religions.
Theological significance
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
, which has been promoted by numerous popes, especially Leo XIII, known as "The Rosary Pope", who issued twelve encyclicals and five apostolic letters
Apostolic Letters
The term Apostolic Letters has two uses in Roman Catholicism:# The letters of the Apostles to Christian communities or those in authority, i.e. the Pauline Epistles, the Letter to the Hebrews, together with the seven General epistles of the other Apostles.# various documents issued by the Pope or...
on the rosary and added the invocation Queen of the most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto. Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
introduced the rosary into the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar
Roman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the rosary....
, celebrated on October 7. Most recently, on May 3, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
stated that the Rosary is experiencing a new springtime: "It is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother." To Benedict XVI, the rosary is a meditation on all important moments of salvation history. Before him, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
Rosarium Virginis Mariae is the title of an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, issued on October 16, 2002. This Apostlic Letter deals with the Holy Rosary and views it as compendium of the Gospel message:...
built on the "total Marian devotion" pioneered by Saint Louis de Montfort. Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
and his successors actively promoted the veneration of the Virgin in Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
and Fatima
Fátima, Portugal
Fátima is a city in Portugal famous for the Marian apparitions, recognized by the Catholic Church, that took place there in 1917. The town itself has a population of 7,756 and is located in the municipality of Ourém, in the Centro Region and Médio Tejo Subregion...
, which is credited with a new resurgence of the rosary within the Catholic Church.
The theologian Romano Guardini
Romano Guardini
Romano Guardini was a Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in 20th-century.- Life and work:...
defined the Roman Catholic emphasis on the rosary as "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ". His statement echoed the view that in Roman Catholic Mariology the path to Christ is through Mary, with Mariology being inherent in Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
; a sentiment also expressed by saints such as Louis de Montfort
Louis de Montfort
St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
who was a strong rosary advocate.
Pope Leo XIII also viewed the rosary as a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ (see the section on Rosary Pope below).
Many similar prayer practices exist in other Christian communities, each with its own set of prescribed prayers and its own form of prayer beads
Prayer beads
Prayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Bahá'í Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of Virgin Mary in Christianity and dhikr ...
, such as the prayer rope
Prayer rope
A prayer rope is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool or silk....
in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. These other devotions and their associated beads are usually referred to as "chaplets
Chaplet (prayer)
The term Chaplet is used commonly to designate Roman Catholic prayer forms which use prayer beads, but are not necessarily related to the Rosary. Some of these chaplets have a strong Marian connotation, others are more directly related to Jesus or the Saints. Chaplets are considered "personal...
". The rosary is sometimes used by other Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, especially in Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
and the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
. Other Protestants, however, such as Baptists and Presbyterians, do not use it and actively discourage their members from using this method of prayer.
Devotions and spirituality
Devotion to the rosary is one of the most notable features of popular Catholic spiritualitySpirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
placed the rosary at the very center of Christian spirituality and called it "among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation."
Saints and popes have emphasized the meditative and contemplative elements of the rosary and provided specific teachings for how the rosary should be prayed, for instance the need for "focus, respect, reverence and purity of intention" during rosary recitations and contemplations.
From the sixteenth century onwards, rosary recitations often involved "picture texts" that assisted meditation. Such imagery continues to be used to depict the mysteries of the rosary. Saints have stressed the importance of meditation and contemplation. Scriptural meditations on the rosary build on the Christian tradition of Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina
In Christianity, Lectio Divina is a traditional Catholic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's Word...
, (literary divine reading) as a way of using the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
to start a conversation between the soul and Christ. Padre Pio, who was devoted to the rosary, said: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him."
References to the rosary have been part of a number of reported Marian Apparitions
Marian apparitions
A Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition...
spanning two centuries. The reported messages from these apparitions have influenced the spread of rosary devotions worldwide. In Quamquam Pluries
Quamquam Pluries
Quamquam Pluries is an encyclical on Saint Joseph by Pope Leo XIII. It was issued on August 15, 1889 in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.As a background, the pope stated the challenges facing the Church, such as the growing depravity of morals in the young generation:Now, Venerable Brethren, you know...
Pope Leo XIII related rosary devotions to Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
and granted indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
s for adding a prayer to St. Joseph to the Rosary during the month of October.
History
There are differing views on the history of the rosary. According to tradition, the rosary was given to Saint DominicSaint Dominic
Saint Dominic , also known as Dominic of Osma, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán was the founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers , a Catholic religious order...
in an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1214 in the church of Prouille
Prouille
Prouille or Prouilhe , "cradle of the Dominicans", where the first Dominican house, a convent, was founded in late 1206 or early 1207, is a hamlet in Languedoc, France, lying between Fanjeaux and Bram , at the point where the road from Castelnaudary to Limoux crosses the road from Bram to...
. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the rosary....
. In the 15th century it was promoted by Blessed Alanus de Rupe
Alanus de Rupe
Alanus de Rupe ; was a Roman Catholic theologian noted for his views on prayer. Some writers claim him as a native of Germany, others of Belgium; but his disciple, Cornelius Sneek, assures us that he was born in Brittany...
(aka Alain de la Roche or Saint Alan of the Rock), a learned Dominican priest and theologian, who established the "15 rosary promises" and started many rosary confraternities
Confraternity of the Rosary
The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary is a Roman Catholic Archconfraternity or spiritual association, under the care and guidance of the Dominicans, the members of which strive to pray the entire Holy Rosary weekly.-History:...
. However, most scholarly research suggests a more gradual and organic development of the rosary.
The practice of meditation during the praying of the Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
s is attributed to Dominic of Prussia
Dominic of Prussia
Dominic of Prussia was a Carthusian monk.Born in Danzig , Prussia, Dominic studied at the University of Krakow. To Dominic is attributed the practice of meditation during the recitation of the Hail Marys, which he called the "Life of Jesus Rosary". He died at St. Alban's Charterhouse near...
(1382–1460), a Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, who called it "Life of Jesus Rosary" The German monk from Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
added a sentence to each of the 50 Hail Marys, using quotes from scriptures. In 1569, the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices
Consueverunt Romani Pontifices
Consueverunt Romani Pontifices is a papal bull by Pope Pius V issued on September 17th, 1569 on the rosary. This papal bull officially established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church....
by the Dominican Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
officially established the devotion to the rosary in the Catholic Church.
From the 16th to the early 20th century, the structure of the rosary remained essentially unchanged. There were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. In the 20th century the addition of the Fatima Prayer
Fatima Prayer
The Fátima Prayer or Invocation is a common version of the Jesus Prayer used by Catholics. It, along with four other "Fátima prayers", originated during the Marian apparitions at Fátima, Portugal in 1917...
to the end of each decade became more common. There were no other changes until 2002 when John Paul II instituted five optional new Luminous Mysteries.
Approved form
- A sign of the crossSign of the crossThe Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
on the Crucifix and then the Apostles' CreedApostles' CreedThe Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
; - An Our Father on the first large bead;
- A Hail MaryHail MaryThe Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
on each of the three small beads with the following intentions (the theological virtues):- For the increase of faith
- For the increase of hope
- For the increase of charity
- A Glory Be to the FatherGlory Be to the FatherGloria Patri, also known as Glory Be to the Father’ , is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies...
; - Announce the mystery
- An "Our Father" on the large bead
- A "Hail Mary" on each of the adjacent ten small beads;
- A "Glory Be to the Father";
- (The Fatima Prayer is commonly added here, as a pious addition: "O My Jesus, Forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven. Especially those most in need of thy mercy.")
- Again an Our Father on the next large bead, followed by ten Hail Marys on the small beads, the Glory Be to the Father, (and Fatima PrayerFatima PrayerThe Fátima Prayer or Invocation is a common version of the Jesus Prayer used by Catholics. It, along with four other "Fátima prayers", originated during the Marian apparitions at Fátima, Portugal in 1917...
, cf. below) for each of the following decades; - In conclusion, Hail Holy Queen and a sign of the cross.
Variations and common pious additions
Many people add a praying of the Fatima Decade Prayer at the end of each Decade. Some add the Miraculous MedalMiraculous Medal
The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a medal created by Saint Catherine Labouré following a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary...
prayer "O Mary, conceived without sin..." or the Fatima Ave refrain ("Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!"). Others add a praying of a pious Eucharistic prayer "O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine" at the end of each decade in honor of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in the Blessed Sacrament
Blessed Sacrament
The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...
. In the practice of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, they have an additional decade for the intentions of the students or the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A pious German custom is to insert a phrase in the middle of each Hail Mary (after "... Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus ... "), which refers to the specific mystery being meditated upon.
This custom was incorporated into St. Louis de Montfort's second method out of his five Methods of Praying the Rosary
Methods of praying the rosary
Five methods of praying the rosary are presented within the works of Saint Louis de Montfort, a French Roman Catholic priest and writer of the early 18th century. Montfort was an early proponent of Mariology, and much of his work is devoted to the subjects of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the rosary...
.
After Hail, Holy Queen many people add the prayer "O God, by Your Only Begotten Son...", the prayer to archangel Michael, prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father and finish with the Litany of Loreto.
In the practice of the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, the opening prayers of the rosary mirror the opening of the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
:
- In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
- Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.
- Blessed art Thou among women, and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus.
- O Lord, open my lips.
- And my mouth will proclaim Your praise.
- Incline Your aid to me, O God.
- O Lord, make haste to help me.
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Mysteries of the rosary
The Mysteries of the rosary follow the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Ascension. They are meant as meditations on the life of Christ. The meditations are known as the Joyful (sometimes Joyous) Mysteries; the Sorrowful Mysteries; and the Glorious Mysteries. Each of these Mysteries has within it five different stages of Christ's life to be contemplated. Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 2002), recommended an additional set called the Luminous Mysteries (or the "Mysteries of Light"). Traditional Catholics who prefer the original fifteen mysteries point to the belief that the Rosary is Mary's Psalter, containing 150 Hail Marys in its body for the 150 Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
. Moreover, traditional Catholics sometimes do not pray the Luminous Mysteries of John Paul II because they assert that the Holy Rosary with its fifteen mysteries was instituted directly by the Mother of God. Traditional Catholics hold that if Mary instituted 150 Hail Mary's with fifteen distinct mysteries, then not even a Pope can "add" to what she commanded - just as a Pope could not also "add" extra Psalms to the Bible. This belief is also based on the vision of Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
, which speak of 150 Hail Mary's and "one third of the Rosary" being only five decades. The Luminous Mysteries bring the total to 200 Hail Mary's, which would contradict Mary's words. Moreover, advocates of the traditional fifteen decade Rosary note that it parallels Saint Paul's threefold progression of his argument in Philippians 2: 5-11, namely the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Exaltation of Christ corresponding to the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries.
Various other "mysteries" exist; in the German-speaking countries a fifth set of mysteries had become more common before the 1920s, the so-called "Comforting Mysteries", which have an eschatological dimension, meditating Christ as Universal King.
Joyful Mysteries
- The AnnunciationAnnunciationThe Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
. Fruit of the Mystery: HumilityHumilityHumility is the quality of being modest, and respectful. Humility, in various interpretations, is widely seen as a virtue in many religious and philosophical traditions, being connected with notions of transcendent unity with the universe or the divine, and of egolessness.-Term:The term "humility"... - The VisitationVisitation (Catholic)The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, . It is also the name of a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West and 30 March in the East.- Event :Mary visits her relative Elizabeth; they are both pregnant...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of Neighbors - The NativityNativity of JesusThe Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty (poor in spirit), Detachment from the things of the world, Contempt of Riches, Love of the Poor - The Presentation of Jesus at the TemplePresentation of Jesus at the TempleThe Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Purity, Obedience - The Finding of the Child Jesus in the TempleFinding in the TempleThe Finding in the Temple, also called "Christ among the Doctors" or the Disputation , was an episode in the early life of Jesus depicted in the Gospel of Luke. It is the only event of the later childhood of Jesus mentioned in a gospel.The episode is only described in...
. Fruit of the Mystery: True Wisdom and True Conversion, Piety, Joy of Finding Jesus
Luminous Mysteries
- The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Fruit of the Mystery: Openness to the Holy Spirit, the Healer.
- The Wedding at CanaMarriage at CanaIn Christianity, the transformation of water into wine at the Marriage at Cana or Wedding at Cana is the first miracle of Jesus in the Gospel of John....
. Fruit of the Mystery: To Jesus through Mary. The understanding of the ability to manifest-through faith. - Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of GodKingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Trust in God (Call of Conversion to Messiah) - The TransfigurationTransfiguration of JesusThe Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....
. Fruit of the Mystery: Desire for Holiness - The Institution of the EucharistLast SupperThe Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Adoration
Sorrowful Mysteries
- The Agony in the GardenAgony in the GardenThe Agony in the Garden refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest. Jesus' struggle praying and discussing with God, before accepting his sacrifice, before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane also denotes a state of mind - agony.-Scriptural...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin, Uniformity with the will of God - The Scourging at the PillarFlagellation of ChristThe Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Mortification, Purity - The Crowning with ThornsCrown of ThornsIn Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus Christ before his crucifixion...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Contempt of the world, Courage - The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
- The CrucifixionCrucifixion of JesusThe crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Salvation, Forgiveness
Glorious Mysteries
- The ResurrectionDeath and Resurrection of JesusThe Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith - The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope and desire for ascension to Heaven
- The Descent of the Holy SpiritPentecostPentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Holy Wisdom to know the truth and share with everyone, Divine Charity, Worship of the Holy Spirit - The Assumption of MaryAssumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
. Fruit of the Mystery: Grace of a Happy Death and True Devotion towards Mary - The CoronationCoronation of the VirginThe Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove,...
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance and Crown of Glory, Trust in Mary's Intercession
Days of praying
The full rosary consists of praying either all 3 traditional sets of mysteries (Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious) or the 3 traditional sets of mysteries plus the Luminous mysteries. One can pray the complete rosary (i.e. all 15 or 20 mysteries) each day. When praying just one set of mysteries per day, traditionally the prayers take the following format:|-
| Sunday >
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
: The Joyful Mysteries
Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
to Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is a season of the Christian liturgical calendar, in particular the calendar of the Roman rite and related liturgical rites. The English name is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum...
, Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
to Sunday before Advent: The Glorious Mysteries
>-
| Monday
| Tuesday
| Wednesday
| Thursday
| Friday
| Saturday
Rosary Novena
The "54-day Rosary Novena" is an uninterrupted series of Rosaries in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, reported as a revelation by Fortuna Agrelli of Our Lady of Pompeii at Naples in 1884. For thirteen months Fortuna Agrelli had endured dreadful sufferings and torturous cramps; she had been given up by the most celebrated physicians. On February 16, 1884, the afflicted girl and her relatives commenced a novena of Rosaries. The Queen of the Holy Rosary favored her with an apparition on March 3. Mary, sitting upon a high throne, surrounded by luminous figures, held the divine Child on her lap, and in her hand a Rosary. The Virgin Mother and the holy Infant were clad in gold-embroidered garments. They were accompanied by St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The throne was profusely decorated with flowers; the beauty of Our Lady was marvelous. Blessed Virgin said: "Child, thou has invoked me by various titles and hast always obtained favors from me. Now, since thou hast called me by that title so pleasing to me, 'Queen of the Holy Rosary,' I can no longer refuse the favor thou dost petition; for this name is most precious and dear to me. Make three novenas, and thou shalt obtain all."Once more the Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared to her and said, " Whoever desires to obtain favors from me should make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary, and three novenas in thanksgiving."The Novena consists of five decades of the Rosary each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for twenty-seven days in thanksgiving, whether or not the request has been granted.The meditations vary from day to day. Now with the new mysteries the table is changed. On the first day meditate on the Joyful Mysteries; on the second day the Light Mysteries; on the third day the sorrowful Mysteries; on the fourth day meditate again on the glorious Mysteries; and so on throughout the fifty-four days.
Rosary beads
The rosary provides a physical method of keeping count of the number of Hail MaryHail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
s said. The fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to keep track of the count mentally, the mind is more able to meditate on the mysteries. A five decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade), with additional large beads before each decade. The Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
is said on the ten beads within a decade, while the Our Father
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
is said on the large bead before each decade. A new mystery is meditated upon at each of the large beads. Some rosaries, particularly those used by religious orders, contain 15 decades, corresponding to the traditional 15 mysteries of the rosary. Both five and 15 decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand, which starts with a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
followed by one large, three small, and one large beads before connecting to the rest of the rosary.
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
, an Our Father
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
at the first large bead, three Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
s on the next three beads (for faith, hope and charity
1 Corinthians 13
Chapter 13 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, written by Paul the apostle covers the subject of love, principally the love that Christians should have for everyone. In the original Greek, the word αγαπη agape is used throughout...
), then a Glory be to the Father
Glory Be to the Father
Gloria Patri, also known as Glory Be to the Father’ , is a doxology, a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian liturgies...
on the next large bead. The praying of the decades then follows. Although counting the prayers on a string of beads is customary, the prayers of the rosary do not actually require a set of beads, but can be said using any type of counting device, by counting on one's fingers, or by counting by oneself without any device at all. Since the beginning of the 21st century, some people have begun to pray the rosary on their iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
s or by watching rosary meditations on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
or other websites.
The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious materials including coral
Coral (precious)
Precious coral or red coral is the common name given to Corallium rubrum and several related species of marine coral. The distinguishing characteristic of precious corals is their durable and intensely colored red or pink skeleton, which is used for making jewelry.-Habitat:Red corals grow on rocky...
, crystal, silver, and gold. Rosaries are sometimes made from the seeds of the "rosary pea" or "bead tree". Today, the vast majority of rosary beads are made of glass, plastic, or wood. Early rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often made as a series of chain-linked beads. Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers is a non-profit apostolate in Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. Its 17,000 members, in the U.S. and other countries, make and distribute roughly 7 million cord and chain rosaries annually for missions around the...
produce some 7 million rosaries annually that are distributed to those in economic and spiritual need.
It is especially common for beads to be made of material with some special significance, such as jet from the shrine of St. James at Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, or olive seeds from the Garden of Gethsemane. Beads are sometimes made to enclose sacred relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s, or drops of holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
. A set of blessed rosary beads is a sacramental
Sacramentals
Sacramentals are material objects, things or actions set apart or blessed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Churches, and Old Catholic Churches to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these...
.
In addition to a string of beads the rosary comes in other forms for ease of use. A ring rosary is a finger ring with eleven knobs on it, ten round ones and one crucifix. A rosary bracelet is one with ten beads and often a cross or medal as well. The most modern form is the rosary card. A rosary card is either one with a "handle" that moves like a slide rule
Slide rule
The slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
to count the decade, or it has a whole rosary with bumps similar to Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
Rosary beads are at times used to say Roman Catholic rosary based prayers
Rosary based prayers
Rosary-based prayers are mostly Roman Catholic prayers said on a set of rosary beads. These prayers recite specific word sequences on different parts of the rosary beads. They may be directed at Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary or The Father...
which do not primarily involve the Hail Mary and the mysteries of the rosary. Examples include the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion based on the visions of Jesus reported by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.Faustina...
introduced by Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Rosary of the Holy Wounds introduced by the Venerable
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
Sister Mary Martha Chambon. These prayers often use rosary beads, but their words and format do not correspond to the usual mysteries. Both Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Venerable Sister Mary Martha Chambon attributed these prayers to Jesus as part of their visions of Jesus Christ
Visions of Jesus and Mary
Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...
.
Rosary and Scapular
Lúcia Santos
Lúcia de Jesus dos Santos – Sister Mary Lucy of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, better known as Sister Lúcia of Fátima – was a Roman Catholic Discalced Carmelite nun from Portugal...
, one of the three children who reported the Marian apparitions
Marian apparitions
A Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition...
of Our Lady of Fátima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
in 1917 and later the Pontevedra apparitions
Pontevedra apparitions
The Pontevedra apparitions are the Marian apparitions that Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Our Lady of Fátima, reported receiving while living in a Dorothean convent in Spain.-First apparition:...
in 1925, Fátima, Portugal and Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. In these apparitions, the Virgin Mary reportedly called herself The Lady of the Rosary and in one of the final Fátima appearances on October 13, 1917 had a Brown Scapular in one hand and a Rosary in the other. The Lady of the Rosary, reportedly encouraged the praying of the Rosary and the wearing of the Brown scapular.
Throughout history, the Rosary and the Scapular
Scapular
The term scapular as used today refers to two specific, yet related, Christian Sacramentals, namely the monastic and devotional scapulars, although both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular"....
as Roman Catholic Sacramentals
Sacramentals
Sacramentals are material objects, things or actions set apart or blessed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Churches, and Old Catholic Churches to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these...
for devotions
Catholic devotions
A Roman Catholic devotion is a gift of oneself, or one's activities to God. It is a willingness and desire to dedicate oneself to serve God; either in terms of prayers or in terms of a set of pious acts such as the adoration of God or the veneration of the saints or the Virgin Mary.Roman Catholic...
and prayers have been supported, encouraged and linked by a number of Catholic figures such as popes, saints and cardinals and specific promises
Catholic beliefs on the power of prayer
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting St. John Damascene, "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.". Humility is the foundation of prayer.....
and indulgences have been associated with them.
Following their joint growth in the 18th and 19th centuries, by the early 20th century the Rosary and the devotional Scapular had gained such a strong following among Catholics worldwide that the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
of 1914 stated: "Like the Rosary, the Brown Scapular has become the badge of the devout Catholic." In the mid 20th century, the United States "Scapular Magazine" helped enroll one million Americans to pray the Rosary based on the Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
messages. The Rosary and the devotional scapular continue to be linked in the 21st century.
Rosary Pope
One of the forces that drove the spread of the rosary during the 19th century among Roman Catholics was the influence of the Rosary Pope, a title given to Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
(1878–1903) because he issued a record twelve encyclicals and five Apostolic Letters on the rosary, instituted the Catholic custom of daily rosary prayer during the month of October, and in 1883 added the invocation Queen of the most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto.
Leo XIII, the Rosary Pope, explained the importance of the rosary as the one road to God, from the father to the Son, to his Mother, and from her to the human race. He emphasized that no human creature can change this and therefore there exists only one road for the faithful, to the mother and from her to Christ and through Christ to the father. The rosary is a vital means to participate in the life of Mary and to find the way to Christ. This emphasis on the path through Mary to Christ (which was also a basis for some of Louis de Montfort
Louis de Montfort
St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
's writings) has since been a key direction in Roman Catholic Mariology, with Mariology being viewed as inherent in Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
, and the rosary paving that path.
Rosary as a family prayer was supported by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
in his encyclical Ingruentium Malorum
Ingruentium Malorum
Ingruentium Malorum is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII on reciting the rosary, issued on September 15, 1951, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary.-Contents:...
: "The custom of the family praying of the Holy Rosary is a most efficacious means.
Power and promises
The rosary has been featured in the writings of Roman Catholic figures from saintSaint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s to pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s and continues to be mentioned in reported Marian apparitions
Marian apparitions
A Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition...
, with a number of promises attributed to the power of the rosary.
As early as the 15th century, through Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic , also known as Dominic of Osma, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán was the founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers , a Catholic religious order...
and Blessed
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
Alan de Rupe the Blessed Virgin Mary made 15 specific promises to Christians who pray the rosary.
The Fifteen rosary promises
Fifteen rosary promises
A Roman Catholic legend states that through Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan de Rupe the Blessed Virgin Mary made fifteen specific promises to Christians who pray the rosary. The fifteen stated promises range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven...
range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven. In support of this statement Cardinal Patrick Joseph Hayes of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
provided his imprimatur
Imprimatur
An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
to this effect.
In the 18th century, the French priest Louis de Montfort
Louis de Montfort
St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
elaborated on the importance of the Rosary and its power in his widely read book the Secret of the Rosary
Secret of the Rosary
The Secret of the Rosary is a book about the Holy Rosary written by Saint Louis de Montfort a French priest and Catholic saint who died in 1716. The English translation of the book bears the Imprimatur of Archbishop Thomas E...
. He emphasized the power of the Rosary and provided specific instructions on how it should be prayed, e.g. with attention, devotion and modesty (reverence), with reflective pauses between the beads and smaller pauses between phrases of the prayers.
If one is a member of the Confraternity of the Rosary
Confraternity of the Rosary
The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary is a Roman Catholic Archconfraternity or spiritual association, under the care and guidance of the Dominicans, the members of which strive to pray the entire Holy Rosary weekly.-History:...
, a spiritual association of the Catholic Church entrusted to the Dominican Order whose members promise to pray 15 decades of the rosary each week, one may receive a number of plenary indulgences throughout the year in addition to participating in the prayers, Masses and apostolic works of the Dominican Order.
Penance or reparation
Praying the rosary may be prescribed by priests as a form of penancePenance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
after confession
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
. Penance in this form is not generally intended as a "punishment"; rather, it is meant to encourage reflection upon and spiritual growth from past sins.
Some forms of the Roman Catholic rosary are aimed at reparation for the sins of others. An example is the Rosary of the Holy Wounds first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by the Venerable
Venerable
The Venerable is used as a style or epithet in several Christian churches. It is also the common English-language translation of a number of Buddhist titles.-Roman Catholic:...
Sister Mary Martha Chambon
Marie Martha Chambon
Marie Martha Chambon was a lay Roman Catholic nun known for introducing the Rosary of the Holy Wounds.- Biography :She was a member of the Monastery of the Visitation Order who lived in Chambéry, France...
, a Roman Catholic nun of the Monastery of the Visitation Order in Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, France. This rosary is somewhat similar in structure to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion based on the visions of Jesus reported by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." She was a Polish sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy and canonized as a Catholic saint in 2000.Faustina...
, is said on the usual rosary beads and is intended as an Act of Reparation to Jesus Christ for the sins of the world.
Wearing the Rosary
One Catholic catechismCatechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
instructs the faithful to wear the rosary as "it will help them to love Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
more" and serve as a "protection from Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
." Many households who cannot afford Christian art
Christian art
Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of...
work or a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
often hang up a rosary in their place. George Washington Browlow, a painter, often delineated people wearing the rosary in his artwork.
Many religious orders wear the rosary as part of their habit. A rosary hanging from the belt often forms part of the Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
habit. A person may be wearing a rosary as a statement of faith, to keep it handy for praying throughout the day, or to avoid losing it. Nevertheless, Canon 1171
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
asks individuals to treat all sacramentals
Sacramentals
Sacramentals are material objects, things or actions set apart or blessed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Churches, and Old Catholic Churches to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these...
reverently.
Single-decade rosaries
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
by 1540. In Ireland, where separate allegiance to Rome still existed, severe legal penalties were prescribed against practicing Roman Catholics. Small, easily hidden rosaries were used to avoid identification. Sometimes rather than a cross, other symbols of specific meanings were used:
- Hammer: nails of the cross;
- Nails: crucifixion;
- Spear: wound;
- Halo: crown of thorns;
- Cords: scourging;
- Chalice: Last Supper;
- Rooster: crowing/resurrection.
These rosaries, especially the smaller ring-type, have since become known as soldiers' rosaries, because they were often taken into battle by soldiers, most notably during World War I. These single-decade rosary variations can be worn as a ring or carried easily. A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface, representing one decade of a rosary. This is often worn as jewelry (such as Basque ring rosary
Basque ring rosary
A Basque ring rosary is a typical Basque rosary.- Traditional Basque rosary :The rosary is a circular wooden piece, 4 cm in diameter with a hole in the middle to introduce a finger....
) and used through the day. Some ring rosaries use a small bearing on the inside of the ring to permit easy turning. A finger rosary is similar to a ring, but is a bit larger. Rosaries like these are used by either rotating or just holding them between a finger and thumb while praying. A hand rosary is a decade in a complete loop, with one bead separated from ten other beads, this is meant to be carried while walking or running, so as not to entangle the larger type. Credit card-sized Rosaries have also appeared, especially among members of militaries, where holes or bumps represent the prayers and the persons praying move their fingers along the bumps to count prayers.
Single-decade rosaries are also called chaplets.
Manufacturing and distribution
Rosaries are in rare cases made of expensive materials from goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
to mother of pearl and Swarovski
Swarovski
Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...
black diamond designs. Yet most rosaries used in the world today for praying are made of simple plastic or wooden beads connected by cords or strings. Roman Catholic missionaries in Africa have reported that rosaries made of tree bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
have been used there for praying for the lack of conventional rosaries. It is widely reported that the demand for rosaries in third world countries far outweighs the supply.
Plastic beads are inexpensive to make, but not easy to assemble. Hence the major cost component for making simple rosaries is the assembly effort. A large number of inexpensive rosary beads are manufactured in Asia, especially in China and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, although Italy has a strong manufacturing presence in moderate cost and high end rosaries.
Assembled rosaries are often purchased as retail religious items. Yet literally hundreds of millions of rosaries have been made and distributed free of charge by Roman Catholic volunteers worldwide. A number of rosary making clubs exist around the world for the purpose of making and distributing rosaries to missions, hospitals, prisons, etc. free of charge. The largest such non-profit organization in the United States is Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers is a non-profit apostolate in Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. Its 17,000 members, in the U.S. and other countries, make and distribute roughly 7 million cord and chain rosaries annually for missions around the...
whose 17,000 members annually distribute roughly 7 million free rosaries. Many other volunteer-based clubs and groups exist worldwide and distribute tens of millions of free rosaries every year.
Controversy in the Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic Church
In recent years, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchUkrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
has embarked on a campaign of de-Latinization
Liturgical Latinisation
Liturgical Latinisation, also known as Latinisation, is the process by which liturgical and other aspects of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were altered to resemble more closely the practices of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church...
reforms. These include the removal of the stations of the cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
, the rosary and the monstrance
Monstrance
A monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican churches to display the consecrated Eucharistic host, during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Created in the medieval period for the public display of relics, the monstrance today is...
from their liturgy and parishes. In response a group, the Society of Saint Josaphat
Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat
The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych is a society of traditionalist priests and seminarians originating from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which is led by the excommunicated priest Basil Kovpak. It is based in Riasne, Lviv, Western Ukraine...
(abbreviated as SSJK) has formed, with a seminary in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
. It currently has thirty students enrolled and is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X
Society of St. Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international Traditionalist Catholic organisation, founded in 1970 by the French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre...
.
Critics claim that the SSJK's liturgical practice favours severely abbreviated services and imported Roman Catholic devotions over the traditional and authentic practices of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Proponents counter that these symbols and rituals, influenced long ago by their Polish Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Poland
Ever since Poland officially adopted Latin Christianity in 966, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country....
neighbors, have been practiced by Ukrainian Greek Catholics for centuries. To deny them today is to deprive the people of a part of sacred heritage which they have learned to regard as their own.
Anglicanism
The use of the Roman Catholic Rosary is also fairly common among AnglicansAnglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
of Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
churchmanship
Churchmanship
Within Anglicanism the term churchmanship is sometimes used to refer to distinct understandings of church doctrine and liturgical practice by members of the Church of England and other churches of the Anglican communion...
. Many Anglo-Catholic prayer books and manuals of devotion contain the Roman Catholic Rosary along with other Marian devotions. The public services of the Anglican churches, as contained in the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
, do not directly invoke the Blessed Virgin or any other saint in prayer, and the thirty-nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...
of Religion reject the practice of praying to saints, but many Anglo-Catholics feel free to do so in their private devotions. Anglicans who pray the Roman Catholic Rosary tend not to use the Luminous Mysteries or the Fatima decade prayer.
Anglican prayer beads
Anglican prayer beads
Anglican prayer beads, also known as the Anglican rosary or Christian prayer beads, is a loop of strung beads which Anglicans, as well as Christians of other denominations, use as a focus for prayer. This particular way of using prayer beads was developed in the mid-1980s by Episcopalians in the...
, also known informally as the "Anglican Rosary", are a recent innovation created in the 1980s. They consist of four "weeks" (the equivalent of a decade) of seven beads each. The weeks are separated from each other by single beads termed "cruciform beads." A variety of different prayers may be said, the most common being the Jesus Prayer
Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer or "The Prayer" is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use...
.
No "power and promises" are associated with the Anglican Prayer Beads by those who pray on them. The Anglican Prayer Beads are not a Marian devotion, and there are no appointed meditations. Although it is sometimes called the "Anglican rosary," it is distinct from the Holy Rosary of Our Lady as prayed by Catholics, Anglicans, and other Western Christians.
Lutheranism
The Lutheran ChurchLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
encourages its members to pray the Rosary. However, though the Lutherans follow the same format of the Rosary as the Roman Catholics, each "Hail Mary" is replaced with the "Jesus Prayer
Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer or "The Prayer" is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use...
". The only time the "Hail Mary" is said is at the end of the Mysteries on the medal, where it is then replaced with the "Pre-Trent" version of the prayer (which omits "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death"). The final "Hail Mary" can also be replaced by reciting of either the Magnificat
Magnificat
The Magnificat — also known as the Song of Mary or the Canticle of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn...
, or Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's "Evangelical praise of the Mother of God".
Churches named for the Rosary
- For a larger gallery of church images, please see: Rosary church gallery.
A number of churches around the world are named after the Rosary. These range from small churches in Poland, Brasil or Hong Kong to key basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
s at Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
and Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
with millions of pilgrims per year.
Gallery of Rosary in Marian art
Since the 17th century, the Rosary began to appear as an element in key pieces of Roman Catholic Marian artRoman Catholic Marian art
The Blessed Virgin Mary has been one of the major subjects of Christian Art, Catholic Art and Western Art for many centuries. Literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of...
, often in art that depicts the Virgin Mary. Key examples include Murrillo
Bartolomé Estéban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...
's Madonna with the Rosary at the Museo del Prado
Museo del Prado
The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of...
in Spain, and the statute of Madonna with Rosary at the church of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan. Several Roman Catholic Marian churches
Roman Catholic Marian churches
Throughout history, Roman Catholics have built churches to venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today, a large number of Roman Catholic churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin exist on all continents...
around the world have also been named after the rosary, e.g. Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Rosary is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in relation to the rosary....
Basilica, in Rosario Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the Rosary Basilica
Rosary Basilica
The Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary.-History:...
in Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
and Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
See also
- The AngelusAngelusThe Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ The Angelus (Latin for "angel") is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus...
- Anglican devotionsAnglican devotionsAnglican devotions are private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians to promote spiritual growth and communion with God. Among members of the Anglican Communion, private devotional habits vary widely, depending on personal preference and on their affiliation with low-church or...
- Buddhist prayer beadsBuddhist prayer beadsBuddhist prayer beads are a traditional tool used to count the number of times a mantra is recited whilst meditating. They are similar to other forms of prayer beads used in various world religions; thus some call this tool the Buddhist rosary.-Mala:...
- Catholic devotionsCatholic devotionsA Roman Catholic devotion is a gift of oneself, or one's activities to God. It is a willingness and desire to dedicate oneself to serve God; either in terms of prayers or in terms of a set of pious acts such as the adoration of God or the veneration of the saints or the Virgin Mary.Roman Catholic...
- Confraternity of the RosaryConfraternity of the RosaryThe Confraternity of the Holy Rosary is a Roman Catholic Archconfraternity or spiritual association, under the care and guidance of the Dominicans, the members of which strive to pray the entire Holy Rosary weekly.-History:...
- Ecumenical Miracle RosaryEcumenical Miracle RosaryThe Ecumenical Miracle Rosary or "ecumenical rosary" is derived from the Roman Catholic rosary and was invented by Dennis Di Mauro, a Lutheran layperson and Theology PhD student at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC...
for all Christians - Ingruentium MalorumIngruentium MalorumIngruentium Malorum is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII on reciting the rosary, issued on September 15, 1951, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary.-Contents:...
, encyclical by Pope Pius XII (on reciting the rosary) - Japa malaJapa malaA Japa mala or mala is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity...
, Asian prayer beads - Juzu, Asian prayer beads
- Legion of MaryLegion of MaryThe Legion of Mary is an association of Catholic laity who serve the Church on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, Ireland, as a Roman Catholic Marian Movement by layman Frank Duff. Today between active and auxiliary members there are in excess of 10 million members worldwide making it...
- Methods of praying the rosaryMethods of praying the rosaryFive methods of praying the rosary are presented within the works of Saint Louis de Montfort, a French Roman Catholic priest and writer of the early 18th century. Montfort was an early proponent of Mariology, and much of his work is devoted to the subjects of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the rosary...
- Our Lady's Rosary MakersOur Lady's Rosary MakersOur Lady's Rosary Makers is a non-profit apostolate in Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. Its 17,000 members, in the U.S. and other countries, make and distribute roughly 7 million cord and chain rosaries annually for missions around the...
- Prayer beadsPrayer beadsPrayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Anglicanism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Bahá'í Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of Virgin Mary in Christianity and dhikr ...
- Prayer ropePrayer ropeA prayer rope is a loop made up of complex knots, usually out of wool or silk....
- Rosarium Virginis MariaeRosarium Virginis MariaeRosarium Virginis Mariae is the title of an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, issued on October 16, 2002. This Apostlic Letter deals with the Holy Rosary and views it as compendium of the Gospel message:...
, apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II - Rosary-based prayersRosary based prayersRosary-based prayers are mostly Roman Catholic prayers said on a set of rosary beads. These prayers recite specific word sequences on different parts of the rosary beads. They may be directed at Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary or The Father...
- Rosary Pope (Pope Leo XIII)
- Rule of the TheotokosRule of the TheotokosThe Rule of the Theotokos is an Eastern Orthodox Christian prayer based on praying Angelic salutation 150 times. This prayer is similar to the prayer of rosary in the West....
- Saint Louis de MontfortLouis de MontfortSt. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
- Secret of the RosarySecret of the RosaryThe Secret of the Rosary is a book about the Holy Rosary written by Saint Louis de Montfort a French priest and Catholic saint who died in 1716. The English translation of the book bears the Imprimatur of Archbishop Thomas E...
- Secret of the Rosary
- Tasbeeh, for Islamic prayer beads
Further reading
- Beads and Prayers: The Rosary in History and Devotion by John D Miller, Continuum, 2001, ISBN O860123200.
- Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: A Consideration of the Rosary by J. Neville Ward (Doubleday, 1973); revised as Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy: Meditations on the Rosary (Seabury Classics, 2005) - an ecumenical Methodist minister's book on the Rosary. ISBN 1-59628-012-3
- Rosary of Our Lady of Sorrows, Friar Servants of Mary, Chicago, Illinois, 1990.
- "Stories of the Rose: The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages" by Anne Winston-Allen (1997, Pennsylvania State University Press) - the most current source in English on the history and development of the Rosary in its earliest years. ISBN 0-271-01631-0
- The Lourdes Pilgrim, by Oliver Todd, Matthew James Publishing, 2003, p. 41.
- God Alone: The Collected Writings of St. Louis Marie De Montfort, by Saint Louis de Montfort, Montfort Publications, 1995 ISBN 0-910984-55-7
- Pope Pius XII Rosary encyclical Ingruentium Malorum on the Vatican website
- Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Marialis Cultus, To Honour Mary, 2 February 1974.
- Pope John Paul II Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Vatican website
External links
- "Rosary of the Virgin Mary" from the Vatican website, in English and in Latin.
- "Rosary" from the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Handy PDF Downloadable Rosary Pamphlets The Traditional 15 Mysteries.
- How to recite the Holy Rosary Printer-friendly PDF document (includes prayers, bead use, mysteries) -
- PDF Rosary Downloads with Meditations Traditional 15 plus 5 Luminous Mysteries. -
- Rosary Prayer Guide: How to Pray the Rosary -
- Instructions on how to join the Rosary Confraternity, how to pray the Rosary, history -
- Guide to Making a Knot Rosary -
- Perpetual Web Rosary A continuing and interactive online Rosary -
- Come Pray the Rosary A perpetual, interactive online Rosary with video
- Ecumenical Miracle Rosary