Rosary History

The History of the Rosary

Rosary The prayers of the Rosary are vocal and mental, centering on several repeated prayers and other prayers/declarations recited only once. The mental prayer focuses on the meditation of the chief mysteries of the life, death, and glory of Jesus Christ, the life of the Virgin Mary, and our redemption.

The story of the Rosary is as old as the Church. The complete Rosary consists of twenty mysteries: five "Joyful Mysteries," five "Luminous Mysteries," five "Sorrowful Mysteries," and five "Glorious Mysteries." With each "Hail Mary, it is a belief that the one praying offers the gift of a "rose" of prayer to Mary in her role as the Blessed Mother of the children of God (Revelation 12:13-17) and for her son, our Savior, Jesus. This form of prayer, therefore, came to be known as a rosarium, a rose garden of prayer. There are many different ways to pray the Rosary, but most often, six prayers are offered: "The Apostle's Creed," "The Lord's Prayer," the "Hail Mary," the "Glory Be," "The Prayer of Fatima," and the "Hail Holy Queen." Sometimes, a seventh prayer is added with "The Prayer of St. Michael the Archangel.

The Apostles' Creed (Symbolum Aposticum)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day, He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from thence, He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

The Apostles' Creed is the oldest Christian profession of faith and dates to the 1^st century AD. According to tradition, the Church received the "Apostle's Creed" prayer from the Apostles themselves, probably at the Council of Jerusalem in 49/50 AD or shortly after. Since the Apostles were by birth a product of the Old Covenant Church, they naturally desired a new summary statement of personal belief. They would have wanted a prayer similar to the Old Covenant Shema, which began: "Hear, O Israel: YHWH is our God; YHWH is One," or the cultic credo associated with the renewal of the covenant with the generation of the conquest of Canaan in Joshua 24:2-13. The traditional word to describe such a summary statement is symbolum in Latin (in Greek symblon). Rufinus of Aquileia's (d. 410) commentary on the Apostles' Creed is the earliest surviving such work. He wrote that early Christians referred to the Apostles' Creed as a symbolum because it is like the passwords (symbola distincta) that military commanders gave to their troops to identify themselves from each other and distinguish them from the enemy. Therefore, he wrote, the Apostles' Creed was thought of as a symbol of faith whereby Christians safely identified themselves to one another. This is why, even today in the Latin Church, the Apostles' Creed is called the Symbolum Apostolicum.

The Apostles' Creed is a summary statement of the Apostles' faith, as taught to them by Jesus and as they shared with others their experience in continuing the mission of the Messiah. It is a declaration of what Christians profess to believe as New Covenant Christians and is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. St. Ambrose described the Apostles' Creed as "the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter, the first of the Apostles, to which he brought the common faith" (St. Ambrose, Explanatio Symboli 7).

The Lord's Prayer (Pater Noster)

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The story of the Rosary and the prayers associated with it in meditating on the life of Christ and His mother is as old as the Church. Our Lord Jesus composed "The Our Father/Lord's Prayer" (Pater Noster), forming a framework for the Rosary. He taught His disciples seven petitions to make to the Father when they asked for an example of how they should offer communal prayer (Matthew 6:7-13; five petitions in Luke 6:9-13). The early Christians took His command seriously when Jesus said, "In this manner, therefore, you shall pray" (Matthew 6:9). Many early Christians, especially those who lived in monastic communities, prayed "The Lord's Prayer" with the 150 Psalm, keeping track of their prayers with 150 pebbles. By the 4^th century AD, there is evidence that ordinary people began to take up this practice. However, since most could neither read nor afford a handwritten copy of the Psalms, they repeated the "Our Father" (the Lord's Prayer) 150 times by memory.

The Hail Mary Prayer (Ave Maria)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The addition of the greeting of the Angel Gabriel to Mary: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28) at the Annunciation, seems to have begun in the Church at Ephesus where St. John, the Beloved Apostle, served for many years as that community's bishop. According to tradition, Mary lived for several years at Ephesus, in modern-day Turkey, under the care of St. John, in obedience to Jesus' command to both Mary and St. John as they stood at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-27). It was natural for those praying the angelic greeting to add Mary's name, so they prayed: "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"

The angel's greeting identifies the Virgin Mary as full of the grace of God. The divine grace which fills Mary is the presence of the One who is the source of all grace. God fills and indwells Mary in the same way His Presence filled the Tabernacle and dwelled above the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant, Israel's most sacred shrine (Exodus 24:22; 40:34). Mary is also the symbol of the "daughter of Zion" (Zion is another word for Jerusalem and the Old Covenant Church). The prophet Zephaniah wrote: "Rejoice... O daughter of Jerusalem ... the Lord your God is in your midst" (Zeph 3:14, 17a). Her womb became the Ark of the New Covenant, the dwelling place of God with humanity (Rev 21:3). Soon, the first line of St. Elizabeth's greeting to Mary, when she visited her kinswoman who was pregnant with St. John the Baptist, was added to the prayer: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus" (Luke 1:42). It was a greeting in which St. Elizabeth acknowledged Mary as "the mother of my Lord," meaning the mother of God (Luke 1:43).

The Christian community at Ephesus in Asia Minor had a special devotion to the Virgin Mary. At Ephesus, the universal Church, at the Council of Ephesus in 431, declared that the Virgin Mary rightly deserved the title St. Elizabeth gave her: "Mother of my Lord," identifying Mary as "Mother of God." The Council proclaimed that Mary, as the mother of the man/God Jesus, was indeed the "Mother of God" and not just the mother of the human Jesus. After the announcement of the Council's decision, the people of Ephesus took to the streets, shouting the proclamation by making a spontaneous petition to the Virgin Mother: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!"

The final portion of the "Hail Mary" petition was not added until the terrible years of the 14^th century, as the plague known as "the Black Death" ravaged Europe. It was then that the people of the Church cried out to the Blessed Mother in fear and hope, changing the petition to "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

By the 8^th century AD, monks replaced the pebbles they used to count their prayers with knotted cords, and by the 11^th century, the current form of the "Hail Mary" prayed 150 times and divided into three sets of fifteen decades replaced the 150 Psalms. In 1040, a noble English lady named Godiva bequeathed in her will that her beautiful Rosary would become the property of the Abby she founded and worn by the statue of the Blessed Virgin. Her will described a Rosary made of precious stones divided into fifteen decades, with each decade divided by larger precious stones. Her testament is the earliest surviving description of the Rosary in its present form.

The repetition of the "Hail Mary" throughout the Rosary cycle of prayer is not mindless chanting. The purpose of repeating the ten "Hail Mary" prayers as one contemplates each mystery is to help one's mind focus on the event at the center of the prayer. The repetition also acts to block worldly thoughts that may attempt to disrupt the experience. The goal is to leave behind our ties to the mundane and to enter into an understanding of Jesus and His mother that becomes a present reality in our life's journey with Christ to eternal salvation.

The Glory Be (Gloria Patri)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

The fourth prayer, the Gloria Patri, "Glory Be," is a prayer of joy and praise. The earliest surviving examples of this doxology in Christian writings in Latin date from the 600s AD. It was probably an adaptation of the Jewish blessings addressed to God, like those found in the New Testament in Romans 16:27, Philippians 4:20, and Revelation 5:23. This prayer comes after the repetition of a decade of "Hail Mary" prayers during which one meditates on the mission of the Son of God through Mary's experiences as a participant in God's plan for humanity's salvation.

Pope Francis has suggested the English version of the prayer be adjusted to reflect the Latin version more accurately by saying, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As He was in the beginning, He is now and ever shall be beyond the age of ages. The Latin uses an indefinite pronoun, but the Most Holy Trinity is more correctly referred to as He and not It, and Beyond the age of agesi is the correct translation of the Latin secular secularum. In addition, according to Scripture, when Christ returns in glory, the world as we know it will end: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out (2 Peter 3:10 NABRE).

Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina)

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The fifth prayer, "Hail Holy Queen," is a prayer of love to our Mother Mary, composed in the 11^th century, probably by a poor, disfigured monk named Hermannus Contractus (d. 1054). It was a plea of such heartfelt trust in the motherly love of Mary that it was soon added to the prayers of the Rosary by the laity and clergy. The prayer acknowledges Mary as the rightful Davidic Queen, the Gebirah, honored as the Queen of her son's Kingdom and Advocate of His faithful subjects (1 Kings 2:13-18). Jesus fulfills God's covenant with David that his throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16; Luke 1:32-33). Since a Davidic king of Israel had many wives, the Queen of his kingdom was his mother, who sat on a throne to his right (1 Kings 2:19). The Church grants a partial indulgence for every recitation of this prayer.

In the next several centuries, both St. Dominic (1215) and the Blessed Alan de la Roche (1460) received instruction from the Virgin Mary on using the Rosary. She instructed them to encourage recitation of the Rosary's prayers with meditations on Christ's life. She promised spiritual gifts from a devotion to the Rosary, telling St. Dominic that the regular practice of the Rosary "will cause virtue and good works to flourish" and that the Rosary would obtain for souls "the abundant mercy of God." Among other promises, she said that "the rosary shall be a powerful armor against Hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies." In 1567, the Church formally established the Rosary as a form of public and private devotion of the Universal (Catholic) Church.

The Prayer of Fatima

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.

The Virgin Mary added the sixth prayer, "The Prayer of Fatima." It is the prayer she taught three children at Fatima in the mountain region of central Portugal during six apparitions from May 13^th to October 13^th, 1917. At each of the visitations, she introduced herself as the "Lady of the Rosary." She told the young visionaries to believe in her Immaculate Conception, to tell the faithful to do penance, and to pray the Rosary because otherwise, the world would be punished for its sins. From the time of her visitation at Lourdes (France) in 1854 and Fatima (Portugal) in 1917, whenever the Virgin Mary appears, she prays the Rosary with those near her, just as she prayed the Rosary with St. Dominic and the Blessed Alan.

In 2002, Pope St. John Paul II added five Luminous Mysteries to the meditation on the life of Christ through Mary's experience of the divine Messiah. He wrote in Rosarium Virginis Mariae that the recitation of the Rosary with contemplation on the mysteries of the life of Jesus Christ is genuine "training in holiness" for Christians. The addition of the Luminous Mysteries to the Joyful, Glorious, and Sorrowful Mysteries completes the meditation of the Christ event. The prayers take us from His birth and ministry to His self-sacrificial death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension, to welcoming His mother into His heavenly Kingdom, which is a promise of our hoped-for bodily resurrection. Pope St. John Paul II recommended the Virgin Mary as a model of contemplation. He invited the faithful to embrace Jesus's words from the altar of the Cross, spoken to each of us as the "beloved disciple," to "Behold your Mother!"

The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

On October 7^th, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Pope St. Pius V established this feast following the victory of the small Christian navy over a large Turkish Muslim fleet. The Christian navy, composed of ships from Spain, Venice, and Genoa, under the command of Don Juan of Austria, engaged a Turkish fleet of at least 15,000 ships at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Knowing that the Muslims greatly outnumbered the Christian navy, St. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for the Blessed Virgin's intercession in granting victory. The Christian commanders petitioned the Blessed Virgin's intercession as they prepared for the battle. Commander Don Juan's battle flag was an image of Christ crucified flown from the mast of his ship, and Admiral Andrea Doria carried a copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into the battle. Only forty years earlier, the Blessed Virgin appeared to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego, promising her intercession for the people of Mexico and the defeat of the old pagan gods. Now, the Christian nations of Europe pleaded for her intervention in defeating a Muslim invasion that threatened all Christendom.

As the battle took place in the Gulf of Patras off the coast of southwestern Greece, in Rome, the Confraternity of the Rosary walked in a solemn procession as the faithful prayed to the Virgin Mary to intercede for victory over the Turkish aggressors. When the smaller Christian navy was victorious, Pope Pius V attributed their success to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, calling her "Mary, succor of Christians." The decisive defeat of the Turkish navy prevented the intended Islamic invasion of Europe and the destruction of Christianity. The Church celebrated the feast for many years, calling it "Our Lady of the Victory." Later, the Church renamed it "Our Lady of the Rosary." In 1716, Pope Clement XI, who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712, extended the celebration throughout the Universal Church.

Praying the Rosary as a Spiritual Exercise

Meditating on the mission of Jesus through the Rosary is a spiritual exercise. It should engage our thoughts, imagination, emotions, and desire to develop a deeper personal relationship with the Savior as the Holy Spirit guides us in our contemplation. The Rosary permits us to share in the mysteries of the Lord's life as seen through the eyes of His Blessed Mother, the one human being who knew Him best. By contemplating these mysteries, we can submit ourselves to imitating those virtues they contain, thereby seeking to find a more intimate connection to our Savior and His mission on behalf of fallen humanity. The beauty and spirituality of the Rosary are in meditating on the mystery of our redemption over and over. We ponder these mysteries as precious treasures in our hearts, just as Mary did when these events were unfolding in her life (Luke 2:19).

Instructions for praying the Rosary:

Begin by making the Sign of the Cross.
Pray the Apostles' Creed on the Rosary's crucifix.
Pray the Lord's Prayer on the first bead.
Pray three Hail Mary Prayers on the next three beads.
Pray one Gloria Patri/Glory Be Prayer on the cord after the last bead.
Choose a set of Mysteries (Joyful, Glorious, etc.). Announce the first mystery, then say the Lord's Prayer on the last bead before the medal.
Contemplate the first mystery as you say ten Hail Mary prayers, one on each bead of the decade. At the end of each decade, pray the Gloria Patri followed by the Prayer of Fatima. Then, begin again by announcing the second mystery in the set and by saying the "Lord's Prayer" on the next large bead that separates the decade of beads. Next, contemplate the mystery with another decade of "Hail Mary" prayers.

I. Praying the Rosary with the Bible and the Catechism: The Five Joyful Mysteries
Mystery	Scripture	Catechism reference
1. The Annunciation	Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:26-28, 30-36; Is 7:14; Ez 34:23-24; Zec 9:9-10; Zeph 3:14, 17	CCC 430
2. The Visitation	Lk 1:39-45; Mt 12:31; Ps 138:1-2	CCC 717
3. The Nativity	Lk 2:8-21; Mic 5:1/2-3/4	CCC 563
4. The Presentation	Lk 2:22-38; Ex 13:2; 13:11; Lev 5:7; 12:2-4, 8; Mt 2:1-23	CCC 529
5. Finding Jesus in the Temple	Lk 2:43-50	CCC 534

II. Praying the Rosary with the Bible and the Catechism: The Five Luminous Mysteries
Mystery	Scripture	Catechism reference
1. Jesus' Baptism by St. John	Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:29-34; Is 11:2; 42:1; Ps 2:7	CCC 536
2. The Miracle at Cana	Jn 2:1-11	CCC 1335
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom	Mt 5:3; 10:6-7; Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:14-21	CCC 545
>4. The Transfiguration	Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36; 2 Pt 1:16-18	CCC 556
5. The Last Supper (Institution of the Eucharist)	Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-28	CCC 1337

III. Praying the Rosary with the Bible and the Catechism: The Five Sorrowful Mysteries
Mystery	Scripture	Catechism reference
1. The Agony in the Garden	Mt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:40-46; Jn 18:1-11	CCC 612
2. The Scourging	Mt 27:11-26; Mk 15:2-15; Lk 23:2-25; Jn 18:28-19:1, 4-16	CCC 572
3. Jesus is Crowned with Thorns	Mt 27:27-30; Mk 15:16-20; Jn 19:2-6, 15-16	CCC 602
4. Carrying the Cross to Golgotha	Mt 27:31-34; Mk 15:21-22; Lk 23:26-32, 38; Jn 19:17	CCC 853
5. The Crucifixion	Mt 27:35-54; Mk 15:23-32; Lk 23:33-34; Jn 19:18-27; Ps 22	CCC 623

IV. Praying the Rosary with the Bible and the Catechism: The Five Glorious Mysteries
Mystery	Scripture	Catechism reference
1. The Resurrection	Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-7; Lk 24:1-8; Jn 20:1-10, 19-23; Ps 16:10; 1 Cor 15:54-57	CCC 657
2. The Ascension	Acts 1:6-11; Heb 1:3-4	CCC 668
3. Descent of the Holy Spirit	Acts 2:1-4; Jn 3:4-8; Ez 36:25-28	CCC 731
4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin	Lk 1:46-55; Zeph 3:14, 17	CCC 966
5. The Coronation of Mary, the Davidic Queen	Rev 12:1, 5;	CCC 966

As a general rule, but depending on the liturgical season, pray the Joyful Mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday and Sunday. Other suggested Catechism references: 967-972, 2673-2679, 2705-2719

Pope Francis requested adding the following prayers to the Rosary in May 2020 for Mary's intercession concerning the COVID-19 pandemic:

The First Prayer

"O Mary,
You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus's suffering and persevered in your faith. "Protectress of the Roman people," you know our needs, and we know that you will provide so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.
We fly to your protection,
O Holy Mother of God;
Do not despise our petitions
in our necessities,
but deliver us always
from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin."

Second Prayer

"We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God. In the present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and seek refuge under your protection. Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes towards us amid this coronavirus pandemic. Comfort those who are distraught and mourn their loved ones who have died and, at times, are buried in a way that grieves them deeply. Be close to those who are concerned for their loved ones who are sick and who, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, cannot be close to them. Fill with hope those who are troubled by the uncertainty of the future and the consequences for the economy and employment. Amen."

The Third Prayer

"Mother of God and our Mother, Pray for us to God, the Father of mercies, that this great suffering may end, and that hope and peace may dawn anew. Plead with your divine Son, as you did at Cana so that the families of the sick and the victims be comforted, and their hearts be opened to confidence and trust. Protect those doctors, nurses, health workers, and volunteers who are on the frontline of this emergency and are risking their lives to save others. Support their heroic effort and grant them strength, generosity, and continued health. Be close to those who assist the sick night and day and to priests who, in their pastoral concern and fidelity to the Gospel, are trying to help and support everyone.
Blessed Virgin, illuminate the minds of men and women engaged in scientific research that they may find effective solutions to overcome this virus. Support national leaders that, with wisdom, solicitude, and generosity, they may come to the aid of those lacking the basic necessities of life and may devise social and economic solutions inspired by farsightedness and solidarity. Amen."

The Fourth Prayer

"Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences so that the enormous funds invested in developing and stockpiling arms will instead be spent on promoting effective research on how to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. Beloved Mother, help us realize that we are all members of one great family and to recognize the bond that unites us so that, in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity, we can help to alleviate countless situations of poverty and need. Make us strong in faith, persevering in service, constant in prayer.
Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace all your children in distress and pray that God will stretch out his all-powerful hand and free us from this terrible pandemic so that life can serenely resume its normal course. To you, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, do we entrust ourselves, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen."