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The Holy Rosary

 

The Rosary is the Gospel on a string of beads. As we repeat the Hail Mary, we walk with Our Lady through the life of her Son: His coming, His Passion, and His glory. Popes and saints have called it a school of contemplation and a powerful weapon against evil. Families have prayed it together for centuries, and it asks for nothing more than about twenty minutes and a willing heart.

 

How to Pray the Rosary Every Day

 

To pray the Rosary, hold the crucifix and make the Sign of the Cross, then pray the Apostles' Creed, one Our Father, three Hail Marys and a Glory Be. Then pray five decades. For each decade, announce the mystery, pray one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one Glory Be, and add the Fatima Prayer if you wish. End with the Hail Holy Queen. A full Rosary takes about 20 minutes.

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Which Mysteries Do I Pray Today?

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Tips for Praying It Every Day

 

  • Pick one fixed time, such as after dinner or on the drive to work.

  • If 20 minutes is too much, start with one decade a day.

  • Pray along with the Fatima Decade Prayer and the reflections after each Sorrowful and Glorious mystery.

 

Rosary FAQs

 

How long does it take to pray the Rosary?

 

About 15 to 20 minutes for five decades. One decade takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

Do you have to pray all five decades at once?

 

No. You can pray the decades at different times of the day. Praying five decades together is traditional, but one decade a day is a good start.

What are the Rosary prayers in order?

 

Sign of the Cross, Apostles' Creed, Our Father, three Hail Marys, Glory Be; then for each of five decades an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory Be (with the Fatima Prayer); and finally the Hail Holy Queen.

Can you pray the Rosary without beads?

 

Yes. You can count the Hail Marys on your fingers. The beads simply help you keep count.

Start here

 

 

The prayers of the Rosary

 

  1. Sign of the Cross and the Apostles' Creed, on the crucifix

  2. Our Father, on each large bead

  3. Hail Mary, three on the first small beads, then ten per decade

  4. Glory Be, after each decade

  5. Fatima Prayer (O my Jesus), after each decade (optional)

  6. Hail, Holy Queen, at the end

  7. Litany of Loreto (optional)

 

The mysteries, and which day to pray them

 

 

Many who follow the traditional fifteen-decade Rosary pray the Joyful Mysteries on Thursday as well, and during Advent and Lent it is customary to favor the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries.

 

Related prayers to Our Lady

 

 

Browse more: The Holy Rosary category · Marian Prayers

 

New: a day-by-day guide

 

Not sure which mysteries to pray today? See Which Rosary Mysteries to Pray Each Day, and end your Rosary in October with Pope Leo XIII's To Thee, O Blessed Joseph.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How do I pray the Rosary every day?

 

Choose a set time and place, and pray five decades of the mysteries assigned to that day of the week. If twenty minutes feels like too much at first, begin with one decade a day and add more as the habit takes root.

 

Many people tie the Rosary to something they already do every day: the drive to work, a walk after dinner, or the last minutes before bed. Keep your rosary where you will see it, and follow How to Pray the Rosary until the prayers come by heart. Which Rosary Mysteries to Pray Each Day tells you which set belongs to today. Families often start with a single decade after supper and add more as the children grow.

 

How long does it take to pray the Rosary?

 

About 15 to 20 minutes for all five decades at a calm pace. One decade takes three or four minutes.

 

Speed is not the goal. The Rosary is meant to be prayed slowly enough to think about each mystery, so one decade prayed with attention is better than five rushed. On a very full day, a single decade or the short Three Hail Marys Devotion keeps you close to Our Lady until you can pray more.

 

Can I pray the Rosary without beads, or while driving or walking?

 

Yes. The beads only help you count, so you can count the Hail Marys on your fingers instead. Many Catholics pray the Rosary on a walk, on the commute, or while doing chores.

 

If you pray while driving, pray from memory and keep your eyes and attention on the road. A rosary does not have to be blessed before you pray with it, though many Catholics ask a priest to bless theirs.

 

Is it okay to pray only one decade, or to split the Rosary up during the day?

 

Yes. A single decade is a true prayer, and you may spread the five decades across the day, for example two in the morning and three at night.

 

The Church attaches a plenary indulgence to the Rosary when the five decades are prayed without a break, with meditation on the mysteries, in a church, as a family, or with a group, under the usual conditions (confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope's intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin). Praying it in other ways still gains a partial indulgence.

 

Is the Rosary in the Bible?

 

Most of it is. The Our Father is the prayer Jesus taught (Matthew 6:9-13), and the first half of the Hail Mary is the greeting of the angel Gabriel and of St. Elizabeth (Luke 1:28, 42).

 

Eighteen of the twenty mysteries are events told in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The last two Glorious Mysteries, the Assumption and the Coronation of Mary, come from the Church's Tradition. The second half of the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, and the beads themselves grew up later in the Church's life of prayer.

 

Why do Catholics pray the Rosary?

 

To meditate on the life of Jesus together with His Mother, who "kept all these words, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). In a single week of Rosaries you walk through the whole Gospel and ask Mary to pray for you at every step.

 

Tradition links the Rosary to St. Dominic, and popes have urged it for centuries. Pope St. Pius V spread it through the whole Church in the 1500s, Pope Leo XIII wrote a series of encyclicals on it, and St. John Paul II called it "a compendium" of the Gospel when he added the Luminous Mysteries in 2002. At Fatima in 1917, Our Lady asked the three shepherd children to pray the Rosary every day.

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Can I pray the Rosary for a special intention, or for someone who has died?

 

Yes. You can offer the whole Rosary, or each decade, for a person or a need: a sick friend, a family worry, a decision, or the soul of someone who has died.

 

Name your intention before you begin, or as you announce each mystery. Many people also pray the Rosary for nine days in a row as a novena. For more prayers, see Prayers for the Sick and for Healing and Prayers for the Dead and the Grieving.​

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The Rosary Companion: a printable Rosary guide in classic missal style. $5.99 · Get The Rosary Companion

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