rosary

The rosary is a Catholic devotional prayer that uses beads to count prayers while meditating on the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The term derives from Latin rosarium meaning "garland of roses" or "rose garden." The modern practice developed in the medieval period and became associated with the Dominican order, though earlier forms of Marian devotion preceded it.

A rosary consists of a crucifix, a short introductory segment of prayers on a single bead, followed by a sequence of five decades. The structure typically includes the Apostles’ Creed on the crucifix, the Our Father on the first bead, three Hail Marys on the next three beads, and a Glory Be on the next bead, often with the Fatima prayer added after the Glory Be. Each decade begins with an Our Father, then ten Hail Marys, then a Glory Be; after each decade, the Fatima prayer is sometimes recited, and the set ends with the Hail Holy Queen.

During the decades the meditational focus follows the mysteries. Traditionally there are the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries; a fourth set, the Luminous Mysteries, was added by Pope John Paul II in 2002. The Joyful reflect events surrounding Jesus’s infancy, the Sorrowful reflect his Passion, the Glorious reflect his Resurrection and reign, and the Luminous cover key moments of Jesus’s public ministry.

Prayed individually or in groups, the rosary is a Marian devotion that also carries options for indulgences. Variants exist in other Christian traditions, such as the Anglican rosary or the Orthodox prayer rope, but they have different prayers and structures.