ROSARY

The Rosary is a simple and beautiful prayer. It is often referred to as the peoples prayer since it
can be prayed by contemplatives and apostles, rich and poor, clergy and lay, young and old.
It is a devotional prayer that can be said individually or with a group, preferably a family group. The
Rosary as we know it today has developed over many years. In its current form it has been prayed for
since the 15th century. It has been recommended by Popes from Pius V, 1504, to our present Pope
Francis.

History of The Rosary

The historical root of the Rosary can be traced to 290 AD, when the hermits used stones and sticks to
count the prayers.
Learn more about the history of Rosary (video)

Biblical Connection
Irish Monks required to pray the 150 Psalms from the Hebrew Scripture they also needed a system of
counting and tracking their prayer. They divided the Psalms into groups of three with fifty Psalms in
each group. They read and prayed the Psalms in Latin, the ordinary people not being able to read or
know Latin and desiring to pray with the Church, devised a set of prayers based on the 150 count.
Over time this devised form developed into what we know as the Rosary today. The 150 Psalms at one
point became 150 Paters (Our Fathers) and then changed to 150 Aves (Hail Marys). Eventually other
prayers were added. Basically the development began with the Scripture and the Rosary continues
today to be a Scripturally based prayer.

A Meditation on the Mysteries

The Rosary as we know it today developed over centuries. The origin of meditation on the mysteries of
the Rosary can be attributed to the Carthusian monks of the fifteenth century. Mental prayer of
meditation on proposed themes was always part of the prayer of the monks, which eventually became
a practice of the people. The events in the life of Jesus were divided into three major categories, joyful,
sorrowful and glorious events. In 2002, Pope John Paul II added a fourth category the Luminous
Mysteries,( the Mysteries of Light), thus supplying mysteries from the life of Christ.

Rose Garden
By the Medieval times the Aves (Hail Marys) of the peoples prayer of the developing Rosary were
substituted for the Paters (Our Fathers), and devotion to Mary which was firmly entrenched at that
time, the Hail Marys were associated with a rosarium (rose garden) of prayer beads to Mary. The image
of the garden in the Hebrew Scripture (Song of Song 4:7) was thought of as a secret place of
immortality where roses never die. The rose garden became a symbol of immortality. In the twelfth

century the rose symbolism and its association with Mary took a major place in tradition. The rose
garden and a garland of roses became associated with beads. The rosary beads became formally
incorporated into the structure of the rose garden. Mary and the
related symbolism of the rose garden became firmly established in
1573, when Pope Gregory XIII established the Feast of the Rosary.