The rosary is a contemplative, scriptural set of prayers in the Catholic faith that meditate on various mysteries detailing significant events in the life of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. There are twenty total mysteries that are grouped into four categories and recited on different days of the week: the joyful mysteries (Mondays and Saturdays), the sorrowful mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays), the glorious mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays), and the luminous mysteries (Thursdays).

Praying the rosary is a special devotion and meditation. It presents an opportunity to meditate upon Christ’s life and teachings and to grow closer in our faith and understanding. It is also a special Marian devotion that honors the life of the Mother of the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary. What I love most about the rosary is that it can be prayed anywhere by anyone at any time—it can be recited partially by decade or in its entirety, with a physical rosary or not, individually or in a group, and by women and men of all ages and walks of life. I believe praying the rosary as a regular practice aids in our spiritual growth by allowing us to humbly reflect upon the sacrifices that have been made for us and to grow closer to God.

While I was given a rosary as a child and knew many of the prayers in English, I first learned how to pray the rosary in its entirety in Italian. One day, I arrived early for mass at a sanctuary that I was visiting for the first time, and I came across a priest and small congregation of elderly Italians praying the rosary by candlelight. I was immediately captivated, and I sat in the farthest pew in the back and listened as they recited the rosary. I felt an immense calm and peace wash over me that I had never felt before. After mass, I picked up one of the rosaries that they left out in a basket in the back of the church, and I started going back every day to learn to pray the rosary in Italian until I learned it by heart. Learning the rosary prayers in a new language connected me with my faith more than ever before—I found myself considering each word and truly contemplating the meaning and purpose of each invocation. I started a daily rosary practice and began to pray it whenever I could, either with the congregation or on my own, on my walks, on the train, on a lunch break, first thing in the morning, or late at night. Each recitation of the rosary offers new opportunities for prayer, understanding, and reflection.

While there are some essential components of the rosary prayer, there are many adaptations and recitation preferences, including special optional invocations and litanies. When reciting the rosary in a group, for example, it is less common to recite the full Credo. Some optional invocations include the angel of God prayer and the eternal rest prayer. A recitation of the rosary always concludes with a Marian devotion—the Salve Regina is always recited, and often the Litany of Loreto, a beautiful Marian prayer that honors the Virgin Mary and asks for her intercession. It is also common to add in additional invocations at the end of the rosary to pray for the Pope, for the church, for the sick, and for the departed. When reciting the rosary in a group, an antiphonal call-and-response structure is used, where the rosary leader will recite the first half of the prayer, and the congregation will respond in unison with the second half of the prayer. I have used bold type to denote where in the prayers the congregation responds if praying the rosary in a group. I am partial to the way in which I learned how to pray the rosary from the priest at the sanctuary, and I still recite it in this structure.

I have created a series of resources on the Holy Rosary, in Italian and in English. These resources include side-by-side Italian/English translations of the rosary prayers, the mysteries of the rosary, and a guideline of how to pray the rosary. I hope that these resources are useful and can share with others some of the peace and beauty that the rosary practice has granted my life.

Praying the Holy Rosary is profoundly powerful on both a personal and a collective scale. It allows us to continue to strive—both in our prayer practice and through our daily actions—to become better Christians and better people. Lately, I find myself praying the rosary more than ever with special prayers and invocations for the innocents afflicted by war, violence, and poverty, and for all those marginalized by the unjust. May we pray to God for peace on earth, for justice for the marginalized, and for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all of the saints.

Pax vobiscum,

Giorgina S. Paiella