Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary: All Five Decades in Full to Pray Along

On Easter morning an angel sits on the stone rolled back from an empty tomb, and with him the Glorious Mysteries begin. Their five decades lead from Our Lord’s victory over death to the crowning of his Mother in heaven. Here you can read the Glorious Mysteries in full and pray along: each decade with the clause added after “Jesus”, the Scripture passage in the Douay-Rheims translation and a thought for meditation. For the Assumption of Our Lady, for which Holy Scripture recounts no event of its own, we give the words of the definition of the dogma by Pius XII in 1950.

What are the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary?

The Glorious Mysteries are the series of five decades in which we meditate on the glorification of Our Lord and of his Mother: the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven and her Coronation. They are the last of the three series of fifteen mysteries.

Each decade has an Our Father on the large bead and ten Hail Marys on the small ones. After the name “Jesus” you add to every Hail Mary a short clause naming the mystery. The clauses follow the Rosary prayer guide, the house standard of our Guide.

In 1893 Pope Leo XIII recommended the Glorious Mysteries as a remedy against forgetfulness of eternal life. In his encyclical on the Rosary he writes what the one who prays learns from them:

“From this we learn that death is not a destruction that takes away and blots out everything, but a passing over and a change of life.”

Leo XIII, Laetitiae sanctae, 8 September 1893 · our translation from the Latin

When do you pray the Glorious Mysteries?

According to the traditional order the Glorious Mysteries are prayed on Wednesday, on Saturday and on Sunday. They are therefore the series that recurs most often in the week. Sunday belongs to them as the day of the Resurrection, and in the Church’s year above all Eastertide.

In his note on Mt 28:1, Joseph Franz Allioli explains that the first day of the Jewish week corresponds to our Sunday and that Our Lord’s Resurrection took place early in the morning of that day. The 1962 Missal celebrates the mysteries of this series on their own days: Easter; the Ascension, a feast of the first class; Pentecost, a feast of the first class with an octave; the Assumption on 15 August, a feast of the first class; and the Queenship of Our Lady on 31 May, a feast of the second class.

In Eastertide the antiphon Regina caeli takes the place of the Angelus. The missal of Anselm Schott (1894) notes that it is said standing. Its content is the first Glorious Mystery:

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia;
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia:
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia;
for he whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia,
hath risen, as he said, alleluia:
pray for us to God, alleluia.

Breviarium Romanum, Marian antiphon of Eastertide · English in the traditional form

How do you begin the Glorious Mysteries?

You begin the Glorious Mysteries on the crucifix with the sign of the cross and the Apostles’ Creed. Then follow the Glory Be and the Our Father, three Hail Marys with the petitions for faith, hope and charity, and the Glory Be once more. After that the first decade begins.

Sign of the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed. I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, 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 sitteth 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 Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

On the three small beads after the first large bead you pray one Hail Mary each and add after “Jesus”, in turn: “who may increase true faith in us”, “who may strengthen hope in us”, “who may kindle charity in us”. In every decade the same prayers then apply; only the clause changes:

Our Father (large bead). 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.

Ten Hail Marys (small beads), each with the clause of the decade, as written out below.

Glory Be. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.

Ejaculation. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for all who do not have recourse to thee, especially the Freemasons and all those recommended to thee.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

What do you meditate on in the first decade, the Resurrection?

In the first decade of the Glorious Mysteries we meditate on the Resurrection: on the third day after his death Our Lord rises from the tomb, and an angel announces his victory to the women at the empty tomb. In every Hail Mary you add after “Jesus”: “who rose from the dead”.

St Matthew tells how the women come to the tomb early in the morning, the earth quakes and an angel rolls back the stone. He says to them: “He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid” (Mt 28:6). On the way back the risen Lord himself meets them, and they take hold of his feet and adore him (Mt 28:9). The tomb that his enemies had sealed and guarded has become a witness. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: because Christ lives, no grave has the last word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who rose from the dead. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

What do you meditate on in the second decade, the Ascension?

In the second decade of the Glorious Mysteries we meditate on the Ascension: forty days after Easter, before the eyes of the Apostles on the Mount of Olives, Our Lord ascends into heaven by his own power. After “Jesus” you add to every Hail Mary: “who ascended into heaven”.

The Acts of the Apostles speaks of the forty days in which the risen Lord appeared to the disciples, “and speaking of the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Then we read: “And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). Two men in white garments ask those left behind: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven?” And they promise that this Jesus will come again just as they have seen him going (Acts 1:10–11).

At this mystery Leo XIII recalls Our Lord’s promise: Vado parare vobis locum, in the Douay-Rheims: “I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2). A thought for the ten Hail Marys: heaven stands open.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who ascended into heaven. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

What do you meditate on in the third decade, the Descent of the Holy Ghost?

In the third decade of the Glorious Mysteries we meditate on Pentecost: the Holy Ghost descends in tongues of fire upon the Apostles, who are gathered in prayer in Jerusalem with the most Blessed Virgin, the Mother of the Lord. In every Hail Mary you add after “Jesus”: “who sent us the Holy Ghost”.

After the Ascension the Apostles wait in Jerusalem. “All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus […]” (Acts 1:14). On the day of Pentecost there comes from heaven a sound as of a mighty wind. “And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost […]” (Acts 2:3–4). In his note Allioli explains the name: the Jewish Feast of Weeks fell on the fiftieth day after the Passover, hence Pentecost, fifty. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: the Church receives the Spirit in prayer, and the Mother of God prays with her.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who sent us the Holy Ghost. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

What do you meditate on in the fourth decade, the Assumption of Our Lady?

In the fourth decade of the Glorious Mysteries we meditate on how the most Blessed Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, is assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. After “Jesus” you add to every Hail Mary: “who took thee up, O Virgin, into heaven”.

Holy Scripture does not recount this event. According to Pius XII the doctrine nevertheless has its ultimate foundation in Scripture; the Church bore witness to it and celebrated it in her tradition long before Pope Pius XII solemnly proclaimed it as a dogma of faith on 1 November 1950:

Immaculatam Deiparam semper Virginem Mariam, expleto terrestris vitae cursu, fuisse corpore et anima ad caelestem gloriam assumptam.

“The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”

Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November 1950, no. 44 · our translation from the Latin

In the same constitution Pius XII says that the Mother of God, like her Son, after her victory over death was raised body and soul to the glory of heaven, where she shines as Queen at the right hand of her Son (no. 40). Thus the fourth mystery leads directly to the fifth. In the 1962 Missal the Mass of 15 August begins with the verse from the Apocalypse about the woman clothed with the sun. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: what has come to pass in the most Blessed Virgin, the Church hopes for all who remain faithful to Christ.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who took thee up, O Virgin, into heaven. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

What do you meditate on in the fifth decade, the Coronation of Our Lady?

In the fifth decade of the Glorious Mysteries we meditate on how God crowns the most Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen in heaven. As Mother of the King of kings she is Queen of heaven and earth. In every Hail Mary you add after “Jesus”: “who crowned thee, O Virgin, in heaven”.

The figure of this mystery is the vision of St John with which the Mass of 15 August begins: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Apoc 12:1). In his note Allioli explains that the woman is “evidently the most Blessed Virgin Mary” and at the same time stands as a “figure of the holy congregation before Christ” (translated from the German), from which the Lord came forth.

On 11 October 1954, with the encyclical Ad caeli Reginam, Pius XII instituted the feast of the Queenship of Our Lady, to be celebrated on 31 May. In it he speaks of the fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary, “which can be called the mystical crown of the Queen of Heaven”. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: whoever prays the Rosary helps to weave this crown.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who crowned thee, O Virgin, in heaven. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

How do the Glorious Mysteries end?

After the fifth decade the Glorious Mysteries end at the medal with the Salve Regina and the prayer to St Michael the Archangel. The Salve Regina greets the Mother of God as Queen and so follows directly on from the last mystery. All five decades take about twenty minutes.

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 towards us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Prayer to St Michael the Archangel. St Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer guide

If you have less time, you may pray just one decade; the prayer guide expressly calls that a valuable prayer. According to the traditional order the Joyful Mysteries follow on Monday and Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday.

Mentioned in this article Regina caeli rosary, sapphire blue Hand-knotted on black cord, with stone beads, blue cut glass beads and a Marian centrepiece. View the rosary

Frequently asked questions about the Glorious Mysteries