The Meaning of the Rosary: Why Catholics Pray It

A string of beads, a cross and prayers that repeat themselves: from the outside the Rosary looks simple. The meaning of the Rosary only becomes clear when you see what it brings together: the prayer that Our Lord himself taught, the Angel’s greeting to the Most Blessed Virgin and meditation on fifteen mysteries of the Redemption. This guide explains what the Rosary is, why Catholics pray it and what Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII wrote about it in their encyclicals, with references.

What is the Rosary?

The Rosary is a prayer in which one says decades of Hail Marys, each introduced by an Our Father, while meditating on the mysteries of the Redemption. The word also denotes the string of beads with a cross on which these prayers are counted.

The catechism of Joseph Deharbe, in its 1871 edition, answers the question “What is the Rosary?” according to the tradition of the Church as follows: “The Rosary is a very useful and easy way of praying and meditating, which was introduced by St Dominic, approved by the Church and has since been in general use among good Christians” (translated from the German).

The Roman Breviary describes it on 7 October as a way of prayer in which fifteen decades of the Angelic Salutation are divided by the Lord’s Prayer; for each decade one meditates on one of as many mysteries of our Redemption. The Breviary expressly introduces its origin from Dominic as tradition: ut memoriae proditum est, “as has been handed down”. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1912 notes that series of Hail Marys and counting strings were known before Dominic; in 1937 Pius XI writes cautiously that Dominic promoted this way of prayer.

Pius XI mentions in 1937 (AAS 29, p. 375) that some call the Rosary Psalterium Virginis, the Psalter of the Virgin, or Evangelii christianaeque vitae breviarium, a short compendium of the Gospel and of the Christian life. How to pray it step by step is shown in the prayer companion for the Rosary.

Why do Catholics pray the Rosary?

Catholics pray the Rosary to ask God for graces through the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and to meditate on the saving deeds of Christ. In 1937 Pope Pius XI named three virtues it awakens: it nourishes the Catholic faith, revives hope in the things that do not pass away and kindles charity.

Pius XI begins with the prayers themselves. The first is the one the Redeemer gave his disciples when they asked: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). The second is the Angelic Salutation, which begins with the praise of the Archangel Gabriel and of St Elizabeth and ends with a plea for the help of the Blessed Virgin now and at the hour of death. With St Bernard he recalls why we turn to the Mother of God: “Such is the will of him who willed that we should have everything through Mary” (AAS 29, p. 375).

“To these prayers said aloud is added the meditation on the sacred mysteries, in which the joys, sorrows and triumphs of Jesus Christ and of his Mother are, as it were, placed before our eyes, so that from them we may draw relief and comfort in our anxieties […].”

Pius XI, Ingravescentibus malis, 1937, AAS 29, p. 376 · our translation

Pius XI gives the reasons for the three virtues in detail. Faith is nourished by meditation on the mysteries, through which it facile revirescit, readily springs to life again. Hope is revived by the triumph of Jesus Christ and his Mother at the end of the prayer, which “shows us heaven open”. Charity is kindled when one considers the Passion and death of the Redeemer and the anguish of his sorrowful Mother (Acta Apostolicae Sedis 29, 1937, pp. 378 f.).

What do the Popes say about the Rosary?

Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII recommended the Rosary in encyclicals of their own. In 1898 Leo XIII called it an excellent form of supplication that bears fruit for eternal life. In 1951 Pius XII compared it to the sling of David, with which the Church confronts the infernal enemy.

With the encyclical Supremi apostolatus officio of 1 September 1883, Leo XIII dedicated the October of that year to the Queen of the Rosary and ordered that from 1 October to 2 November at least five decades, that is, five sets of ten Hail Marys, be prayed in every parish together with the Litany of Loreto.

Fifteen years later, on 5 September 1898, he summed up what he had taught in the letter Diuturni temporis: the Rosary is admirabile sertum ex angelico praeconio consertum, “a wonderful garland woven from the Angel’s greeting”, interspersed with the Lord’s Prayer and joined to meditation, an excellent form of supplication and most fruitful for eternal life (Acta Sanctae Sedis 31, p. 147). Pius XI took up this sentence word for word in 1937.

On 15 September 1951, the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, Pius XII wrote in Ingruentium malorum that the Church relies not on force, arms or human power, but on the heavenly help obtained through such prayers, and so, “armed as it were with the sling of David”, can fearlessly attack the infernal enemy (AAS 43, 1951, p. 581).

Isn’t the constant repetition in the Rosary monotonous?

The repetitions in the Rosary are not empty recitation. Pius XI wrote in 1937 that piety and love, using the same words, never say the same thing but always something new. In 1951 Pius XII called repeated prayer anything but fruitless; it has a wonderful power to inspire confidence in those who pray.

Pius XI expressly opposed those (AAS 29, pp. 376 f.) who dismiss the Rosary as a tiresome formula with the same monotonous refrain, good only for children and simple women. This way of prayer, the Pope said, breathes the simplicity of the Gospel and requires humility, without which, according to the word of the Lord, no one enters the kingdom of heaven: “Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3, following the Latin text of the encyclical).

Pius XII says of the prayer so often repeated in the same words that there is nothing fruitless or tiresome about it; rather, as experience shows, it has a wonderful power to inspire those who pray with confidence that they will be heard (AAS 43, p. 579). The town parish priest Carl Stumpf had already answered the objection that the many repetitions encourage distraction in his prayer book, whose fifth edition was published by Pustet in Regensburg in 1868: “the wandering thought easily finds a point of connection again precisely through the repetition, if one otherwise calls it back” (translated from the German).

Why should the Rosary be prayed in the family?

Pius XI and Pius XII expressly recommended praying the Rosary in the family. In 1937 Pius XI called the evening prayer of parents and children before the image of the Mother of God a beautiful and salutary custom, and in 1951 Pius XII called it a school of Christian virtue.

Pius XI describes the hour after the day’s work, when the family gathers at home and the children, guided by their parents, pray the Rosary before the image of the Mother of God. To newly-weds whom he received in audience he gave rosaries and urged them not to let a single day pass without this prayer (AAS 29, pp. 379 f.). Pius XII saw the Christian home that cherishes the Rosary as formed after the pattern of the Holy Family of Nazareth: the prayer unites the family with those who are absent and with the departed, and becomes efficientissima christianae disciplinae christianaeque virtutis schola, a most effective school of Christian discipline and virtue (AAS 43, p. 580).

Does a blessed rosary have a special effect?

A blessed rosary is a sacramental, but not an object with a power of its own. Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law the Church makes use of sacramentals to obtain, through her intercession, effects that are chiefly spiritual. What counts is the devout prayer of the one who uses the rosary.

The 1917 Code says: Sacramentalia sunt res aut actiones quibus Ecclesia, in aliquam Sacramentorum imitationem, uti solet ad obtinendos ex sua impetratione effectus praesertim spirituales (can. 1144). Blessed objects are to be treated with reverence and not put to profane use (can. 1150). It is advisable to have the rosary blessed by a priest before it is used for the first time. Anyone who uses a rosary blessed by a Dominican or by another priest with special faculties can gain additional indulgences according to the Raccolta (no. 360, note 2).

The Raccolta of 1943 records for a third part of the Rosary prayed devoutly, that is, five decades, a partial indulgence of five years, and if prayed in common, of ten years once a day (no. 360). For every indulgence the Church presupposes the state of grace, at the latest at the completion of the prescribed works (CIC 1917, can. 925 § 1). A plenary indulgence is gained on the last Sunday of the month by anyone who has prayed a third part in common with others at least three times in each of the preceding weeks and who also goes to Confession, receives Holy Communion and visits a church.

Mentioned in this article Lava stone bead rosary Handmade from lava stone and obsidian, with the Miraculous Medal and a St Benedict cross. View the rosary

Frequently asked questions about the meaning of the Rosary