The Rosary is a meditative prayer based on Scripture. When we pray the Rosary, we ask Mary to pray for us as we seek to grow closer to her son Jesus by contemplating His life, death, and Resurrection. 

In his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II wrote that with the Rosary, “the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love.”

The Rosary remains an important prayer today. In May 2022, Pope Francis called on Christians to pray “the Holy Rosary for peace” in response to the war in Ukraine. In November 2022, Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco invited the faithful to pray a “Rosary for Peace” on Election Day.

Praying the Rosary

Familiarize yourself and/or your group with the prayers of the rosary.

1. Make the Sign of the Cross.
2. Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed.
3. On the first bead, say an Our Father.
4. Say one Hail Mary on each of the next three beads.
5. Say the Glory Be
6. For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery (perhaps followed by a brief reading from Scripture) then say the Our Father.
7. While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be.
   (After finishing each decade, some say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.)
8. After saying the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Queen, followed by this dialogue and prayer:
   V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
   R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
   Let us pray: O God, whose Only Begotten Son, by his life, Death, and Resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(A prayer to St. Joseph may also follow.) Conclude the Rosary with the Sign of the Cross.