History of the Rosary
History of the Rosary
The Rosary is one of the most cherished prayers of our Catholic Church. Introduced by the Apostle's Creed, the Our Father, three Hail Marys and the Doxology ("Glory Be"), and concluded with the Salve Regina, the rosary involves the recitation of five decades, each consisting of the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and the Doxology.
But how did it all start?
Pre-Vatican II, from the Middle Ages till 1962, people were required to attend liturgical services celebrated in Latin, a language that they did not understand, often in places where they were unable to even see or understand what was happening. The Rosary evolved over this period of time as a private and intimate form of personal devotion that many found spiritually uplifting due to its rhythmic format, its tactile feel and references to the important events in the life of our Lord and Mother Mary.
One of the first origins can be traced back to Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who in 248 AD clearly stated the need to use the Our Father in personal as well as communal prayer. In fourth-century Egypt, Paul the Hermit imposed on himself the recitation of 300 prayers every day, which he counted by collecting and tossing away 300 pebbles.
Celtic monks in the seventh century prayed the Psalter or Book of Psalms (150 psalms), keeping count of each psalm by tying knots in the cords used as belts for their habits. At that time, however, most laity could not afford a Psalter, and most could not even read. As a parallel to the monastic reading of the 150 psalms, the practice developed among the laity of praying the Our Father 150 times throughout the day. This devotion came to be known as “the poor man’s breviary.” The laity eventually were given beads to help them count their prayers. This prayer form became known as the rosarium ("rose garden"), actually a common term to designate a collection of similar material.
Why beads? Catholics were not the first to pray with beads. And while the exact origin of prayer beads is unknown, men and women of many faiths and cultures (Hindus, Greeks, Buddhists etc) have (and do) use beads to pray. In fact, the word bead in English is actually derived from an Old English word that means prayer.
But the Hail Mary sounded very different from what we say today. In repeating the words of Gabriel, they were reliving the joy of the annunciation and celebrating the mystery of God becoming man in Mary’s womb.
Around 1050 AD, Christians linked this prayer with Elizabeth’s words to Mary at the Visitation: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:42).
According to one tradition St. Dominic (d. 1221) moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother in 1214, preached the use of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who had denied the mystery of Christ. St. Dominic had a tremendous devotion to Mary and the rosary. He encouraged Catholics to gather in small groups to pray together what was an early form of the rosary together. These were quite possibly the first expressions of the prayer groups and small group communities that are still having a powerful impact today.
By the 13th century, Gabriel’s words, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28), sometimes were read in the monasteries at the end of a psalm, showing how the psalms found fulfilment in the New Testament with the coming of Christ through the Virgin Mary.
Finally, with the addition of the name “Jesus” by Pope Urban IV in 1261, the first half of the Hail Mary was in place.
The response, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners” wasn’t added until after a famous sermon preached by St. Bernardine of Siena in 1487 captured pious peoples’ imaginations and got transferred to their daily devotions. St. Peter Canisius published the Hail Mary in his 1555 Catechism. Eleven years later, the Catechism of the Council of Trent (a work that Canisius was instrumental in creating) included, for the first time in 1568, the entire final petition, concluding with the words “now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
The term rosary started describing a string of beads that was then beginning to be used to recite 150 Hail Marys. In its early form, the Hail Mary was recited 150 times on the beads. By the fifteenth century, the 150 Hail Marys had been divided into sets of ten, known as “decades,” with an Our Father at the beginning of each.
The sets of five Joyful, five Sorrowful, and five Glorious Mysteries as we know them today were introduced by Dominic of Prussia sometime between 1410 and 1439. Journeying through the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries of the rosary, the individual brings to mind our Lord's incarnation, His passion and death and His resurrection from the dead. These meditations have been called a short course in theology because of the wealth of truth and inspiration they contain. Through meditating on these mysteries we are led to prayers of adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and petition. It is also an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and minds as we pray to bring understanding and formation. Since the grace of any sacramental is dependent upon the attitude of the person using it, devout and thoughtful use of the Rosary is a prerequisite to enjoying the grace of the devotion.
The rosary gained greater popularity in the 1500s, when Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe. Recall that in 1453, Constantinople had fallen to the Moslems, leaving the Balkans and Hungary open to conquest. With Moslems raiding even the coast of Italy, the control of the Mediterranean was now at stake. In 1569, Pope St. Pius V officially approved the rosary in this form: fifteen decades of Hail Marys introduced by the "Our Father" and concluded with the "Glory Be". Also added was the pendant (composed of the cross and the five extra beads), and the second half of the Hail Mary was formalized: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
In 1571, Pope St. Pius V organized a fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria, the half-brother of King Philip II of Spain. While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the rosary and implore our Blessed Mother's prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Moslem fleet outnumbered that of the Christians in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Moslems were defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7, where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.
On May 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She told them to come back to that exact place on the 13th day of each month for the next six months. Mary promised she would appear to them each time and entrust a message to them. Mary told the children to pray for world peace by reciting the rosary every day. On July 13, 1917, Mary asked the children to add a short prayer to the end of each decade of the rosary: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Today this is referred to as the Fatima prayer, and many Catholics incorporate it into the rosary as Mary requested.
The most recent change was on October 16, 2002, when Pope St. John Paul II commemorated the 25th anniversary of his pontificate by adding the mysteries of light, or Luminous mysteries, to the saying of the rosary. In his Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary, 'Rosarium Virginis Mariae', he announced 2002 as the Year of the Rosary and called on Catholics to renew their devotion to this traditional prayer. Pope St.vJohn Paul II suggested that reflection on the mysteries of Christ’s public ministry would help Catholics enter more fully into the life of Jesus through the rosary:
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