13/01/2024
A brief history of the Rosary
The church has always venerated Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and Son of God. She was given to us as our spiritual mother via St John at the foot of the cross. The rosary is spiritually walking with Mary through the life of Jesus. Mary who ponders words and events in her heart makes the rosary a prayer of meditation and contemplation.
Praying the rosary regularly can strengthen our faith. St Pius (Padre Pio) of Pietrelcina, kept a rosary in his pocket to pray it multiple times daily. He called it his spiritual weapon to combat evil, the scourge of the devil and a treasure of graces.
St Pope John Paul II said ‘The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort.’
The exact origin of the Rosary is lost in history but some information is available.
Ninth century Irish Monks would recite 150 psalms as a major part of their worship. People outside the monastery would say 150 Our Fathers called the ‘PaterNoster’ Psalter. Later they began to say the Angelic Salutation (the greeting of Archangel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation). When 150 Angelic Salutations were said, this was called the Marian Psalter.
In the fourteenth century St Benardine of Siena would say the sacred name of Jesus repeatedly as a prayer. This became incorporated with the Angelic Salutation to become the Ave Maria (The Hail Mary).
St Thomas Aquinas preached in Rome for 40 days straight on the Hail Mary (Ave Maria) – the development of the Angelic Salutation.
In the thirteenth century theologians interpreted the Psalms in terms of the mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
These Psalters were then divided into groups of 50 called Rosariums. This collection of prayers was a bouquet of spiritual roses. The rose was a powerful symbol in the apparition of Our Lady Of Guadelupe, which had resulted in the conversion of seven million Mexicans.
In the fifteenth century St Dominic instituted a decade of the rosary as one Our Father and ten Hail Marys. Blessed Romee of Livia, a companion of St Dominic and Prior of the convent in Lyons reportedly died holding a little knotted cord on which he counted his Aves. In 1470 the Confraternity of the Rosary was formed by Blessed Alanus de Rupe.
In the seventeenth century St Louis Grignon Marie de Montfort composed a set of narratives later called meditations for each decade of the rosary.
On October 7th 1571 Pope Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory as the outnumbered Christians defeated the Ottoman Empire forces at the Battle of Lepanto. Many popes including Pope Leo X(1521) and Pope Pius V (1572) attribute the institution of the rosary to St Dominic.
Pope Leo XIII wrote nine encyclicals on the rosary. The most famous is ‘Rosarium Virginis Mariae’.
In 1917 Mary appeared in Fatima and called herself the Lady of the Rosary. The Fatima Prayer is sometimes said at the end of each decade – One Our Father, Ten Hail Marys and The Glory Be prayers.
‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires and lead all souls to heaven, especially those souls who have most need of thy mercy. Amen.’
The Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) is said at the end of the five decades of the Rosary.
Hail Holy Queen
‘Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy. Hail 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 vale 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. Amen.’
This was written by Blessed Hermann von Reichenau a blind, crippled German Benedictine monk in the eleventh century.
1697 the Protestant Assembly and Parliament outlawed the Mass in England and Ireland so Catholics became more reliant and attached to their rosaries. The Mass became legal again in1829.
1942 Fr Patrick Peyton CSC became known internationally as ‘the Rosary Priest’ encouraging families to say the rosary.
Initially there were five Sorrowful, five Joyful and five Glorious Mysteries. In October 2002 St Pope John Paul II introduced five Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) from St George Preca, who in 1957 wrote the Mysteries of Light inspired by John 8:12 ‘The Light of the World’.
Also the prayer to St Michael and the Memorare are traditionally added at the end of the Rosary.
Prayer to St Michael
‘Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all other evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.’
This prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII July 23rd 1898 after seeing a vision of hell. The supplement approved on July 31st 1902 is a shorter form that we know today.
The Memorare
‘Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petition, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen’.
This prayer was written by Claude Bernard in the fifteenth century and later popularised by St Bernard of Clairvaux in the sixteenth century.
Finally let us remember that the rosary is the prayer of Church supported by the intercession of Mary, who can obtain all from the heart of her son Jesus.
