battle of lepanto

The Rosary is like the air we breathe or God’s grace, it is everywhere! No need to look far to spy it around the necks of Lady Gaga or Mark Wahlberg or dangling from the rearview mirror of countless cars and trucks. Blessed Rosary beads help millions to pray every moment of every day. Rosary devotees hail from different ages, races, ethnicities, cultures, social classes, and lifestyles. Except for the Holy Eucharist, there isn’t a more popular or iconic instrument of prayer than the Rosary anywhere on God’s good earth.

Where does it come from and why is it so popular?

The Rosary has existed for over 600 years as an important devotion in Catholic life, perhaps much longer.

The history of the Rosary is an adventure featuring numerous unexpected twists, turns, mysteries and miracles. Since this is a ‘brief’ history of the Rosary there is no space to share more than the following barebones accounts.

The Rosary’s ancient sources range far back to the misty early history of Judaism and Christianity: (1) the 150 Psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament; (2) the near universal religious practice of keeping track of prayers by counting with beads, pebbles or marks on wood or stone.

The Psalms emerged from early Hebrew oral traditions and later writings. Observant Jews prayed the psalms especially in the liturgy and in private devotions when Jesus was alive (Jesus prayed them, too!). This practice continued into the early Christian centuries. Monks escaping worldly distractions (or things that made them lose focus) fled to the desert and its tranquility to grow in silent relationship with God. Soon they were praying together in community with Psalms written on scrolls.

Many monks could not read or understand Latin, Greek or Hebrew/Aramaic, the languages of the early Christian Psalms. Most ordinary people were not literate and did not have access to psalm scrolls. Still, they wished to participate in the beautiful, inspiring prayer-life of the early Church. Rather than memorize the 150 Psalms, they began substituting other more common prayers for the Psalms, such as the “Our Father.” They grouped the prayers into sets of 50’s and counted small pebbles to keep track of how many they prayed. 

The earliest accounts of the Rosary as we know it today arise around the time of Saint Dominic, {1170-1221}, founder of the order of Preachers. He is called by many the ‘Father of the Rosary’ because he was key to its origin and creation. He was the first to implement the widespread teaching of this sacred devotion. Dominican Friars and many popes share an account of a mystical experience in which Saint Dominic receives a Rosary from the very hands of the Virgin Mary in the year 1208. Dominicans and many others question the authenticity of this account but not Dominic’s role as ‘Father of the Rosary’ devotion.

Rosary prayer continued growing and evolving through the centuries. In 1571 the Church recognized it as an official prayer following a historic event. In that year, Pope Saint Pius V asked all Christians to pray the Rosary for help in defending Christian Europe from being invaded (or taken over) by Ottoman Turks. At a major engagement at sea, called the Battle of Lepanto, on October 7, the smaller Christian armada unexpectedly and spectacularly triumphed over the much larger Ottoman fleet. With this victory, the Christian people recognized the power of the Rosary. Since then, they have celebrated October 7 annually as the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

Many popes and saints have endorsed the Rosary as a magnificent means of growing spiritually alone and with others. Among them are Saint Louis de Montfort {1673-1716}. He stands out as a champion of “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary” through the creation of his confraternity of the Rosary.

Pope Leo XIII, 1810-1903, is the greatest champion of the Rosary ever to sit in the Chair of Peter {1878-1903} During his pontificate, he wrote 11 encyclicals on the Rosary, promulgated numerous apostolic letters on the Rosary, and gave countless messages on the Rosary to various dioceses and religious institutes. His Rosary encyclicals contain a summary of all the statements previous popes had made about St. Dominic’s role as the ‘Father of the Rosary’ and the founder of the Confraternity of the Rosary.

However, Venerable Patrick Peyton, C.S.C. {1909-1992} is preeminent among modern apostles of the Rosary as a devotion able to save the family, the Church and society. He founded the Family Rosary ministry in 1942 reaching around the globe and proclaiming to more than 28 million persons live in huge Rosary rallies that “The family that prays together stays together” and, “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”

Finally, Saint John Paul II {1920-2005} is the great theologian/philosopher/saint who proclaimed in his first week in the Chair of Peter, “The Rosary is my favorite prayer.” John Paul’s Apostolic Exhortation Rosarium Virginis Mariae raised up for all to ponder anew the Rosary as a magnificent instrument of grace endowing it with fresh theological and spiritual heft.  He reformed the Rosary for the first time in 500 years by adding the five Luminous Mysteries focused on the public ministry of the Lord Jesus.

Among the highlights of Pope John Paul’s contributions are the following spiritual benefits derived from the Rosary:

1.     The Rosary is the School of Mary,

2.     The Rosary is a Christ-centered prayer,

3.     The Rosary is a powerful way to contemplate the Face of Christ,

4.     The Rosary is a memorial by which Mary constantly sets before us the mysteries of her Son,

5.     The Rosary is an invaluable source of self-discovery and integration,

6.     The Rosary is a sublime encounter of Friendship,

7.     The Rosary unites us to the bond between Jesus and Mary,

8.     The Rosary is a supreme source of comfort and solace,

9.     The Rosary is a condensed version of the Gospels.

To summarize the contributions of Pope John Paul to our understanding of the history of the Rosary, consider his phrase that the Rosary is a “simple yet profound” way for people of all ages to walk through the events {Mysteries} in the life of Christ, guided by the pure love and sure confidence of Mary, our Mother.

On a personal note, I benefit from two profound aspects of the Rosary: First, as Romano Guardini says, “To pray the Rosary is to linger in the domain of Mary.” Mary is truly our Mother and she blesses us with her maternal love and joy every time we invoke her assistance in the Rosary. Second, Praying the Rosary before celebrating the Eucharist is the best preparation I know to focus on our Lord and his Mystical Body, the Church. The Rosary helps to clear away distractions and open my heart to the Holy Spirit’s fire and love in the Mass. Praying the Rosary before Mass has enhanced my entire being.

“O Jesus, living in Mary, come and live in your servants, in the spirit of holiness,

In the fullness of your power, in the perfection of your ways,

In the truth of your virtues, in the communion of your mysteries.

Rule over every adverse power in your Spirit for the glory of the Father.

Amen.” {Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S.}

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C.

September 2, 2021