The rosary is a common devotion among Catholics that meditates on the lives and events of Jesus and Mary. It’s a contemplative devotion filled with powerful imagery and layers that explore the mysteries of our faith that can help deepen your own faith.

How to Pray the Rosary

1. Make the sign of the cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed while holding the crucifix.
2. Say the Our Father on the first large bead.
3. Say the Hail Mary three times, once on each small bead.
4. Say the Glory Be.
5. Announce the first mystery, then pray the Our Father on the second large bead.
6. Say the Hail Mary 10 times, once on each small bead, while meditating on the mystery.
7. Say the Glory Be.
8. Announce the second mystery, then pray the Our Father on the next large bead.
9. Repeat through the last decade of the rosary.

At the end of the rosary, say the Hail, Holy Queen and:

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 upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Conclude the rosary with the Sign of the Cross.

The Mysteries of the Rosary

The Glorious Mysteries

Prayed Sunday and Wednesday

1. The Resurrection (Lk 24:1-5)
2. The Ascension (Mk 16:19 )
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4)
4. The Assumption (Lk 1:48-49)
5. The Coronation of Mary (Rv 12:1)

The Joyful Mysteries

Prayed Monday and Saturday

1. The Annunciation (Lk 1:26-27)
2. The Visitation (Lk 1:39-42)
3. The Nativity (Lk 2:1-7)
4. The Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:21-24)
5. The Finding in the Temple (Lk 2:41-47)

The Sorrowful Mysteries

Prayed Tuesday and Friday

1. The Agony in the Garden (Mt 26:36-39)
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Mt 27:26)
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Mt 27:27-29)
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Mk 15:21-22)
5. The Crucifixion and Death (Lk 23:33-46)

The Luminous Mysteries

Prayed Thursday

1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan (Mt 3:16-17)
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2:1-5)
3. Jesus’ Proclamation of the Coming of the Kingdom of God (Mk 1:15)
4. The Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-2)
5. The Institution of the Eucharist as a Sacrament (Mt 26:26)