Rosary-based prayers

Rosary-based prayers are Christian prayers recited on a set of rosary beads, among other cords. These prayers recite specific word sequences on the beads that make up the different sections. They may be directed to God the Father, Jesus Christ, or the Virgin Mary.

Physical structure of a rosary

The most common form of rosary is the Dominican Rosary. This is made up of a total of 59 beads, or sometimes knots, and a crucifix, perhaps with a small medallion. The main loop comprises 50 beads (often called Hail Mary beads and named for the prayer they are used to count) arranged as five groups of 10 closely spaced beads called decades. In between most of these decades and separated by a greater distance is a single bead (called an Our Father bead) which may be larger or otherwise distinctive. Attached between one pair of decades is a short string of five beads: three of them closely spaced, two others separated by a larger distance. At the bottom of this short string is a cross or a crucifix. This short string may attach to the main loop by a centrepiece in the form of a medallion bearing the image of a saint, a Sacred Heart, or some other symbol.

Many other rosaries follow this basic plan, often with one or two extra decades and a like number of single beads being added and perhaps a different number of beads on the pendant string. Small rosaries may comprise a single decade on the loop while retaining five beads and a cross on the pendant. Large Dominican Rosaries may have 169 beads to allow the recitation of 150 Hail Mary prayers without having to pass around the loop multiple times (the remaining 19 beads are fourteen Our Father beads on the loop with 5 beads on the pendant).

Roman Catholic Rosaries

Dominican Rosary

The best known example of a rosary-based prayer is the Dominican Rosary which is ubiquitously called the Rosary. In traditional form it involves contemplation on fifteen Rosary mysteries (as three sets of five mysteries each), while Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father prayers are recited.Thurston, Herbert, and Andrew Shipman. "The Rosary." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.

This Rosary prayer goes back several centuries and there are differing views among experts on its exact history. In the 16th century, Pope Pius V established the current form of the original 15 mysteries for this Rosary and they remained so until the 20th century. Pope John Paul II proposed an additional set of five mysteries known as the "Luminous" mysteries as a manner of reflecting on Christ's life during his public ministry.

Further prayers specified in the Roman Catholic tradition include: the Fátima prayers, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the of Bernard of Clairvaux.

Chaplet of the Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy was introduced and propagated by Faustina Kowalska, a Polish religious sister of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. According to her diary (Diary 474-476), on 13 and 14 September 1935, this chaplet was dictated to her directly by Jesus Christ during visions when she was at the convent of Wilno (Vilnius). Faustina also said that Jesus granted several promises to the recitation of this chaplet.

The main focus of this prayer is to implore God the Father's mercy for the person praying and for the whole world, through the merits of the Passion of Christ. This prayer of God's mercy is centered on three themes: to obtain mercy, to trust in Christ's mercy, and to show mercy to others. The chaplet is prayed on ordinary rosary but according to the congregation, the chaplet should not be prayed the same way as an ordinary rosary: the decades should not be interspersed with meditations, intentions or any other prayers. Any intentions or texts are to be meditated upon at the beginning so that the entire prayer is said the way Jesus dictated it.

Carthusian Rosary The Carthusian Rosary or Life of Christ Rosary developed by Dominic of Prussia comprises fifty recitations of Hail Mary each interpolated with a phrase stating a Christological or Mariological mystery. For example, "Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, . Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, Now and at the hour of our death. Amen." (Italic or oblique section indicating the inserted mystery.) At the time Dominic lived, the Hail Mary comprised only the first half of today's longer prayer—just "Hail Mary..." to "... thy womb, Jesus"—so he was adding his phrase to the end of the prayer.

There are fifty such phrases commended by Dominic and it acquired its alternative name as these cover the life of Jesus more completely than other Rosaries. While using all fifty meditative phrases is traditional, the Rosary is intended to be contemplative, invites silence for the contemplation, and quality is emphasised over quantity with no need to recite fifty prayers let alone needing to recite all fifty meditations.

The Carthusian Rosary is seen as an ancestor to the Dominican Rosary.

Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Rosary of Mary's Immaculate Heart is recited using an ordinary rosary.Roten, S.M., Johann. "Chaplets: Various Kinds", Marian Library, University of Dayton

Rosary of the Holy Wounds

The Rosary of the Holy Wounds was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century by Sister Mary Martha Chambon, a Roman Catholic nun of the Monastery of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Chambéry, France.

This Rosary specifically meditates on the wounds of Jesus Christ as an Act of Reparation for the sins of the world. This Rosary also focuses on prayers for souls in purgatory. Sister Mary Martha attributed the following purpose for the Rosary to Jesus: "you must not forget[...] the souls in Purgatory, as there are but few who think of their relief[...] The Holy Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls in Purgatory."G. P. Geoghegan, 2006, A Collection of My Favorite Prayers

Bridgettine Crown The Rosary as prayed by the Bridgettine and Discalced Carmelites orders is a loop containing six decades and five single beads, together with a short string of beads leading to the crucifix."Brigittine Crown", Sisters of Carmel, Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts It was propagated by Bridget of Sweden. It adds one additional mystery to each of the three traditional sets of Dominican mysteries: the Immaculate Conception is added as the sixth Joyful Mystery, Christ's body being removed from the cross is the sixth Sorrowful Mystery, the Virgin Mary being matron of the Bridgettine order is the sixth Glorious Mystery. An example of the Bridgettine Rosary may be seen depicted on the statue of the Crowned Virgin in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows

The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, which is also called the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, the Rosary of the Seven Swords or the Servite Rosary, is a chaplet that originated with the Servite Order and is a form of devotion to the Seven Dolours of Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows.

In 1233, seven members of a Florentine Confraternity devoted to the Mother of God founded the Servite Order. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to the young men and exhorted them to devote themselves to her service. They retired on Monte Senario near Florence, where they experienced another vision of Mary. There they formed a new Order called the Servants of Mary, or Servites. In 1239, they took up the sorrows of Mary standing under the Cross, known as Our Lady of Sorrows, as the principal devotion of their order. The Servites developed the three most common devotions to Our Lady's Sorrows, one of which is the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows.

During the 18th century, a set of introductory prayers for the Servite Rosary was written by Alphonsus Liguori in his book The Glories of Mary.Liguori, Alphonsus. The Glories of Mary. (translated from Italian) London: Redemptorist Fathers, St. Mary's. (1852) pp. 611–614

Between 1981 and 1989, during the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho in Kibeho, Rwanda, the Virgin Mary reportedly instructed one of the three recognized seers, Marie-Claire Mukangango, to spread the devotion to the Seven Sorrows Rosary. She also explained to her the graces associated with reciting the Rosary.

Franciscan Crown

In 1263, Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion honoring the mystery of the Visitation. The Franciscan Rosary, or as it is properly called, the Franciscan Crown and also known as the Rosary of the Seven Joys of Mary, developed in early part of the 15th century, and was officially established in 1422. The Franciscan Crown consists of seven decades of Hail Mary prayers, each preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be, and completed by two more Hail Marys after the 7th decade to complete the number 72 which is thought to be the age of Mary at the time of her Assumption. The Crown recalls the Seven Joys of Mary and how she responded to the grace of God in her life. These Seven Joys overlap with the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries of the Dominican Rosary. In addition to developing this Marian devotion, the Franciscans are credited with adding the final words to the Hail Mary: "Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners [from the writings of Bernardino of Siena] now and at the hour of our death [from the writings of the Servite Fathers and the Roman Breviary]."

St. Anthony's Rosary The Irish people (specifically in the Gaeltacht areas) and their descendants in the global Irish diaspora have a tradition of saying 13 Aves rather than ten, in honour of Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is 13 June. Also called the St. Anthony Chaplet, its prayers are accompanied by a poem called the Miraculous Responsory or , written by Bonaventure."How to Pray the Chaplet of St. Anthony of Padua", National Shrine of St. Anthony, Mt. Airy, Cincinnati

Trinitarian Rosary The term "Trinitarian Rosary" is used for at least two different rosaries or chaplets.

Trisagion Rosary of the Trinitarian Order First, it can refer to the special rosary or chaplet used by the Trinitarian Order (the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives), which was founded in France in 1198. From an early date, the Trinitarians have used a form of prayer based on the Trisagion (sometimes Trisagium or Triagion, from the Greek 'thrice' + 'holy'). This is a Byzantine prayer in praise of the Trinity: its simplest form is "Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us."

The Trisagion Rosary (usually called a chaplet) has three groups of nine beads. In reciting the chaplet, each group is preceded by the Trisagion and the Pater Noster. A special prayer is recited on each of the nine beads: "To you be praise, glory, and thanksgiving for ever, blessed Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory." Each group of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri ("Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..."), and the whole ends with a closing prayer.

As with other rosaries that are special to a particular religious Order, its history is rather cloudy. The first question is how long the Trinitarians have used the Trisagion and its associated prayers. The prayers themselves are quite old, and may well have come to the Trinitarians from Byzantium through their connections in the Middle East. The Trisagion itself can be traced at least as far back as the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) and perhaps further.

Paternoster beads