The History of the Rosary - Then and Now
History of the Rosary The history of the rosary is paved with the holy intentions of righteous people of God to promote spiritual devotion to Jesus Christ and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Although the first recorded use of the rosary involved a simple prayer rope by the Desert Fathers to keep track of repetitions of the Jesus Prayer, the use of intricate silver rosaries are no less signs of devotion.
According to the traditions of the Church, Saint Dominic was given the rosary during an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Prouille church on 1214.
Then, in the 15th century, Saint Alanus de Rupe, a Dominican priest, received a vision from Jesus Christ to reinstate the devotion to the rosary in accordance with the requests of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Along with the vision came the 15 Promises.
Before the introduction by Saint Dominic and Saint Alan of their devotions, however, the history of the rosary appears to follow a gradual development.
The monastic orders prayed the Liturgy of the Hours including the 150 Psalms daily, which were in Latin.
As the members of the laity then were unable to read the ancient language, 150 Our Father prayers were substituted instead.
To keep accurate count, a cord was knotted with 150 knots.
As the centuries progressed to the Middle Ages, Holy Marys were also recited by the faithful although evidence suggests that there was still a strong link between the rosary and Our Father prayers.
This can be gleaned from the name of the guilds of rosary makers who were called paternosterers (Pater Noster is Our Father in Latin).
There is also recorded evidence of Saint Eligius keeping track of the 150 Hail Marys in the Psalter of Mary with the use of a counting device, which we are sure are not silver rosaries.
Dominic of Prussia, a Carthusian monk, introduced the practice of meditating while praying the Hail Marys and called it the Life of Jesus Rosary.
Quotes from the scriptures preceded the 50 Hail Marys, which were given as a rule to the anchorites in the mid-12th century.
Said rule is the precursor of the modern version of the rosary where 50 Hail Marys were divided into sets of ten albeit marks of reverence like prostrations accompanied each prayer.
This is where Saint Alan de Rupe comes in.
He promoted the devotion to the rosary in nations like France, Flanders and the Netherlands, thus, paving the way for its spread to other European countries and, eventually, to the whole world in the form of rosary confraternities.
It was only in 1569 when the Dominican Pope Pius V issued a papal bull "The Consueverunt Romani Pontifices" which officially established the devotion to the rosary within the Catholic Church.
Still, from the 16th until the early part of the 20th century, the rosary's structure was essentially similar in all aspects - 15 mysteries with 15 decades each, Our Father preceding the 10 Hail Marys and then followed by the Glory Be prayer.
It was during the 20th century that the Fatima Prayer became a popular addition to the rosary.
No other changes came to the rosary until 2002 when the five optional Luminous Mysteries were added by Pope John Paul II.
Indeed, the history of the rosary continues to be made and we, the faithful, will continue our devotion to it.
Although the first recorded use of the rosary involved a simple prayer rope by the Desert Fathers to keep track of repetitions of the Jesus Prayer, the use of intricate silver rosaries are no less signs of devotion.
According to the traditions of the Church, Saint Dominic was given the rosary during an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Prouille church on 1214.
Then, in the 15th century, Saint Alanus de Rupe, a Dominican priest, received a vision from Jesus Christ to reinstate the devotion to the rosary in accordance with the requests of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Along with the vision came the 15 Promises.
Before the introduction by Saint Dominic and Saint Alan of their devotions, however, the history of the rosary appears to follow a gradual development.
The monastic orders prayed the Liturgy of the Hours including the 150 Psalms daily, which were in Latin.
As the members of the laity then were unable to read the ancient language, 150 Our Father prayers were substituted instead.
To keep accurate count, a cord was knotted with 150 knots.
As the centuries progressed to the Middle Ages, Holy Marys were also recited by the faithful although evidence suggests that there was still a strong link between the rosary and Our Father prayers.
This can be gleaned from the name of the guilds of rosary makers who were called paternosterers (Pater Noster is Our Father in Latin).
There is also recorded evidence of Saint Eligius keeping track of the 150 Hail Marys in the Psalter of Mary with the use of a counting device, which we are sure are not silver rosaries.
Dominic of Prussia, a Carthusian monk, introduced the practice of meditating while praying the Hail Marys and called it the Life of Jesus Rosary.
Quotes from the scriptures preceded the 50 Hail Marys, which were given as a rule to the anchorites in the mid-12th century.
Said rule is the precursor of the modern version of the rosary where 50 Hail Marys were divided into sets of ten albeit marks of reverence like prostrations accompanied each prayer.
This is where Saint Alan de Rupe comes in.
He promoted the devotion to the rosary in nations like France, Flanders and the Netherlands, thus, paving the way for its spread to other European countries and, eventually, to the whole world in the form of rosary confraternities.
It was only in 1569 when the Dominican Pope Pius V issued a papal bull "The Consueverunt Romani Pontifices" which officially established the devotion to the rosary within the Catholic Church.
Still, from the 16th until the early part of the 20th century, the rosary's structure was essentially similar in all aspects - 15 mysteries with 15 decades each, Our Father preceding the 10 Hail Marys and then followed by the Glory Be prayer.
It was during the 20th century that the Fatima Prayer became a popular addition to the rosary.
No other changes came to the rosary until 2002 when the five optional Luminous Mysteries were added by Pope John Paul II.
Indeed, the history of the rosary continues to be made and we, the faithful, will continue our devotion to it.
