Traditional prayer
The Prayers of the Rosary
The Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into hell: the third day He arose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Our Father. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
The Hail Mary. 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.
The Glory Be. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Fatima prayer, after each Glory Be. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those who have most need of Your mercy.
About this prayer
How the beads are prayed, in the Baltimore Catechism’s own steps: bless yourself with the cross; say the Apostles’ Creed, and the Our Father on the first large bead; a Hail Mary on each of the three small beads; then the Glory be. Then name the first mystery, say an Our Father on the large bead and a Hail Mary on each of the ten small beads that follow, and end the decade with the Glory be. Name the next mystery and do as before, to the end (Baltimore Catechism No. 3, Q. 1082). The ordinary beads are of five decades (Q. 1080). St. John Paul II noted that some begin instead with “O God, come to my aid,” and that these customs are equally legitimate; he pictured the Rosary closing with a prayer for the intentions of the Pope and crowned with the Salve Regina or the Litany of Loreto (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 37). The Hail, Holy Queen has its own page in this Prayer Book.
Which mysteries, which day? With the five Mysteries of Light he proposed in 2002, St. John Paul II suggested the joyful mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, the glorious on Wednesday and Sunday, and the luminous on Thursday (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 21, 38).
The Fatima prayer. According to Sister Lucia’s account, Our Lady taught the three shepherd children of Fatima this prayer on 13 July 1917, to be said after each mystery; the Fatima shrine’s historians note that it was first written down in a letter of 8 September 1917, and that early printings changed its words until the original form was restored after Sister Lucia was asked. Fatima is a private revelation the Church has approved: on 13 October 1930 the Bishop of Leiria declared the children’s visions worthy of belief and permitted the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima (Portuguese Episcopal Conference, 2016). Such revelations do not belong to the deposit of faith; they help the faithful to live it more fully (CCC 67). St. John Paul II observed that the brief prayer after the Glory be varies with local custom (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 35). The English given here is printed in a Paulist Press novena of 1944. Sister Lucia’s Portuguese ends with words that mean “especially those most in need” (our translation); the English printed here adds “of Your mercy.”
Two words in the Creed. “Holy Ghost” is the older English name of the Holy Spirit. And “He descended into hell” does not mean the place of the damned: the Catechism explains that “hell” here names the abode of the dead, Sheol or Hades, where the dead awaited the Redeemer, and that Christ went down to free the just who were waiting for Him (CCC 633).
When to pray it
- Every day, as a household: one decade if five will not fit.
- With children, a decade at bedtime, each child leading a Hail Mary.
- In the car, at the stove, in a waiting room: the beads go where you go.
- Close with the Hail, Holy Queen.