How to Pray the Rosary: A Complete Guide

The Holy Rosary is the Church's great Marian prayer: a meditation on the chief mysteries of the life of Our Lord and His Mother, counted on beads while the Hail Mary is repeated as a steady ground beneath the meditation. It is at once simple enough for a child and deep enough for a saint. This guide explains what the Rosary is, the beads, the prayers, the fifteen mysteries, and how to pray it, step by step.

What is the Rosary?

The word rosary names both the prayer and the string of beads used to count it. As a prayer, it is a meditation on fifteen "mysteries" — fifteen scenes from the Gospel — said while the lips repeat the Hail Mary. The repeated vocal prayer occupies and quiets the mind, freeing it to dwell on the mystery. So the Rosary joins two things at once: vocal prayer on the lips, and meditation in the heart.

It has been called the Gospel on a string, because in its fifteen mysteries it carries the soul through the Incarnation, the Passion, and the glory of Christ and His Mother.

How many beads are on a Rosary?

A full Rosary chaplet has fifty-nine beads, arranged so the prayers fall in order:

• A crucifix, where the Rosary begins.
• One bead, then a gap of three beads, then one bead — the short string that leads up to the loop.
• A loop of five "decades" — five groups of ten beads each, separated by a single bead. Ten and one, five times: fifty beads in the decades, five single beads between them.

You pray once around the loop for each set of five mysteries.

The prayers of the Rosary

Only a few prayers are used, repeated:

• The Sign of the Cross
• The Apostles' Creed
• The Our Father (the Lord's Prayer)
• The Hail Mary
• The Glory Be (Gloria Patri)
• The Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina), at the end, followed by the versicle and prayer of the Rosary

If you do not yet know these by heart, keep them in front of you; they are soon learned by the praying.

How to pray the Rosary, step by step

1. On the crucifix — make the Sign of the Cross and say the Apostles' Creed.
2. On the first single bead — say one Our Father.
3. On the next three beads — say three Hail Marys (asked for an increase of faith, hope, and charity).
4. Then — say one Glory Be.
5. Announce the first mystery and say one Our Father on the single bead before the decade.
6. On the ten beads of the decade — say ten Hail Marys, holding the mystery before your mind.
7. At the end of the decade — say one Glory Be. (Many add here the prayer Our Lady taught at Fatima:)

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

8. Announce the next mystery and repeat steps 5-7 for the four remaining decades.
9. At the end of the five decades — say the Hail Holy Queen, then the versicle and prayer of the Rosary given below, and close with the Sign of the Cross.

The versicle and prayer of the Rosary — the Collect of the feast of the Most Holy Rosary (7 October):

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. 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, meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

That is one chaplet of five decades — the daily Rosary.

How to pray a single decade of the Rosary

A "decade" is one set of ten Hail Marys with its bordering prayers — one fifth of the Rosary. If you have not the time for the full five, a single decade is a complete unit of prayer in itself, and is the natural building block of the whole. To pray one decade:

1. Announce the mystery you wish to contemplate (for example, the Annunciation).
2. Say one Our Father on the single bead.
3. Say ten Hail Marys on the ten beads of the decade, holding the mystery before your mind.
4. Say one Glory Be at the end (and, if you wish, the Fatima prayer, O my Jesus...).

That is one decade. The five decades of a daily Rosary are simply this same pattern prayed five times over, with a new mystery announced for each. Learning the single decade first is the easiest way to learn the whole.

The fifteen mysteries

The traditional Rosary contemplates fifteen mysteries, in three sets of five. One set is prayed each day. A single line of meditation is given here for each:

The Joyful Mysteries (Monday and Thursday)

1. The Annunciation — the Angel announces, and Mary consents: God is made man.
2. The Visitation — Mary, bearing Christ, brings Him to Elizabeth.
3. The Nativity — the Word is born in Bethlehem, in poverty.
4. The Presentation — the Child is offered in the Temple; Simeon foretells the sword.
5. The Finding in the Temple — the lost Child is found about His Father's business.

The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesday and Friday)

1. The Agony in the Garden — Christ sweats blood under the weight of our sins.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar — He is torn for our sake.
3. The Crowning with Thorns — the King of Heaven is mocked.
4. The Carrying of the Cross — He bears the wood up to Calvary.
5. The Crucifixion — He dies for the salvation of the world.

The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday)

1. The Resurrection — Christ rises, conquering death.
2. The Ascension — He returns in glory to the Father.
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost — the Spirit is given to the Church.
4. The Assumption — Our Lady is taken up, body and soul, into Heaven.
5. The Coronation — she is crowned Queen of Heaven and earth.

These fifteen are the Rosary as it was prayed and indulgenced for centuries — the traditional Rosary. (The five "Luminous" mysteries are a later addition of 2002 and lie outside it.) For a closer look at each mystery and which set is prayed on which day, see The Mysteries of the Rosary; for the beads, the crucifix, and the centerpiece, see The Parts of a Rosary.

How long does the Rosary take?

Five decades — the daily Rosary — take about fifteen to twenty minutes, prayed without haste. The whole Rosary of fifteen mysteries is the work of all three sets, one each day across the week. To keep the right set for the day and your place in each decade, our Rosary app lays out every mystery in Latin and English, with audio to pray along.

Praying the Rosary well

The Rosary is not a race, and its power is not in speed or in number alone. Its strength is in the joining of the voice and the mind — the lips at the Hail Mary, the heart on the mystery. Pray it slowly. Let the fifteen scenes pass before the soul as you go, and the prayer that seems at first mere repetition opens into a meditation on the whole Gospel. If the mind wanders, return it gently to the mystery; the wandering is no failure, only the labour of prayer.

The Church has held the Rosary, for centuries, as among the surest of her devotions to Our Lady — a prayer fit for the simplest soul and never exhausted by the greatest.

How to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries are the second of the three sets, prayed on Tuesday and Friday (and in Lent). They carry the soul through the Passion of Our Lord, from the Garden to the Cross. To pray them, follow the same order as any set: on each single bead announce the mystery in turn and say one Our Father; on the ten beads say ten Hail Marys, dwelling on the scene; close each decade with a Glory Be. The five Sorrowful Mysteries, in order, are:

1. The Agony in the Garden — Christ sweats blood under the weight of our sins.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar — He is torn for our sake.
3. The Crowning with Thorns — the King of Heaven is mocked.
4. The Carrying of the Cross — He bears the wood up to Calvary.
5. The Crucifixion — He dies for the salvation of the world.

How to pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary

The Seven Sorrows Rosary (also called the Servite Rosary or Chaplet of the Seven Dolours) is a distinct devotion, older and separate from the ordinary Rosary above. It honours the seven sorrows of Our Lady's life rather than the fifteen mysteries, and its beads are arranged as seven groups of seven Hail Marys. To pray it:

• Begin with an Act of Contrition.
• For each of the seven sorrows, announce it, then say one Our Father and seven Hail Marys while meditating on that sorrow.
• Conclude with three Hail Marys in honour of the tears of Our Lady.

The seven sorrows, in order, are: the Prophecy of Simeon; the Flight into Egypt; the Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple; the Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Way of the Cross; the Crucifixion; the Taking Down of Our Lord from the Cross; and the Burial of Jesus. This devotion was long indulgenced and dear to the Servite order; it is a meditation on the compassion of the Mother who stood beneath the Cross. (For more devotions of this kind, see What is a Chaplet.)

How to pray the Rosary in English and in Spanish

The Rosary is one prayer in every tongue; only the words change. The full English text of each prayer — the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Apostles' Creed, and Hail Holy Queen — is the one used in the steps above, and is the ordinary form in English-speaking countries.

To pray the Rosary in Spanish, the same order is kept, with these prayers in their place:

The Our Father

Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo...

The Hail Mary

Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo; bendita Tú eres entre todas las mujeres, y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre, Jesús. Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros, pecadores, ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte. Amén.

The Glory Be

Gloria al Padre, y al Hijo, y al Espíritu Santo...

Many pray the Rosary in Latin, the language common to the whole Church across the centuries (Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri); the Iter Fidei app carries every prayer in both Latin and English, with audio, so the Rosary may be prayed along in either tongue. Our comparison of the best rosary apps shows which others offer the Latin.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I pray the Rosary?

Begin on the crucifix with the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles' Creed; then one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and a Glory Be on the short string of beads. Announce the first mystery, say one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and a Glory Be for each of the five decades, holding the mystery before your mind throughout, and close with the Hail Holy Queen, followed by the versicle and prayer of the Rosary. The full step-by-step order, with every prayer in place, is set out above.

How do you pray the Rosary step by step for beginners?

Follow the nine steps given above in order, and do not be anxious about getting it perfect at first. Keep the prayers in front of you until they are learned by heart — they soon are — and let the beads do the counting so your mind is free for the mystery. Begin with one set of five decades a day; the Hail Mary repeated, joined to meditation, is the whole of it.

How do you pray the Rosary with the prayers?

Only a handful of prayers are used, each tied to its place on the beads: the Apostles' Creed on the crucifix, the Our Father on the single beads, the Hail Mary on the groups of ten, the Glory Be after each set, and the Hail Holy Queen at the end, followed by the versicle and prayer of the Rosary. As you move forward one bead with each Hail Mary, the prayers fall in order of themselves. The text of each, and exactly where it is said, is laid out in the steps above.

How long does it take to pray the Rosary?

Five decades — the daily Rosary — take about fifteen to twenty minutes, prayed without haste. The whole Rosary of fifteen mysteries is the work of all three sets across the week, one each day. The Rosary is not a race; its power is in the joining of voice and mind, not in speed.

Is there a PDF guide for how to pray the Rosary?

This guide gives the complete order in full — the beads, the prayers, the nine steps, and all fifteen mysteries — so you can pray it straight from the page or keep it beside you as you learn. The Iter Fidei app carries the same in a form you can pray along with, the prayers in Latin and English with audio.

Better than a PDF: the Iter Fidei app sets the right text before you each day and reminds you to pray it, even without a connection. Join early access here.

How do you pray the Rosary on the beads?

Hold the crucifix to begin; let each bead pass between finger and thumb as you say its prayer, moving forward one bead with each Hail Mary. The single beads carry the Our Father and the Glory Be; the ten beads of each decade carry the ten Hail Marys. The beads do the counting, so that the mind is left free for the mystery — which is the whole purpose of the prayer.

Can you pray the Rosary without a Rosary?

Yes. The beads are a help to counting, not a thing required; one may keep the count on the fingers, or simply pray the decades as they come. The Rosary is the prayer and the meditation, not the string — though the beads free the mind to dwell on the mysteries, and are worth carrying for that reason.

What happens if my Rosary breaks?

Nothing of consequence to the prayer: the beads are a sacramental — a blessed aid to devotion — not a charm, and a broken string carries no ill omen. If the Rosary was blessed, the blessing is not undone by the breaking, and the beads may simply be mended or, if past mending, burned or buried rather than thrown out with the refuse, as is fitting for any blessed object. Mend it and pray on; Our Lady looks to the heart, not the cord.

How do you pray a decade of the Rosary?

A decade is one set of ten Hail Marys with its bordering prayers: announce a mystery, say one Our Father on the single bead, ten Hail Marys on the ten beads, and a Glory Be at the end. That is a complete unit of prayer — the five decades of the daily Rosary are this same pattern prayed five times, with a new mystery each time. If pressed for time, a single decade is a worthy prayer in itself.

How do you pray the Rosary in Spanish?

The order is identical; only the words change. Pray the Padre nuestro on the single beads, the Dios te salve, María (the Hail Mary) on the ten beads of each decade, and the Gloria al Padre after each — following the same nine steps given above. The full Spanish texts are set out in the section above.

What is the Seven Sorrows Rosary and how is it prayed?

It is a separate devotion to the seven sorrows of Our Lady — distinct from the fifteen-mystery Rosary. It is prayed as seven groups, each of one Our Father and seven Hail Marys, one group for each sorrow, beginning with an Act of Contrition and ending with three Hail Marys for Our Lady's tears. The seven sorrows and the full order are given above.

How do you pray the Sorrowful Mysteries?

Pray them as you would any set of the Rosary, on Tuesday and Friday: announce each mystery on the single bead with an Our Father, say ten Hail Marys on the decade, and close with a Glory Be. The five Sorrowful Mysteries — the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion — are listed in order above.

Can I pray the Rosary every day?

Yes, and it is much to be commended: the daily Rosary of five decades is the Church's long-counselled practice, and Our Lady at Fatima asked expressly for the Rosary to be prayed each day. The set of mysteries changes by the day of the week — Joyful on Monday and Thursday, Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, Glorious on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday — so that across the week the whole Rosary is prayed.

(Iter Fidei serves the full traditional Rosary — every mystery with its meditations, the prayers in Latin and English, with audio to pray along — in the app.) Join early access here.

Sources. The traditional Holy Rosary (fifteen mysteries); the Hail Mary, Our Father, Apostles' Creed, Gloria Patri, and Salve Regina of the Roman tradition; the prayer given at Fatima (1917); Missale Romanum (1962), Collect of the Most Holy Rosary.