How to Pray the Rosary

Whether you grew up praying the rosary or you’re picking it up for the first time, here’s everything you need. No jargon, no assumptions. 

What the rosary is. The rosary is a meditative prayer that walks through the life of Christ and the life of Mary, twenty “mysteries” in all, grouped into four sets. You pray it on a string of beads — each bead is a prayer, and the beads keep your hands busy so your mind can rest on the mystery. 

The order of prayers. 

  1. Hold the cross. Make the Sign of the Cross, then pray the Apostles’ Creed. 
  2. On the first bead, pray the Our Father. 
  3. On the next three beads, pray a Hail Mary on each — traditionally for faith, hope, and charity. 
  4. Pray the Glory Be. 
  5. Announce the first mystery (see the schedule below). Pray the Our Father on the large bead. 
  6. On the ten beads of the decade, pray a Hail Mary on each while reflecting on the mystery. 
  7. Pray the Glory Be. Many add the Fatima Prayer: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins…” 
  8. Repeat steps 5–7 for all five decades, announcing a new mystery each time.
  9. At the end, pray the Hail Holy Queen. 

The mysteries by day. Each day has a set of mysteries traditionally prayed: 

  • Monday — Joyful 
  • Tuesday — Sorrowful 
  • Wednesday — Glorious 
  • Thursday — Luminous 
  • Friday — Sorrowful 
  • Saturday — Joyful 
  • Sunday — Glorious

The four sets of mysteries. 

Joyful: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple. 

Sorrowful: the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion. 

Glorious: the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption, the Coronation of Mary. 

Luminous: the Baptism in the Jordan, the Wedding at Cana, the Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, the Institution of the Eucharist. 

If you only have five minutes. Pray a single decade. One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory Be, with one mystery in mind. The rosary isn’t all-or-nothing. 

That’s the whole thing. Keep your rosary somewhere you’ll see it — which is exactly why we built one into the charger you reach for every day. 

Get a rosary made for daily prayer →