History
The Rosary is believed to have been given to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin and the Dominicans have been instrumental through the centuries in promoting the Rosary.
The word Rosary itself comes from the Latin rosarium, meaning Rose Garden and the rose is often associated with Mary. By the 16th Century the major components of the modern Rosary were established - the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be as well as the 15 Mysteries and 5 Decades were all part of the Rosary devotion. The Salve Regina and Apostles' Creed were added later.
On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II introduced 5 new mysteries known as the Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light. In the Pope's Apostolic Letter, the Pope stated that "With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer." He notes that, because of its Christological center, "If properly revitalized, the Rosary is an aid and certainly not a hindrance to ecumenism!" Click Here to view the Pope's Apostolic Letter on the Rosary.
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