St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester
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The Rosary

The Rosary

The Rosary is a traditional prayer of the Catholic Church, where sets of ten beads (known as 'decades') are counted to repetitions of the prayer to Mary, Hail Mary, interspersed with recitations of the Our Father and the Glory Be to the Father. Each set of ten is associated with an event from the life of Jesus, known traditionally as a 'mystery'.  The mysteries of the rosary follow the life of Christ and his mother from the Annunciation to the Ascension, and onwards into the Kingdom of Heaven, and are grouped in sets of five.

In St Werburgh's Church, the main sequence of stained glass windows illustrates the traditional fifteen mysteries of the rosary. The windows may be seen in The Rosary Windows, one of the photographic galleries on this website. There is also a description of each window, and some material for meditation and reflection, in each of the pages linked below.

Joyful Mysteries

  1. The Annunciation
  2. The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elzabeth
  3. The Nativity
  4. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
  5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

 

Sorrowful Mysteries

  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging at the Pillar
  3. The Crowning with Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion

 

Glorious Mysteries

  1. The Resurrection
  2. The Ascension of Jesus into Heaven
  3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
  4. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
  5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

In 2002 Pope John Paul II recommended an additional set called the Luminous Mysteries, which have not yet become universally adopted: 

Luminous Mysteries

  1. The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
  2. The Wedding at Cana
  3. Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
  4. The Transfiguration
  5. The Institution of the Eucharist

 

The Rosary Online

Other websites exist with prayerful approaches to the Rosary

The Rosary, by Nancy Hargrave of Winston Hills, New South Wales, Australia, takes the viewer to a quiet place within; away from the noise and din of life, and all its distractions ... into the presence of God.