The complete Rosary is composed of twenty decades, which are divided into four distinct parts: the five Joyful Mysteries, the five Luminous Mysteries, the five Sorrowful Mysteries, and the five Glorious Mysteries.

Meditations on the Joyful Mysteries

Meditations of the Luminous Mysteries

Meditations of the Sorrowful Mysteries

Meditations of the Glorious Mysteries

Each set of mysteries can be recited separately, at different times. If you pray only five decades a day, it is customary to recite the Joyful Mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous Mysteries on Thursday, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious Mysteries on Wednesday and Saturday.

The prayers of the Rosary include The Apostles’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Fatima Prayer. At the conclusion of the Rosary, the Hail Holy Queen prayer is recited. Read the prayers of the rosary here.

1.While holding the crucifix, begin with the Sign of the Cross. Next, pray the Apostles’ Creed.

2. Pray the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father).

3. Pray three Hail Marys.

4. Announce the first mystery; then pray the Lord’s Prayer.

5. Pray ten Hail Marys. (This is called a decade.)

6. Pray the Glory Be and the Fatima prayers.

Before the next decade, announce the mystery and pray the Lord’s Prayer.

For each set of 10 beads (decade), pray ten Hail Marys while meditating on the mystery.

7. After completing the five decades, pray the Hail, Holy Queen.

“In our day, Our Lady has been given to us as the best defense against the evils that afflict modern life; Marian devotion is the sure guarantee of her maternal protection and safeguard in the hour of temptation. And what an unfailing support is this mysterious presence of the Virgin Most Pure, when we invoke the protection and the help of the Senhora Aparecida! Let us place in her most holy hands the lives of priests and consecrated laypersons, seminarians and all who are called to religious life.”

“Let us give thanks to God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy Spirit from whom, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we receive all the blessings of heaven; from whom we receive this gift which, together with faith, is the greatest grace that can be bestowed upon a creature: the firm desire to attain the fullness of charity, in the conviction that holiness is not only possible but also necessary for every person in his or her own state of life, so as to reveal to the world the true face of Christ, our friend! Amen!”

~ From the Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, on the occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean; Holy Mass and Canonization of Father Antônio De Sant’ana Galvão, OFM; Friday, May 11, 2007; “Campo De Marte,” São Paulo, Brazil

“If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory. Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”

~ St. Louis de Montfort