''Rosarium Virginis Mariae'' (''Rosary of the Virgin Mary'') is an

Apostolic Letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the pop ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, issued on October 16, 2002, which declared from October 2002 to October 2003 as the "Year of the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

".Burke D.D. J.C.D., Raymond Leo CArdinal. "Commentary on Rosarium Virginis Mariae: Sitting at the School of Mary", Marian Catechist Apostolate
/ref> It was published by Pope John Paul II in 2002 at the beginning of the twenty-fifth year of his pontificate.Frisk, M. Jean. “Magisterial Documents: Rosarium Virginis Mariae.” All About Mary, International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton
/ref>

Introduction

This Apostolic Letter deals with the

Holy Rosary Holy Rosary may refer to: * Rosary, a set of prayer beads used in a traditional Roman Catholic devotion * The Holy Rosary, a prayer based on the rosary See also * Holy Rosary Academy (disambiguation), one of several Roman Catholic schools with ...

and follows

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in viewing it as compendium of the Gospel message:

The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. ...Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.Pope John Paul II, ''Rosarium Virginis Mariae'', §1, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
/ref>

In the 1569 papal bull '' Consueverunt''," St

Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

noted that "the Rosary or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin" is a "method of prayer" through which we "venerate Mary with the Angelic salutation repeated 150 times according to the number of David's psalms, and before every set of ten Hail Mary's we say the prayer of Our Lord with meditations that illustrate the entire life of the same Lord Jesus Christ".Barile. Riccardo. "Reflections on ''Rosarium Virginis Mariae #1''", ''L'Osservatore Romano'', Weekly Edition in English, January 22, 2003, p. 4
/ref> The Apostolic Letter quotes Saint

Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...

“Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ. Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ."''

Luminous Mysteries

As Christian history developed, in medieval spirituality, religious devotion developed a notable Christocentric orientation that was consolidated under the influence of monasticism which placed strong emphasis on the humanity of Jesus, seen in the mysteries of his earthly life. Thus, the ''affectus dilectionis'' (preferential love) warms

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

piety with St

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

and William of Saint-Thierry, whereas

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

spirituality focuses on the tradition of the crib and contemplation of the passion. Dominican piety, with St

Albert the Great Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

and St

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

, like St

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

sees the Crucified Christ as the center of religious devotion.Bordoni, Marcello. "Refections on ''Rosarium Virginis Mariae", ''L'Osservatore Romano #8'', Weekly Edition in English, May 7 2003, p. 10
/ref> In this letter John Paul II introduces the " Mysteries of Light" into the cycle of the mysteries of the life of Christ that are to be contemplated while praying the rosary. These five "luminous mysteries" focus devotion on the events of the public ministry of Jesus Christ: *(1) his Baptism in the Jordan, *(2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana, *(3) his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, *(4) his Transfiguration, and *(5) his institution of the Eucharist. The document states that each mystery "is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus".''Rosarium Virginis Mariae'' §21 Lengthy and diversified in content, the Apostolic Letter can be considered a practical pastoral instrument in various ways: How to pray the Rosary as a form of contemplative prayer, brief explanations of the mysteries, the meanings of the "Our Father", the ten "Hail Marys", the "Gloria", the concluding prayers, the beads, and the chain.

References

External links

The International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton

The Marian Library at the University of Dayton
{{John Paul II Documents of Pope John Paul II 2002 documents 2002 in Christianity