Guide

How to pray the Rosary

Pray guided Rosary
Rosary todayRosary hubOpening prayersWhich mysteries today?Today's mysteriesClosing prayersSorrowful Mysteries

The Rosary is a meditation on the life of Christ through the eyes of His Mother. You move through opening prayers, five decades (each with one mystery), and a closing prayer to Our Lady—usually with rosary beads to keep count, though you can follow this page without them.

Begin

Opening prayers

Make the Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pray the Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Pray the Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Pray three Hail Marys (for faith, hope, and charity)

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray this Hail Mary three times before the first decade, often for faith, hope, and charity.

Pray the Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Which mysteries?

Sorrowful Mysteries

This guide follows the traditional weekday for your calendar day (Friday, October 16, 2026, detected as UTC until your timezone loads). Many Catholics would pray the Sorrowful Mysteries on Friday.

Friday carries the memory of the Lord’s Passion. The Sorrowful Mysteries fit this day in the weekly pattern.

Four sets of mysteries

The Rosary is prayed in four groups of five “mysteries” — Gospel scenes we meditate on while reciting the prayers. Pope John Paul II added the Luminous mysteries in 2002; the other three sets are much older. Which set you pray on a given day is a pious custom, not a strict rule — and the liturgical season can suggest a different focus when needed.

Joyful Mysteries
Christ’s beginnings — from the Annunciation through the finding in the temple — and the holiness of ordinary, family life.
Sorrowful Mysteries
The Passion — from the agony in the garden to the crucifixion — and how suffering offered to God can have meaning.
Glorious Mysteries
Christ risen and glorified — Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, and Mary’s Assumption and Coronation in heaven.
Luminous Mysteries
Christ’s public ministry — the “mysteries of light” from His baptism through the institution of the Eucharist.

The weekly pattern

Many Catholics follow a rhythm like this. The decades below match Friday in that pattern.

See today's mysteries on the daily Rosary page, or open any set below.

  • Sunday Glorious Mysteries. The Lord’s Day is rooted in the Resurrection. Many Catholics pray the Glorious Mysteries on Sunday to keep the week centered on Christ risen.

  • Monday Joyful Mysteries. Monday opens the week with the Joyful Mysteries — Christ’s coming and hidden life — a gentle entry into meditation on the Gospel.

  • Tuesday Sorrowful Mysteries. Tuesday is traditionally given to the Sorrowful Mysteries, walking with Christ through His Passion.

  • Wednesday Glorious Mysteries. Wednesday continues the turn from sorrow toward glory — the same Glorious Mysteries prayed on Sunday.

  • Thursday Luminous Mysteries. Since Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light in 2002, many Catholics pray them on Thursday — baptism, Cana, the Kingdom, the Transfiguration, and the Eucharist.

  • Today: Friday Sorrowful Mysteries. Friday carries the memory of the Lord’s Passion. The Sorrowful Mysteries fit this day in the weekly pattern.

  • Saturday Joyful Mysteries. In the schedule that sets Thursday for the Luminous mysteries, Saturday is often given to the Joyful mysteries — a Marian day before Sunday.

The Sorrowful Mysteries follow the Lord’s Passion: His agony, suffering, and death on the cross.

Decades

Sorrowful Mysteries

  1. Decade 1 of 5

    The Agony in the Garden

    Fruit: Contrition, conformity to God’s will

    Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.

    Luke 22:42-44Douay–Rheims

    Pray

    Announce this mystery, then pray:

    One Our Father

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

    Ten Hail Marys

    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

    One Glory Be

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

    Fatima prayer

    O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

  2. Decade 2 of 5

    The Scourging at the Pillar

    Fruit: Purity

    Then he released to them Barabbas: but Jesus he delivered to be scourged, to be crucified.

    Matthew 27:26Douay–Rheims

    Pray

    Announce this mystery, then pray:

    One Our Father

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

    Ten Hail Marys

    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

    One Glory Be

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

    Fatima prayer

    O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

  3. Decade 3 of 5

    The Crowning with Thorns

    Fruit: Moral courage

    And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head; and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him, and they mocked him, saying: Hail, king of the Jews!

    John 19:2-3Douay–Rheims

    Pray

    Announce this mystery, then pray:

    One Our Father

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

    Ten Hail Marys

    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

    One Glory Be

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

    Fatima prayer

    O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

  4. Decade 4 of 5

    The Carrying of the Cross

    Fruit: Patience

    And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha.

    John 19:17Douay–Rheims

    Pray

    Announce this mystery, then pray:

    One Our Father

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

    Ten Hail Marys

    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

    One Glory Be

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

    Fatima prayer

    O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

  5. Decade 5 of 5

    The Crucifixion

    Fruit: Perseverance, salvation

    Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.

    John 19:30Douay–Rheims

    Pray

    Announce this mystery, then pray:

    One Our Father

    Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

    Ten Hail Marys

    Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

    One Glory Be

    Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

    Fatima prayer

    O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

Finish

Closing prayers

Hail, Holy Queen

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final Prayer

Let us pray. O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayers

Prayers used in the Rosary

The opening, decade, and closing prayers of the Rosary — in the order they are recited. The Fatima prayer is a common optional addition after each Glory Be.

"Enter into the ark, and be at rest in His promise"

Catholic Ambient