The Rosary is a Catholic prayer devotion that draws us closer to Jesus and Mary by reflecting on key moments in their lives.  According to Catholic tradition, Mary gave the Rosary to St. Dominic when she appeared to him in 1214.  In 1520, Pope Leo X approved it for use by lay people.  In those days, many were illiterate, so the Rosary allowed anyone to pray with familiar words from scripture.

The word Rosary comes from the Latin rosarium, which means rose garden. In scripture, roses symbolize perfection.  So, the Rosary is like a perfect garden of prayers.  The Rosary involves a lot of repetition.  You might be wondering, why pray the same prayers over and over again?  Praying the Rosary helps slow us down, calm our hearts, and get in touch with our desires for God.