The history of the Rosary: medieval origins, the mysteries, and Pius V’s role in the Battle of Lepanto

The Rosary is the most widely practiced Marian prayer in the Church, but its history is more complex than the legend of Saint Dominic suggests. Between the 13th and 20th centuries, its present form was constructed through successive papal interventions, from the fixation of the 15 mysteries by Pius V to the addition of the Luminous Mysteries by John Paul II in 2002. This article examines the documented origins and historical milestones of this prayer.From medieval monastic beads (12th century) to the Luminous Mysteries of John Paul II (2002): the historical formation of the Rosary.If we consider Christian prayers, the Rosary is probably the most widespread in the world. Contained as a Virgin Mary’s psalter, we find in the counting of the beads stories of peoples, families, and individuals. The Angel’s greeting, repeated so many times, along with the psalms, is alternated with episodes from the life of Christ and Mary, as if we were speaking through two mirrors that illuminate each other.In the Catholic history, it was not until Pope Pius V that we saw an official consecration of this devotional practice, establishing the norms that have reached our days through the Bull *Consueverunt Romani Pontifices*. The history of the Rosary is much older. We can fix a date for its widespread use: the 12th century. In this century, we find the pious practice of reciting the *Ave Maria*, a salutation already known long before this period. By the end of the 7th century, the offertory antiphona of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, a celebration with a clear Marian accent, already includes the *Ave Maria*. Imitating, as it were, the monastic prayer of repeating 150 *psalms* of David, we find, for illiterate monks, the repetition of the same number of *Our Father* or *Ave Maria*.A particular aspect of the prayer to be repeated in the Rosary is that it consists only of the first part, corresponding to the angelic salutation *Ave [Maria] full of grace, the Lord is with you* and Elizabeth’s blessing: *Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb*. This is the original prayer repeated for centuries, and it was only at the end of the 15th century that we find the addition of the second part *Holy Mary*. It is also worth noting that the *Our Father* prayer was divided into 3 parts (50+50+50) by monks and laypeople during the day, and Pope Pius V incorporated this practice into the 1586 publication of the Breviary.Going back in time to the 14th century, we find a significant milestone in the history of the Rosary when the Carthusian monk Henry of Kalkar (1328-1408) divided the Virgin’s psalter into groups of 15 decades, inserting a “Our Father” between each one. At the same time, Alan of La Roche, a Dominican (1428-1475), begins to spread the story of a supposed diffusion of the Rosary by Saint Dominic of Guzman (1170-1221). Although we know very little about this historical fact directly, we can document the Marian psalter existing before the saint’s birth. Another important element is the use of this popular form of prayer by the monks and, probably, by Saint Dominic himself. Consider, for instance, the Marian confraternities founded by Saint Peter of Verona (1205-1252), whose charism was to promote devotion to the Virgin. Therefore, while we cannot speak of a paternity of the Rosary, we can at least attest to an encouragement of Marian devotion, not so much in his writings as in his pastoral activity, as the founder of the Order of Preachers.In its current form, we repeat the “Ave Maria” and the “Our Father” alternating with meditation on the mysteries. It was only in the 15th century that Dominic of Prussia (1382-1461) introduced it, reducing the number of “Ave Maria” to fifty, with a reference to an evangelical event at the end of each (fourteen from Jesus’ life in Nazareth, six on his public ministry, twenty-four on his passion and death, and finally six on Christ’s glorification and that of his Mother). This form of prayer, this subdivided meditation, eventually led to the Rosary as we know it. In fact, this form spread throughout Europe, and by the 15th century, there were over three hundred psalters of this type. We will have to wait for the preaching and foundation of confraternities by Alan of La Roche, mentioned above, to find the “New Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” named by the Dominican, divided into three parts: Incarnation, Passion and Death, Glory of Christ and Mary.Within the Order of Preachers, we see Alberto of Castle in 1521 reducing these mysteries to fifteen, proposing simple comments on each mystery, reciting the “Ave Maria.” This reform of the “new” Marian psalter spread throughout Europe, especially in confraternities, reaching its first phase in 1569, as we have already mentioned, with Pope Pius V, who, in his bull, gave it the form it has reached our days.The Rosary, unlike other popular devotions, has the peculiarity of being a universal form of prayer, merging with the concept of Marian piety, which has continued to spread and bring people together from the most remote parishes and monasteries to the most distant Christianized communities. Even when the wave of criticism, not very evangelical, against popular piety, raised questions about this pious exercise, the Magisterium of the Holy Fathers, of which we will speak in the next article, came to its defense.To understand the spiritual sense of the Rosary and the cult of Mary, read Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, a fundamental reference on Marian devotion.Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian theology, Marian apparitions, and the Graduate Program in Mariology.