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The history of the Rosary is a very blurred history, with no historical records stating how this devotion came about in the Christian Church. The use of prayer beads in Christianity dates all the way back to the 3rd and 4th century. They were used by a group of hermits known as the desert fathers. They would pray different prayers on these corded ropes such as the Our Father and the Jesus prayer. During the Middle Ages, monks were required to read 150 psalms in a form of prayer known as the Liturgy of the Hours, but since many were illiterate, they would use knotted prayer beads and pray 150 Our Fathers instead. Later in the Middle Ages, the use of the Hail Mary became popular to add to this prayer rope. The modern day Rosary came from St. Dominic, who as tradition states received an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the apparition, Mary gave St. Dominic a rosary to help with the conversion of non-believers in the south of France. After receiving that apparition St. Dominic started using the rosary and through his pious devotion was able to convert non-believers and to help sinners repent and come back to God. It was St. Dominic’s use of the rosary from Mary that became the rosary we use today. |
