Discover the Living Rosary
The rosary is a prayer addressed to Mary. It is a prayer that can be proposed in a parish or in prayer groups. Pauline Jaricot had a beautiful intuition in inventing the living rosary. This has allowed a great number to be touched by the graces that the Virgin Mary sends through meditation on the mysteries of her life and that of her Son.
The origins of the living rosary
The French Revolution had just ended. The ravages were numerous, and the Christian faith had been mistreated. The living conditions for the poor were disastrous. Christian souls were less fervent. Saddened by this situation, Pauline Jaricot, already very active in evangelism, wanted to do more. She wanted to give her contemporaries the taste of prayer and meditation. Pauline was already used to praying the rosary. She was part of the brotherhood of the rosary, a small group founded by the Dominicans. In 1826, the rosary was composed of 15 mysteries. Pauline was looking for a way to involve the faithful without frightening them with prayer. She chose to bring together a group of 15 people. Each of these people undertakes to recite their decade daily. At the end of a day, the rosary is recited.
In order to develop this innovative practice, each of the 15 individuals committed to bringing a new person and contributing a small annual amount of money to reflect on various mysteries with good books. Each month, each member drew a new mystery to meditate on daily. These small groups were born all over France. Pauline Jaricot was delighted to have brought together a million people to participate in the work that she called the Living Rosary. Pauline oversaw the development of this work until her death in 1862.
(Find out more about the work and spirituality of Pauline Jaricot)
The Living Rosary Today
Today, the living rosary is still a way to pray to the Virgin Mary in community and in a dynamic manner. However, since its creation by Pauline Jaricot, who was 26 years old at the time, there have been some adjustments. The various groups are made up of 20 people since the addition of the luminous mysteries in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. Every day, each of the 20 individuals commits to reciting the assigned decade. The mysteries change with the day:
- The Joyful Mysteries are recited on Mondays and Saturdays
- The Sorrowful Mysteries are meditated on Tuesdays and Fridays
- The Glorious Mysteries are recited on Wednesdays and Sundays
- The Luminous Mysteries are meditated on Thursdays
When possible, the group can gather to pray the rosary together from time to time.
How can I participate in the living rosary?
Today, the Living Rosary created by Pauline Jaricot continues through various initiatives and thus allows a greater number of people to discover the graces that the meditation of the rosary offers.
In parish...
It is possible to join a living rosary group in our parishes. The parish organizers can put us in touch with the people involved in the meditation of the rosary. If this does not exist, we can follow the evangelization example of Pauline Jaricot and create a living rosary within our parish.
Through social networks...
It is possible to make good use of networks and discover very interesting offerings. We can discover very beautiful accounts that allow us to grow spiritually. It is possible to take part in prayer chains for a specific intention by reciting a decade of the rosary. So let's follow this advice from Pope Francis in a letter on the rosary from 2020: "It is easy to find, even on the Internet, good prayer formats to follow. ”
The Rosario App
Sometimes we are alone and discouraged before the prayer of the rosary, or we wish to reconnect with this beautiful Marian prayer encouraged by many popes. The solution has been found. An application was created, at the time of Pauline Jaricot's beatification in 2022, to allow all those who wish to pray at least a decade of the rosary. The Rosario app allows as many people as possible to take a few minutes to honor the Blessed Virgin.
Pray with our Christian brothers and sisters
We can participate in a living rosary. This inspiration comes from Blessed Pauline Jaricot. She created the Living Rosary by dividing a decade of each mystery into a group of 15 people. The living rosary takes up the same idea. We can join a group of 4 other people and pray our decade of the rosary daily. We have the choice to join a public group or a private group to pray with people we know. We can create a group and share it with people around us.
Prayer intentions
When we pray the rosary, we have special prayer intentions. Rosario also offers intentions such as praying for peace, praying for priests, praying for the deceased... We can also unite our prayers with our brothers and sisters in the faith who are going through trials. We can also propose a specific intention. All these prayer chains can bring many graces.
Discover Pauline Jaricot on Hozana and Pray with Rosario
On Hozana, you can ask for Pauline's intercession through a novena. You can also participate in this community that will give you strength once a week and help you pray the rosary. You can also download the Rosario application created by Hozana which will allow you to pray the rosary with others.
