Meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary – and in particular the prayers of the Rosary – is strongly encouraged by the Church. This prayer, which can be recited by everyone at home, is also a form of prayers. Opportunities to pray the Rosary are often available in parishes.
In the sanctuary of Lourdes, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette, the rosary is prayed every day at 3:00 p.m.
Praying the Rosary for the Sick
John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, recalls, in particular, the apparitions of Lourdes and Fatima and their respective sanctuaries, because they constitute the goal of many pilgrims in search of the comfort and hope of the Heavenly Mother.
To recite the rosary in communion with Lourdes is to carry the prayer of thousands of pilgrims, whether physically or in our hearts, at the Grotto of Massabielle.
We come to lay down our physical, moral and spiritual sufferings at Mary’s feet. We pray for the sick and all those who trust in Our Lady of Lourdes.
Follow the rosary live from Lourdes
There are many different ways for you to follow the rosary, which is recited every day at 3:00 p.m., in Lourdes. You can follow it via the Lourdes television channel (live or on demand). EWTN (Spanish and English) TV2000 (Italian).
Submit a prayer intention
Every day, thousands of pilgrims come to the Grotto of Lourdes physically or virtually to pray the Rosary. During this time, you can hear the pilgrims’ prayer intentions.
You can also submit your prayer intention by clicking here
The Popes and the Rosary
Many Popes have placed great importance on this prayer. Especially Saint John XXIII and Paul VI who, in the apostolic exhortation Marialis cultus, underlined, in accordance with the exhortation of the Second Vatican Council, the evangelical nature of the Rosary and its Christological orientation.
Following the reflection proposed in the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte, in which Saint John Paul II, after the Jubilee experience, invited the People of God to “start afresh in Christ”, felt drawn to offer a reflection on the Rosary, as a kind of Marian complement to this apostolic letter, and an exhortation to contemplate the face of Christ in union with, and at the school of, his Most Holy Mother.
“To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ. As a way of highlighting this invitation, prompted by the forthcoming 120th anniversary of the aforementioned Encyclical of Leo XIII, I desire that during the course of this year the Rosary should be especially emphasized and promoted in the various Christian communities. I therefore proclaim the year from October 2002 to October 2003 the Year of the Rosary.” (Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae of Pope John Paul II, 3)
The Rosary is one of the traditional paths of Christian prayer which corresponds to the contemplation of the face of Christ. The Rosary is a prayer with a clearly Christological orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact, the litany- like succession of Hail Marys, becomes in itself an unceasing praise of Christ, who is the ultimate object both of the Angel’s announcement and of the greeting of the Mother of John the Baptist: “Blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk 1:42).
The Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
JJohn Paul II in 2002 wanted to complete “the family album of Jesus” by adding to the existing mysteries of the Rosary, a new series dedicated to the light of the proclamation: the Luminous Mysteries
“The mysteries of Christ’s public life between Baptism and the Passion. In the course of those mysteries, we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God. Declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the Kingdom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands. It is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5). ((Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae of Pope John Paul II, 19)
In Lourdes, to incorporate the new mysteries into the Rosary Basilica, work was carried out to include them on the facade (in 2008) making them the gateway into Christ’s life through the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries.
