Rosary

ROSARY BEADS - The word rosary comes from Latin and means a garland of roses, the rose being one of the flowers used to symbolize the Virgin Mary.  The term “bead” seems to derive from the Saxon word “bede,” meaning prayer. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the term rosary refers to both the string of beads and the prayer said using that string of beads. To pray the rosary is to recite specific prayers corresponding with particular beads on the string.

For over four centuries, the rosary has been promoted by several popes as part of the veneration of Mary in Roman Catholicism.  The rosary also represents the Roman Catholic emphasis on "participation in the life of Mary, whose focus was Christ", and the Mariological theme "to Christ through Mary", taught by Saint Louis de Montfort.