The Dominican school of prayer
The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary is one of the oldest and most venerable spiritual associations in the Church, placed under the perpetual care and direction of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).
It unites countless Catholics worldwide in praying the Rosary, meditating on the mysteries of salvation – Christ’s Incarnation, Redemption, and the gift of Eternal Life – which we contemplate together with His blessed Mary, Mother of the Church. Members pray at least fifteen decades a week, offering these prayers for the intentions of all the other members of the Confraternity, and they participate in the spiritual fruits of the entire Dominican family.
— Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima
The Confraternity exists to foster devotion to Our Lady through the Rosary, opening members to the grace of the Word made flesh.
Key benefits include:
A share in the prayers, Masses, good works, and suffrages of the entire Dominican Order (friars, nuns, sisters, and laity).
Plenary indulgences on the day of enrollment (under usual conditions), and on major feasts such as Christmas, Easter, the Annunciation, the Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7), the Immaculate Conception, and the Presentation of the Lord.
Mutual support: Members include one another’s intentions in their Rosary prayers.
Growth in holiness through meditative prayer on the mysteries of Christ’s life.
Enrollment is open to all baptized Catholics (typically after Confirmation; children under the age of reason usually cannot make the commitment). It is free, lifelong, and does not require fees. The deceased cannot be enrolled.
The core prayer of the confraternity is the Most Holy Rosary. Members are encouraged to use Dominican customs where possible, such as the opening versicle/response format.
Members commit to:
Praying the full Rosary (15 decades: Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries) at least once each week (the Luminous Mysteries may be included as desired).
Including the intentions of all Confraternity members (living and deceased) in their prayers.
Being enrolled by a Dominican or authorized priest, with name inscribed in the official register.
The devotion to the Rosary and its Confraternity traces back to St. Dominic (c. 1170–1221), who, according to tradition, received the Rosary from the Blessed Virgin Mary as a weapon against heresy and sin.
The first formal Rosary Confraternity was established in the 1470s by Blessed Alan de la Roche, OP, who zealously preached the Rosary. Soon after, Fr. Jacob Sprenger, OP, founded another in Cologne in 1475. The spread of these confraternities helped standardize the Rosary’s form and greatly promoted Marian devotion.
In 1569, Pope St. Pius V confirmed the Dominican privilege of erecting Rosary Confraternities. It was reorganized by Pope Leo XIII in 1898 (Apostolic Constitution Ubi Primum) and remains under Dominican authority today, in accordance with Canon Law.
Enrollment can often be done individually online in many provinces or through a local Dominican community/parish (Rosary Sodality). Non-Dominican parishes are encouraged to establish a local Sodality and to be authorised to enroll member by contacting a local Dominican Rosary Promoter for more information.
All during life, Saint Dominic had nothing more at heart than to praise Our Lady, to preach her greatness and to inspire everybody to honor her by saying her Rosary. As a reward he received countless graces from her; exercising her great power as Queen of Heaven she crowned his labors with many miracles and prodigies. Almighty God always granted him what he asked through Our Lady. The greatest honor of all was that she helped him crush the Albigensian heresy and made him the founder and patriarch of a great religious order.
— St. Louis de Montfort
