Editing Rosary (section)

==Praying the Rosary==
[[File:Rosary - usage.svg|left|thumb|180px|Schematic diagram of the Catholic Rosary:
*'''<span style="color:#debd87>brown</span>:''' ''[[Sign of the Cross]]''; [[Apostles' Creed]]
*'''<span style="color:#3dd1f5>blue</span>:''' [[Our Father]]
*'''<span style="color:#3dd1f5>blue</span>/<span style="color:#1498b8>medium blue</span>:''' ''introduction of the relevant [[:Category:Mysteries of the Rosary|Mystery]]''; Our Father
*'''<span style="color:#f8a2bd>pink</span>:''' [[Hail Mary]]
*'''<span style="color:#f8a2bd>pink</span>/<span style="color:#c81049>dark pink</span>:''' Hail Mary; [[Gloria Patri#Roman Rite Latin version|Glory Be]]; [[Fátima prayers#Rosary Decade Prayer|Fátima Prayer]]
*'''<span style="color:#e3f34b>yellow</span>:''' [[Salve Regina#Latin text|Hail Holy Queen]]; ''Sign of the Cross'']]

===Basic structure===
The structure of the Rosary prayer, recited using the rosary beads, is as follows:{{sfn|Ball|2003|pp=485–487}}

The Rosary is begun on the short strand:
* The [[sign of the cross|Sign of the Cross]] (sometimes using the cross or crucifix);
* The [[Apostles' Creed]] (the cross or crucifix is held in the hand);
* The [[Lord's Prayer]] at the first large bead (for the needs of the [[Catholic Church]] and the intentions of the reigning [[pope]]);
* The [[Hail Mary]] on each of the next three beads (for the three [[theological virtues]]: [[Faith in Christianity|faith]], [[Hope (virtue)|hope]], and [[Charity (virtue)|charity]]);
* The [[Gloria Patri|Glory Be]] in the space before the next large bead; and
* The Lord's Prayer at the second large bead.

The praying of the decades then follows, repeating this cycle for each [[#Mysteries of the Rosary|mystery]]:
* Announcing the mystery (e.g. "The First Glorious Mystery is the [[Resurrection of Jesus]].");
* The Lord's Prayer on the large bead;
* The Hail Mary on each of the ten adjacent small beads;
* The Glory Be on the space before the next large bead (often followed by the [[Fátima prayers|Fatima Prayer]]).

To conclude:
* The [[Salve Regina|Hail Holy Queen]] (sometimes with other prayers, while holding the medal or large bead); and 
* The Sign of the cross.

===Variations and common additions===
{{See also|Rosary-based prayers}}
Common pious additions to the Rosary are sometimes inserted after each decade and after recitation of the ''Salve Regina''. Instead of ending each decade with the ''Gloria Patri'', [[Pope Pius IX]] would add: "May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, [[Requiescat in pace|rest in peace]]."{{sfn|McNicholas|1917|p=347}}

Some Catholics piously add the [[Fatima Prayers#Rosary Decade Prayer|Fatima Prayer]] after the ''Gloria Patri'', still on the large bead. Some add the [[Miraculous Medal]] prayer which begins "O Mary, conceived without sin...", while others add the [[Eucharistic]] prayer "O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine" in honour of Jesus in the [[Blessed Sacrament]]. In the practice of the [[Brothers of the Christian Schools]], there is a sixth decade for the intentions of the students, or the Virgin Mary.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Conduct of the Christian Schools (translation of ''Conduite des É coles chrétiennes'') |url=https://lasallian.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Conduct-2007-reprint.pdf |website=RELAN |publisher=Lasallian Publications |access-date=4 December 2023 |page=272 |language=en |quote=To the five decades which constitute a third part of the rosary and form a chaplet, the Brothers of the Christian Schools add a sixth decade in honor of the Immaculate Conception, for the needs of the Institute.}}</ref>

Other popular additions include the shorter form of the [[Prayer to Saint Michael]]; the ''[[Memorare]]'', and a prayer for the intentions of the Pope. In many cases, the [[Litany of Loreto]] is recited before the end.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope adds three new invocations to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-06/pope-francis-loreto-litany-new-invocations.html |access-date=4 December 2023 |work=Vatican News |publisher=Dicasterium pro Communicatione |date=20 June 2020 |language=en |quote=“Mater misericordiae”, the Latin for “Mother of mercy”; "Mater spei", or “Mother of hope”; and “Solacium migrantium", or “Solace of migrants” are the new invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Litany of Loreto, which is often recited at the end of the Rosary.}}</ref>

In the practice of the [[Dominican Order]], the beginning prayers of the rosary correspond to the [[preces]] that begin the [[Liturgy of the Hours|Divine Office]]:<ref>The pattern of the Dominican opening prayers can be found at [http://laici.op.org/eng/library/rosary.php The Dominican form of praying the Rosary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112211722/http://laici.op.org/eng/library/rosary.php |date=12 November 2010 }}</ref>

# In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
# Hail Mary, full of grace, the {{LORD}} is with Thee.
# Blessed art Thou among women, and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus.
# O {{LORD}}, open my lips.
# And my mouth will proclaim Your praise.
# [[Deus in adjutorium meum intende|Incline Your aid to me, O God]].
# O {{LORD}}, make haste to help me.
# Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://rosaryconfraternity.org/the-rosary/how-to-pray-the-rosary/| title = "How to Say the Dominican Rosary", Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary}}</ref>

===Group recitation of the Rosary===
When a group recites the Rosary, it is customary that the prayers that constitute the decades are divided into two parts. The second part of the Our Father begins with "Give us this day our [[Epiousios|daily]] bread"; the second part of the Hail Mary begins with "Holy Mary, [[Theotokos|Mother of God]]"; and the second part of the Glory Be with "As it was in the beginning". This lends itself to [[Antiphon|antiphonal prayer]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.catholictradition.org/Classics/secret-rosary46.htm| title = Montfort, Louis. "Forty-sixth Rose: Group Recitation", ''The Secret of the Rosary'', Montfort Publications. New York, 1954}}</ref>

Sometimes, a chosen leader will recite the first half of the prayer while other participants recite the second. In another style, recitation of the first part of the prayers is rotated among different persons while still maintaining the traditional Leader-Congregation alternation.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}