THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE ROSARY

The Confraternity of the Rosary is one of the most efficacious means of spreading devotion to the Rosary in parishes.

Origin: Established in the early days of the Rosary devotion, it was spread in the fifteenth century by Blessed Alain de la Roche who assures us that he received its statutes from the Blessed Virgin herself.

Great Advantages: The Confraternity of the Rosary offers its members the following immense advantages:

An altogether special protection of the Queen of Heaven (see the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII of 8 September, 1893).
A special participation during life, at the hour of death, and after death, in all the prayers, penances and good works of the numerous members of this Confraternity, spread throughout the entire world.
An immense treasure of indulgences granted to this Confraternity and applicable to the souls in Purgatory. The Rosary is 'the Queen of indulgenced devotions', and the Confraternity of the Rosary is the Confraternity richest in indulgences. This is what led St Alphonsus to say, 'After Mass, the best means of relieving the souls in Purgatory is to join the Confraternity of the Rosary'.

Its importance is capital in the eyes of the saints and of the Sovereign Pontiffs.

Saint Charles Borromeo esteemed the Confraternity of the Rosary so highly that he ordered it to be erected in all the parishes of his large Archdiocese of Milan.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote on the utility of the Confraternity, `In the many missions I have preached, I have come to the conclusion that there are more sins in one single man who does not belong to the Confraternity of Mary than in twenty who do'.

The holy Curé d'Ars said, `If anyone has the happiness of being in the Confraternity of the Rosary he has, in all corners of the globe others who pray for him'.

And he added: `For a member of the Confraternity of the Rosary to succeed in losing his soul, he would have to do himself as much violence as the other faithful do to save their souls, so abundant are the graces of this Confraternity'.

Its facility: To join in the Confraternity of the Rosary and to share in its immense advantages, it is sufficient :

to promise to recite, at least once a week, the whole Rosary, i.e. three Rosaries, while meditating on the Fifteen Mysteries. This promise is not a vow and does not bind under pain of sin, except that those who are not habitually faithful to it are deprived of the immense spiritual goods and indulgences of the Confraternity. The three Rosaries and even the individual decades may be separated. A practical manner of doing it is to recite two decades on weekdays and three on Sundays, meditating successively on the Fifteen Mysteries. In this way the three Rosaries are said in the week, which is the minimum required to gain the spiritual favours of the Confraternity of the Rosary. Happy are those who can do more.
And you who already recite your Rosary daily, should have your names inscribed in the Confraternity of the Rosary without delay, for without any additional obligation, you will share in all the spiritual treasures of this rich Confraternity. What a pity to deprive yourselves of them.
No subscription is required either for inscription or afterwards. Therefore there is no pecuniary expense either for the poor or for the parish.
Apart from the blessings that saying the Rosary brings, members receive a plenary indulgence on the day of enrollment and at the feasts of Christmas, Easter, the Annunciation, the Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary, the Immaculate Conception and the Presentation of our Lord.
They also share in all the good works of Dominicans throughout the world.

WHY THE ROSARY?
A FEW GOOD REASONS

For World Peace

'Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world' (Our Lady at Fatima,1917.) In his encyclical Mense Maio, Pope Paul urged Christians to pray to Our Lady Queen of Peace for world peace. He laid special emphasis on the Rosary, `the prayer so dear to our Lady and so highly recommended by the supreme pontiffs.'

Means for Preserving the Home

'There is no surer means of calling down God's blessings upon the family . . than the daily recitation of the Rosary' (Pope Pius XII).

`If families will but listen to my message and give our Lady ten minutes of their twenty-four hours, by reciting the daily Family Rosary, I assure them that their homes will become, by God's grace, peaceful, prayerful places . . . little heavens, which God the Author of home-life has intended they should be.' (Father Peyton).

Healing the evils of our day

'We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that we put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which afflict our times' (Pope Pius XII).

Means of Christian perfection

'. . . Therefore we are sure that our children and all their brethren throughout the world will turn (the Rosary) into a school for learning true perfection, as with a deep spirit of recollection, they contemplate the teachings that shine forth from the life of Christ and of Mary Most Holy' (Pope John XXIII).

The most efficacious family prayer

'We now desire to recommend strongly the recitation of the family Rosary. There is no doubt that . . . the Rosary should be considered as one of the best and most efficacious prayers in common that the Christian family is invited to recite. We like to think and sincerely hope, that when the family gathering becomes a time of prayer, the Rosary is a frequent and favoured manner of praying' (Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio).

If you would like to be enrolled, could you please send your name and a stamped addressed envelope to the address below, and your name will be entered in the Confraternity Register and you will be sent a Certificate of Enrollment.

Bro. John Baptist Watson, O.P.
St Dominic's Priory
41a Red Barns
Crawhall Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 2TP