Rosary Sunday: 5 October 2014

07 Aug 2014

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Rosary Sunday will be celebrated in parishes on Sunday 5 October 2014, which is also the Day for Life 2014. It is the Sunday closest to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (7 October) and it coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Rosary Rally of Father Peyton, as well as the Marian Year of 1954.

Rosary Sunday is an invitation to people in parishes, in homes, in religious orders to pray the Rosary for the intention of the Family, linking in with those gathered in Rome for the Synod on the Family. The once-common tradition of the family Rosary links very well with the theme of the Synod on the Family in Rome which takes place from 5 – 19 October.

Encouraging the faithful to participate in this initiative, Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “this prayerful initiative has been scheduled to take place during October, the month in which the recitation of the Rosary is especially promoted”.

Archbishop Martin continued, “Rosary Sunday is an invitation to people in parishes, in homes, and in religious congregations to pray the Rosary for the intention of the ‘Family’.  The once-common tradition of the family Rosary links very well with the theme of the Synod on the Family in Rome which takes place from 5 – 19 October.

“I encourage all parishes and faith communities to join on this special occasion to pray for the intention of the Family.  In praying the Rosary we meditate on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and the life of the Holy Family.  In a particular way on Sunday 5 October we pray that the Gospel of the Family will be proclaimed faithfully and joyfully by all who turn in prayer to the Mother of God.”

This initiative has been scheduled to take place during October, the month which is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. According to an account by fifteenth-century Dominican, Alan de la Roch, Mary appeared to St Dominic in 1206 after he had been praying and doing severe penances because of his lack of success in combating the Albigensian heresy. Mary praised him for his valiant fight against the heretics and then gave him the Rosary as a mighty weapon, explained its uses and efficacy, and told him to preach it to others.

Please click on the links below to download a poster (pdf) and a document with information on how to pray the Rosary, which includes details of the various mysteries and the days on which they are traditionally prayed.

Rosary Sunday 2014 poster

How to pray the Rosary