THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY
(An Archconfraternity)

Many of you have heard of Rosary Confraternity. For those have never heard of it, Rosary Confraternity is one of the greatest gifts given to the Church by the Dominicans. Pope Paul VI recognized this when he said that among those who promote the Rosary "special mention should be made of the sons of St. Dominic, by tradition the guardians and promoters of this very salutary practice." The Holy Rosary is rooted in the Sacred Scriptures and in their presentation of the life of Christ; the Holy Rosary is a prayer beloved by Christians throughout the world. Although Marian in character, it is nonetheless a truly Christocentric prayer.

The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary (known also as the Rosary Altar Society or Rosary Society in the United States) is an international association of the faithful that exists “to praise and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and to secure her patronage by the recitation of the Rosary for the mutual spiritual benefit of all the members throughout the world” (Blessed Alan de la Roche). Each week, countless thousands of members pray the Holy Rosary and include each other’s intentions in their prayers. The first Rosary Confraternity was established in the 1470s through the zealous preaching of the Rosary by Blessed Alan de la Roche, O.P. From the beginning, Rosary Confraternities were erected under the direction of the Dominican Friars, and the establishment of all Rosary Confraternities eventually became a privilege reserved to the Dominican Order. The Confraternity was last reorganized by Pope Leo XIII in 1898 with his Apostolic Constitution, Ubi Primum, and continues to exist, under the direction of the Dominican Friars, in accordance with the norms of the current Code of Canon Law (1983).

​The Catholic faithful may enroll in the Confraternity through any of the Dominican Provinces by contacting their local Provincial Promoter of the Holy Rosary. For more information, go to: http://www.rosary-center.org/nroscon.htm. This website contains information how to enroll into the Rosary Confraternity, the obligation, benefits, indulgences, and 15 promises of the Blessed Mother the to Christians who faithfully pray the Rosary. 

~~Father Tri