Foreword

The image in the banner at the top of each page shows Mary embracing her son after His terrible suffering and death on the cross. I earnestly hope this heart-rending picture may remind us of the urgent need in these dark days for daily prayer and penance. My aim is to offer the words and images on this site as just such a prayer; I place them confidently in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, entreating her to intercede with her Son on our behalf. The prayers are offered in adoration and praise, in thanksgiving, but especially in reparation for sins, begging God to have mercy on the souls of the author and his family members.*

The Rosarium Aureum: the Golden Rosary

The 'rosary' may be likened unto a garland of fragrant flowers offered to Mary, the 'Mystical Rose', mother of our Divine Saviour and our own most gentle queen and mother. The flowers in the garland are our prayers, wherein we meditate upon the chief events (or 'mysteries') in the life of her son.

The beads of a rosary are typically divided into five sets of ten.  In the 'Golden Rosary', each of these fifty beads represents a particular mystery in the life of Jesus Christ. Each mystery is accompanied by a verse of four lines and an Ave (the Hail Mary prayer).

The Golden Rosary was popular in the 'Middle Ages'. This commonly used term refers to the Ages of Faith, a thousand years lasting from the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity until the Lutheran revolt in Western Europe and the fall of Constantinople to the Muslims in 1453.

My aim on this site is to present all fifty mysteries of the Golden Rosary. Each mystery is accompanied by its Latin verse and an English verse translation. The illustrations are beautiful and haunting images taken from the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ by J James Tissot. They are reproduced  courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum: see Copyright. All images are by Tissot except where otherwise stated.

You can find out more on the Golden Rosary and the fascinating life of James Tissot by exploring the tabs on this site. I have also included a tab with information on Latin for those who have an interest in this language.

* EEKPTEE and EA.*I have disguised the names to respect their privacy on this public site.