The Rosary is a structured form of prayers and meditations on the Mysteries of the life of Christ. "Rosary" comes from the Latin rosarium for "rose garden." Each prayer and the meditation on each Mystery is a "rose" in this "garden" of prayers gathered together as beads on a string. The Rosary is one of the most popular lay devotions among Catholics worldwide. As early as 1300 A.D., religious orders combined the repetition of the Hail Mary with the contemplation of Mysteries of Christ's life. This devotion spread across Europe over the next few centuries by way of confraternities and illustrated guides. In 1569, St. Pope Pius V established the fifteen-Mystery form of the Rosary as the official, Church-authorized version. This was the format in use until 2002 when Pope John Paul II added five more "Mysteries of Light," bringing the total to twenty Mysteries of the Life of Christ. Our rosaries include those with simple wood beads, mother-of-pearl, and semi-precious stones as well as hand-made and custom-made pieces.