Parts of the rosary (with diagram)

A rosary has a crucifix, a short strand of five beads, a centerpiece medal and a loop of five decades. Each decade is ten small beads for the Hail Marys, set apart by a larger bead for the Our Father. In all there are 59 beads: 53 small and 6 large.

Below is a labeled diagram and what you pray on each part. Or pray it right here, bead by bead. En español

Rosary diagram

Rosary diagram: crucifix, five beads, centerpiece and five decades1234567
The first decade is shown darker. Start at the crucifix and go up the strand, then around the loop.
  1. Crucifix: make the Sign of the Cross and pray the Apostles’ Creed.
  2. First large bead: pray the Our Father.
  3. Three small beads: pray three Hail Marys, traditionally for faith, hope and love, then the Glory Be.
  4. Next large bead: name the first mystery and pray the Our Father.
  5. Centerpiece: the medal where the strand meets the loop. The decades start and end here, and many people pray the Hail, Holy Queen on it at the end.
  6. Decade: ten small beads, ten Hail Marys while you think about the mystery. Then pray the Glory Be and, if you like, the “O my Jesus.”
  7. Large bead between decades: name the next mystery and pray the Our Father. Repeat until you have prayed five decades.

What is a rosary?

The rosary is a prayer to Jesus with Mary. You repeat the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be while you think about scenes from the life of Jesus and Mary, called the mysteries. The beads are there so you can keep count without thinking about it.

How many beads are on a rosary?

59 beads. The short strand has 5 (two large, three small) and the loop has 54 (fifty small in five decades, plus four large between them). That makes 53 small beads and 6 large ones, plus the crucifix and the centerpiece.

How many Hail Marys are in a rosary?

On the beads, 53: three at the start and fifty in the five decades. If you pray all four sets of mysteries in one day (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious), that is twenty decades, or 200 Hail Marys in the decades.

What do the beads mean?

The word “rosary” comes from the Latin rosarium, a rose garden; in medieval Latin it also meant a garland and a string of beads. The beads have no required color or material: they simply count the prayers, so your mind can stay with the mystery.

Do I need a rosary to pray it?

No. You can count on your fingers, use a one-decade rosary (a ring or bracelet with ten beads and a cross), or pray it on this page, which moves bead by bead for you.

Keep praying: how to pray the rosary, step by step, the Litany of Loreto, or the rosary for the dead.