Crown of Roses: A Holy Rosary Quiz

Answer: St. Dominic

St. Dominic (1170-1221) received the rosary in a visitation by the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1214. He founded "The Order of Preachers" (commonly known as "The Dominican Order", or "The Dominicans") in 1216.

There are other types of rosaries or prayers that use rosaries, such as St. Anthony's, Bridgettine, Trinitarian, and others. However, the Dominican Rosary is the most common and best known version.

Answer: Pope Leo XIII

Born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci in 1810, Pope Leo XIII served from 1878 to his death in 1903.

His older brother Giuseppe was a Jesuit priest, and Leo XIII elevated him to Cardinal in 1879.

Answer: Fátima

While the appearance of Mary to St. Dominic in 1214 is called "Our Lady of the Rosary", she used the term herself in the appearances called "Our Lady of Fátima". As a result, the Fátima appearances are sometimes called "Our Lady of the Rosary" or "Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima".

From May through October of 1917, three shepherd children (Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto) witnessed appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the 13th of each month. On October 13, 1917, 30,000-100,000 people were on hand to witness the "Miracle of the Sun", where the sun was seen to "dance" or be "multi-colored". However, not all witnesses observed the same phenomenon, or anything at all.

Answer: naval battle over the Ottoman Empire

The Christian forces defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope Pius V had asked all of Europe to pray the Rosary to ensure the victory.

Pius V then created the "Feast of Our Lady of Victory", which was changed to the "Feast of the Holy Rosary" in 1573 by Pope Gregory XIII. In 1716, Pope Clement XI changed the date to the first Sunday in October. Pope Pius X changed the date back to October 7 in 1913. The name was changed to the "Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary" by Pope John XXIII in 1960.

Answer: Luminous Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) include the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the Wedding at Cana, Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist.

The original fifteen Mysteries were established by Pope Pius V (1504-1572).

Answer: Hail Mary

One is supposed to meditate on a single Mystery on each of the five decades on traditional rosary beads.

A Hail Mary is also said on each of the three small beads that link the Crucifix to the circle of decades, praying for faith, hope, and charity.

Answer: Our Father (the Lord's Prayer)

Each decade starts with the Our Father and ends with the Glory Be. Sometimes the Fátima Prayer is added at the end as well.

The Our Father, or Lord's Prayer, appears twice in the New Testament, in slightly different forms. The version in Matthew 6:9-13 is longer than the one in Luke 11:2-4.

Answer: Salve Regina

Hermann of Reichenau, a German monk, composed the hymn in the Middle Ages.

The hymn is traditionally part of the funeral mass for a priest.

Answer: The Crowning with Thorns

The Sorrowful Mysteries include the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.

Including the Luminous Mysteries (added in 2002), the traditional order of praying the Mysteries of the Rosary is Sunday: Glorious, Monday: Joyful, Tuesday: Sorrowful, Wednesday: Glorious, Thursday: Luminous, Friday: Sorrowful, Saturday: Joyful.

Answer: nine days of prayer

There are four types of Novenas (though a Novena may belong to more than one category): burial/mourning, feast, petition, and indulgence for the remission of sins.

While traditionally, one would pray the Rosary for nine consecutive days for a Novena, there is a "54-day Rosary Novena", which involves three nine-day Novenas in petition followed by three more nine-day Novenas in thanks (even if the petition is not answered).