Chaplets

I. Different chaplets. The principal chaplets are: the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, the chaplet of St. Bridget, etc. The name rosary belongs especially to the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As regards the matter required, see what was said in n. 536. Moreover:

1. The chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary must consist of five, ten, or fifteen decades,¹ in each of which one Our Father and ten Hail Marys are recited. Without loss of indulgences, the individual decades can be separated from one another, provided that at least five decades are recited on one and the same day.² In the recitation the more principal mysteries of the life, passion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are to be meditated upon.³ The custom, though not obligatory, is that the joyful mysteries are recalled on Monday and Thursday, the sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the glorious on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.⁴ If some person is incapable of meditation, it suffices to recite the rosary devoutly, provided he takes care to grow accustomed to meditation on the mysteries.⁵

The indulgences attached to the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary are usually called the indulgences of St. Dominic; among them there is, provided that at least five decades are recited, an indulgence of 100 days for each Our Father and Hail Mary. Besides, for the recitation of the third part of the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary before the Most Holy Sacrament, whether exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, a plenary indulgence was granted by the Supreme Pontiff Pius XI on September 4, 1927.⁶

2. The chaplet of the Seven Sorrows consists of seven parts, in each of which one Our Father and seven Hail Marys are said, with three Hail Marys added at the end in honor of the tears of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Meditation on the Sorrows is not necessary.

For each Our Father and Hail Mary an indulgence of 100 days is granted.

3. The chaplet of St. Bridget consists of six decades; in each one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Creed are said, with one Our Father and three Hail Marys added at the end. Meditation on the mysteries is not required.

For each Our Father, Hail Mary, and Creed an indulgence of 100 days is granted, provided that one has the intention of saying the entire chaplet.⁷

St. Bridget's indulgences can also be attached to a chaplet of five decades; then, however, to gain the indulgences, the Creed must be added at the end of each decade.⁸

Note. Among the indulgences which can be attached to chaplets besides those already mentioned, the Apostolic indulgences especially deserve mention (n. 539); likewise the indulgences of the Crucigeri, that is, 500 days for the recitation of each Our Father and Hail Mary, even if the entire chaplet is not recited.⁹

¹ A chaplet consisting of fifteen decades is also called the rosary of St. Dominic.

² Rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 8, 1908 (Analecta Ordinis Praedicatorum 1908, p. 634).

³ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 13, 1726 (Decreta authentica, n. 92).

⁴ Raccolta, n. 194.

⁵ Constitution Pretiosus, May 26, 1727.

⁶ A.A.S. 1927, p. 376.

⁷ Raccolta, I, p. 206.

⁸ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 29, 1841 (Decreta authentica, n. 291, to VIII).

⁹ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, May 20, 1886.

II. Attachment of indulgences.

1. As regards the form to be used, see what was said in n. 537.

2. To one and the same chaplet several indulgences can be attached, provided the chaplet has the form required for each indulgence (cf. canon 933). Hence to the chaplet of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be attached the indulgences both proper to the said chaplet, or of St. Dominic (n. 540), and Apostolic (n. 539), and of the Crucigeri (n. 540), and of St. Bridget (n. 540).

III. Acquisition of indulgences. Having noted above (n. 540 under I), it suffices to add these things:

In order that the indulgences be acquired which require the recitation of certain prayers, the chaplet must be held in the hand and the beads must be passed through successively. If, however, two or more recite the chaplet together, for the acquisition of indulgences it is enough to recite the prayer alternately with a companion, or to follow it mentally while it is recited by another (canon 934, § 3).¹ It is said "to follow it mentally"; hence the faithful must abstain only from those external occupations which impede internal attention to the devout recitation of the rosary prescribed for gaining the indulgences.²

2. By one recitation of a chaplet, the indulgences of several chaplets cannot be acquired, unless something else has been expressly provided (cf. canon 933). Something else, however, has sometimes been expressly provided. Thus, for example, one who recites a chaplet to which the indulgences of St. Dominic and of the Crucigeri are attached acquires both indulgences by one recitation.³

¹ Raccolta, I, p. 348.

² Cf. Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, January 22, 1858 (Decreta authentica, n. 384); January 8, 1898.

³ Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, November 13, 1893 (A.S.S. XXVI, p. 310).

IV. How cessation of indulgences has place, see n. 507.

657. 1° Notion and species. The Rosary is a certain formula of praying which consists of fifteen decades of Angelic Salutations, with the Lord's Prayer interposed at the beginning, and the Gloria Patri at the end of each decade. The third part of the Rosary, consisting of five decades, is called a chaplet.

² Melata, pp. 145-158; Beringer, I, pp. 360-385.

There are several species of chaplets, of which the principal are the Rosary of St. Dominic, the Chaplet of St. Bridget, and the Chaplet blessed by the Crucigers.

(A) The Rosary of St. Dominic,³ so called because St. Dominic had the principal parts in its institution and propagation, must be blessed by Religious of the Order of Preachers, or by those who are delegated by the Holy See or by the General of the said Order, with the special formula being employed which is found in the Appendix to the Roman Ritual. - (a) It must consist of five, ten, or fifteen decades, but not six decades; while praying it must be held and turned in the hand; but when it is recited in common, it suffices that one person hold and turn the chaplet in the hand, provided that the others, cares which impede attention having been removed, devoutly unite themselves with him in the recitation of the Rosary.

³ André Pradel, O.P., Manuel du T. S. Rosaire, Mazères (Ariège); Chéry, O.P., Histoire générale du Rosaire, 1869, Paris; Leikes, O.P., Rosa aurea de sacratissimo B. M. V. Rosario..., Dülmen, 1886.

(b) Formerly at least five decades had to be recited morally in one continuous course. Today, however, by force of the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 8, 1908, the individual decades of the Rosary can be recited separately, yet within the space of one and the same day, without the indulgences being lost.⁴

⁴ Canoniste, vol. 32, 1909, p. 109.

(c) The recitation of the Rosary must be accompanied by meditation on the mysteries of the life, Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; nevertheless the more unlearned and those less suited to meditation are excused from it.

(d) The principal indulgences annexed to this Rosary are these: an indulgence of one hundred days for any Pater and Ave, provided that at least the third part of the Rosary is recited; an indulgence of five years and as many quarantines, as often as they recite the third part of the Rosary; for recitation made in common: an indulgence of ten years and as many quarantines to be gained once in the day; a plenary indulgence once in the year for those reciting at least the third part of the Rosary on individual days.

To those reciting the third part of the Rosary on the feast day of the Most Holy Rosary and on individual days through the octave, a plenary indulgence has been granted by Leo XIII; likewise a plenary indulgence, if after the Octave of the Most Holy Rosary they recite the third part of the Rosary at least ten times within the month of October.

To the confreres of the Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary many other indulgences are granted, for example, an indulgence of five years and as many quarantines as often as, while reciting the Rosary, they devoutly pronounce the name of Jesus in the angelic salutation; an indulgence of ten years and as many quarantines, if they recite the Rosary three times in the week, for each time; a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Annunciation if, having confessed and been refreshed by communion, they recite the Rosary; and many other plenary indulgences for those who visit the chapel or church of the confraternity on certain days.¹

¹ You will find all these things in the new Summary of indulgences of the Most Holy Rosary, edited by order of Leo XIII, August 30, 1899, and recognized as authentic, in Acta S. Sedis, XXXII, pp. 226-241.

658. (B) The Chaplet of St. Bridget,² so called from its institutress, (a) consists of six decades, each of which contains 1 Pater, 10 Ave, 1 Credo, and 1 Pater at the end, with 3 other Ave. It must be blessed by the Order of the Most Holy Savior Lateran, or by those who are delegated by the Abbot General of this Order or by the Holy See. A special form of blessing is not required.

² Facultas benedicendi coronas cum applicatione indulgent. S. Brigittae, Rome, 1878; Beringer, I, pp. 360-366; Raccolta, p. 206.

(b) Often the faculty is granted by the Holy See of applying the indulgences of St. Bridget to Rosaries of five, ten, or fifteen decades; then it is not necessary to add 1 Pater and 3 Ave at the end, but the Credo must be said at the end of each decade; and five decades suffice. - In neither case is meditation on the mysteries required.

(c) The principal indulgences are: an indulgence of 100 days for any Pater, Ave, or Credo, provided that six or five decades are recited; a plenary indulgence in the article of death for those who have been accustomed to recite this chaplet once in the week.³

³ You will find the authentic Summary of all indulgences granted to the chaplets of St. Bridget in Rescripta authent., pp. 352-356.

659. (C) Chaplets blessed by the Crucigers (the faculty of blessing them cannot be delegated to others) have annexed an indulgence of five hundred days as often as a Pater or Ave is recited with them, without its being necessary to recite the whole Rosary, or that some meditation be required.¹

¹ Thus Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, March 15, 1884, in Acta S. Sedis, XVI, 404; cf. Beringer, I, pp. 366-369.

660. 2° General rules for all chaplets. (a) Several indulgences can be annexed to one and the same chaplet, for example, the indulgences of the Rosary and of St. Bridget; and, for gaining each one, the recitation of the prayers need not be repeated, but the indulgences can be accumulated, from the concession of June 12, 1907.

³ The rules handed down here are applied to crucifixes or other blessed objects.

(b) Chaplets enriched with indulgences must be handed over altogether gratis; otherwise the indulgences are lost; yet this penalty does not affect those who buy chaplets, committing to the seller himself the care of obtaining the blessing, and who pay the price and the expenses of transmission at the time when those things, already blessed, are handed over.² Likewise the indulgences are not lost when Rosaries already blessed pass by donation from one person to another or to a third, etc., nor if they are lent to another. (Codex, can. 924, § 2.)

² Thus Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, July 10, 1896, in Acta S. Sedis, XXIX, 320.

678. The indulgence of the Most Holy Rosary. - The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary is "a certain sacred formula of praying to God in honor of Blessed Mary, by which, through fifteen decades of the angelic salutation, with the Lord's Prayer inserted between each, the fifteen principal mysteries of human redemption are reviewed with pious meditations." Thus in the office of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, lect. 4. It must be recited with beads specially blessed for this purpose, which are of 5 (not 4 or 6 or 7), or 10, or 15 decades, and which during prayer must be held in the hand and turned; but if it is recited in common, it suffices that one person hold and turn the beads, while the rest, cares which impede attention being removed, devoutly unite with him in the recitation. Indeed it has recently been granted that whenever, either because of manual work or because of another reasonable cause, an impediment arises so that they cannot hold them in the hand, the faithful can gain the indulgences, provided that during the recitation they carry them with themselves in some way (S. Poen., Nov. 9, 1933).

At least five decades must be recited in one morally continuous stretch; indeed, by concession of Pius X, the decades of the rosary can be separated, provided that the recitation of the rosary is completed on the same day (C. Indg., July 8, 1908); nevertheless confreres of the Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary gain the indulgences even if they separate the individual decades, provided that they say the whole Rosary within the week. The Creed or Salve Regina is not required at the beginning, nor a prayer or Litanies at the end; nor the Glory Be at the end of the decades, or the Requiem when the rosary is said for the dead; but the individual decades must begin with the Our Father and consist of 10 Hail Marys. Recitation must altogether be accompanied by meditation on the mysteries of the life, passion, and resurrection of Christ, according to each one's capacity; the mysteries are now determined both as to substance and as to logical order, and cannot be changed in the recitation (S. C. Indg., Aug. 13, 1726), but whatever series of mysteries is meditated, whether of joy, of sorrow, or of glory, or in whatever order the three series are placed, suffices for gaining the indulgences.

Before the individual decades the mystery to be considered can be announced, or even before the individual angelic salutations, since this is not a true interpolation in the prayers nor a moral interruption; - indeed the custom of inserting a brief announcement of the mystery after the word "Jesus" in each salutation, although of itself disapproved because of can. 934, § 2, was permitted by indult for certain places; this indult has now been extended in favor of all who according to the aforesaid custom have been accustomed to recite the Rosary in any places whatever (S. Poen., Jan. 22, 1921).

The blessing of the rosary has been granted to the Order of Preachers; others, excepting a privilege such as Cardinals and Bishops personally have, cannot bless unless they have obtained from the Holy See or from the master general of the Preachers a delegated faculty; the same is to be said of the erection of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. This holds for concessions made before Apr. 1, 1933; for the future, from the decree of the Sacred Penitentiary, Mar. 20, 1933, the General of the Preachers is still able to delegate his own for blessing rosaries, but no longer outsiders. These in the future must approach the Sacred Penitentiary, unless it should wish to grant the privilege anew to the General of the Preachers.

The summary of indulgences of the Most Holy Rosary was published by order of Leo XIII and recognized as authentic on Aug. 29, 1899; to these afterward certain others were annexed. The principal ones are:

1. For the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary: to all the faithful an indulgence of 5 years as often as they devoutly recite a third part of the rosary, and of 10 years, once in the day, if they recite it in common; - a plenary indulgence on the last Sunday of the month if at least three times in the week they recite a third part together with others, and, refreshed by the Sacraments, visit some church or public oratory and there pray according to the mind of the Supreme Pontiff; - likewise a plenary indulgence, if they have obtained pardon of sins and have approached the sacred Synaxis, as often as before the Most Holy Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle they have devoutly recited a third part (Pius XI, brief Ad S. Dominici, Sept. 4, 1927). - But if they use a rosary specially blessed by the Fathers Preachers, or by one having the faculty, there is an indulgence of 100 days for each Our Father and Hail Mary, provided that at least a third part of the rosary is recited, and a plenary indulgence once in the year if each day they recite at least a third part and are refreshed by the Sacraments.

2. For special exercises: an indulgence of 5 years once, on any day, and a plenary indulgence, under the ordinary conditions, for those who for 9 days give themselves to pious exercises in honor of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary (S. Poen., Mar. 18, 1932); - likewise a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, on any of 15 continuous Saturdays, if on each Saturday they receive the Sacraments and recite a third part of the Rosary; but those who are legitimately impeded on Saturday can perform the exercise on Sunday (S. Poen., Aug. 31, 1936); - likewise special indulgences are annexed to the exercises of the association of the Living Rosary or of the Perpetual Rosary.

3. For the feast of the Most Holy Rosary and the month of October: besides the indulgence toties quoties to be gained on the feast day by all who, refreshed by the sacraments, visit a church of the Preachers or another church or public oratory in which the Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary has been erected, there is granted an indulgence of 7 years for any day of the month of October to those who recite a third part of the rosary; - moreover, one plenary indulgence to those reciting a third part of the rosary on the feast day and on each day through the octave, and another if, after the octave of the Most Holy Rosary, they say a third part of the rosary at least ten times within the month of October: under the condition of confession, Communion, and the visit of some church (S. Poen., Mar. 18, 1932).

4. To confreres of the Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary many are granted, for example, an indulgence of 100 years and as many quarantines, once in the day, to all confreres devoutly carrying the beads out of reverence for the Blessed Virgin (Pius X, July 31, 1906); - an indulgence of 5 years and as many quarantines as often as, in reciting the rosary, they devoutly pronounce the name of Jesus in the angelic salutation; - likewise 10 years and as many quarantines if they recite the rosary three times in the week, for each time; a plenary indulgence if, refreshed by the sacraments, within the space of one natural day they recite the whole rosary for the triumph of the Church and visit some church or public oratory (S. C. Indg., June 12, 1907), - likewise 7 years and as many quarantines as often as they are present at devotions customarily established in churches of the Preachers in the month of October, - likewise a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Annunciation if, refreshed by the sacraments, they recite the rosary, and many others to those who on certain days visit the chapel or church of the confraternity or are present at or participate in certain exercises. Concerning all of these can be consulted the recent booklet of Fr. Fanfani, De Rosario B. M. Virginis, 1930, and De Confraternitatibus Ordini Praedicatorum propriis, 1934.

It should be noted: a) There are other chaplets besides the rosary. Thus the chaplet of St. Bridget, which consists of 6 decades, each of which contains 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Creed, and 1 Our Father at the end with 3 other Hail Marys, and does not require meditation on the mysteries, but must be blessed by the Lateran Order of the Most Holy Savior, or by someone delegated for this by the Holy See: sometimes the faculty is granted of applying to rosaries of 5, 10, or 15 decades the indulgences of the Bridgettine chaplet, in which case it is not necessary to add 1 Our Father and 3 Hail Marys at the end, but the Creed must be said at the end of each decade, and five decades then suffice. The indulgences are 100 days for each Our Father, Hail Mary, and Creed, provided that six or five decades are recited; and a plenary indulgence at the article of death for those who have been accustomed to recite this chaplet once in the week, and many others. - The chaplet of the Crosiers, to be blessed by them, has annexed an indulgence of 500 days as often as an Our Father or Hail Mary is recited with it, without its being necessary to recite the whole chaplet or to add meditation. - The chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is proper to the Order of Servites and is composed of 7 parts, each of which consists of one Our Father and 7 Hail Marys, and to which at the end 3 Hail Marys are added. It must be blessed by a special formula and enjoys many indulgences.

b) Several indulgences can be annexed to the same chaplet, for example, of the Holy Rosary and of St. Bridget, but in such a way that by repeated recitation, now these, now those, one gains them separately, but not by one recitation simultaneously and conjointly (can. 933).

c) Nevertheless, by special concession of Pius X, the indulgences of the Most Holy Rosary of the Preachers and of the chaplet of the Crosiers can be accumulated (S. C. Indg., June 12, 1907); Pius XI joined to these the apostolic indulgences (S. Poen., Feb. 17 and June 14, 1922), and Pius XII (S. Poen., Mar. 11, 1939).

d) The Most Holy Rosary, before others, has been enriched with indulgences, so that generally by it more or better ones can be acquired more easily, at least by those who are enrolled in the Sodality of the Most Holy Rosary.