Rosary Day

Thanksgiving

All Saints Day

All Souls' Day

Celebrating Advent and Christmas

Season of Lent and Easter

Pentecost​

Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) adopted a motion on March 7, 2012 that school communities pray and honour Rosary Day on the First Friday in October of each year.

The Word rosary comes from the Latin rosarium, or “rose garden.” The Rosary is a prayerful reflection on the life of Jesus, which involves contemplating certain Gospel scenes, the “mysteries”, in the company of Mary. For Pope John Paul II, “The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer.” (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 12).

The Rosary is the most popular of all the Marian devotions. It was revealed to St. Dominic by the Blessed Mother in the 13th century and in 1470, Blessed Alan of Rupe, a Dominican preacher, founded the first Rosary confraternity.

At Lourdes and Fatima, Our Lady encouraged the children to pray the Rosary often. The fifteen mysteries of the Rosary focuses on incidents in the lives of Jesus Christ and Mary.​​​​

On October 16, 2002, Pope John Paul II marked the 24th anniversary of his election by signing the apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, “The Rosary of the Virgin Mary” in which he suggested five new “Mysteries of Light,” or Luminous Mysteries as follows:

1. The Baptism of Jesus

2. The Wedding at Cana

3. The Proclamation of The Kingdom of God

4. The Transfiguration

5. The Institution of the Holy Eucharist

The complete Rosary now consists of twenty decades divided into four distinct parts, the Joyful, the Luminous, the Sorrowful, and the Glorious Mysteries, each containing five decades and one mystery per decade.

Ball, Ann. (2005) The How-To Book of Sacramentals, Huntington, In.: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Groeschel, Benedict J. C.F.R. (2003) The Rosary - Chain of Hope San Francisco: Ignatius Press “The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary” (2011) Regina Press.

• How to Pray the Rosary

• Mysteries of the Rosary

• Prayers of the Rosary

• Mysteries of the Rosary and Scriptural Meditations

• How to use the Rosary on SMARTBoard

• Praying the Living Rosary

• Honouring Mary Resources​

In addition to the traditional Rosary prayers, Pope Francis has asked Catholics to add two prayers​ to the end of the Rosary for the month of May.

• The Rosary Apostolate​

• The Rosary Apostolate YouTube Channel​

You are welcome to view the recordings of two sessions when the TCDSB Community prayed the rosary:

• The Glorious Mysteries

• The Luminous Mysteries

Here are the steps to pray the Rosary using a SMARTBoard:

• Touch or click each bead as your class prays the rosary (each bead will light up as you go along to help you keep track visually).

• If your class needs additional support with the prayers of the rosary:

  1. Take your finger or mouse and drag the prayer pull tab to the centre of the screen.

  2. When your class is done with the prayer, drag it back to the side so you can see the rosary again.