What are the Different Types of Rosaries?
What are the Different Types of Rosaries?
We compare the various types of rosaries in four ways: number of beads, prayers, construction, and jewellery.
Types of Rosaries: Clickable Categories
- 59 (full rosary)
- 10 or 11 (pocket/car)
- 225 (20-decade)
- rosary prayers
- single decade
- chaplet prayers
- cord or Paracord
- classic wire & chain
- wire-wrapped
- Rosary Bracelet
- Rosary Necklace
- Rosary Ring
- Classic Rosaries
- Paracord Rosaries
- and more
What are the Different Types of Rosaries?
Origins
With its roots in the 13th Century, the Rosary is one of the simplest yet most popular prayers in the Catholic Church. Yet what are the different types of Rosaries?
How Many Beads?
There are different types of Rosaries.
- Full Rosary: 59 beads (5 decades)
- Pocket, Car Rosary: 10 or 11 beads (1 decade)
- 20-decade: 225 beads (20 decades)
An example of a unique rosary with 59 beads is a Wall Rosary. It has a classic design with large beads. Click to shop for rosaries.
Rosaries and Chaplets
Some sets of beads, like The Seven Sorrows Rosary, are, in fact, chaplets. The prayers differ from that of a rosary. Sometimes the bead layouts are also different. Click to read more about the difference between rosaries and chaplets.
CONSTRUCTION
1. Cord and Paracord Rosaries
The beads of these rosaries are strung on a length of cord or Paracord. The Hail Mary beads slide along the cord during prayer, while the Our Father beads are stationary. Click to see our cord rosaries.
CONSTRUCTION
2. Classic-Linked with Wire & Chain
Loops of either nickel silver or brass wire hold the beads in place. Wire and chain rosaries with looped links are the most well-known type of rosary construction. Click to see our rosaries with classic links.
CONSTRUCTION
3. Wire-Wrapped Rosaries
Although fairly recent to rosary-making, wire-wrapping is a skill dating back to the ancient Egyptians. The wire is wrapped around the core strand that passes through the beads. Artisans describe wire-wrapped rosaries as heirloom quality or unbreakable. Click to see our wire-wrapped rosaries.
Types of Rosary Jewellery
Rosary beads are also available as jewellery. Rosary necklaces, rosary bracelets, and rosary rings provide other ways to carry and pray a rosary.
The Types of Rosaries We Make
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CREDITS
The LOGO image of Our Lady of Grace is original artwork by Martin Lariviere in 2009. We have the artist’s permission (my son). It is our exclusive trademark logo image.
A beautifully photographed sky by Donald Tong inspired the website’s colour scheme. Cropped portions of it are the background for the footer Bible verse. He shared it as a free download on pexels.com.
Raphael painted The Sistine Madonna circa (1513-1514). We made circular cut-outs from the original image.
Circa 1596 to 1598, Guido Reni painted Madonna del Rosario con san Domenico.
Our information is from general knowledge, experience, and shared internet resources. We’d like you to use it as a starting point for your research to verify facts and build a reference list.
IN REVIEW
There are four ways to compare the types of rosaries:
- BEADS: A full rosary has 59 beads, a 20-decade rosary has 225 beads, and a pocket or car rosary has 11 beads.
- PRAYERS: Some, like The Seven Sorrows Rosary, are a misnomer. They are chaplets because the prayers and layout differ from that of a rosary.
- CONSTRUCTION: Comparing the materials, there are cord, classic-linked, and wire-wrapped rosaries.
- JEWELRY: rosary bracelets, rosary necklaces, and rosary rings