An Essay on the History of the Rosary and Notable Marian Apparitions

http://omeka.lib.fsu.edu/files/original/22d01571ba4340504d6d81030453b23d.pdf

The History of the Rosary and
Notable Marian Apparitions

Madison Pequignot, Fall 2015

This essay is a close study of how the rosary has had great significance within the Catholic Church for centuries; ranging from it's first inception to the documented appearances of Marian apparitions, as such, the rosary is a vital part of the Catholic faith.Starting with the highlights of the history of the rosary from its beginning around the ninth century all the way to what it looks like today and how people use it. Continuing with a description of the story of Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady of Fatima is an influential piece of recent history that sparked a surge in the devotion towards Mary and the use of the rosary to do so. Next the apparitions that young Bernadette experienced with Mary that ended with the discovery of the famous healing springs that has become a spiritual destination. Ending with a brief example from a personal experience of John F. Butler’s is given to enlighten how important religion is within the military forces and how the rosary is a very common tool used. All of these elements are taken together to help show the significance of the rosary and how Catholics use it in order to become closer to God through Mary. The rosary is a tool that is used in solitude instead of something that is bragged about to others making it a remarkable feat that it has survived over a thousand years. In a time where technology is seeping into every aspect of a person’s life, it has driven people to search for a way to achieve a higher form of connection that can be gleamed from the rosary.