New Rosary Confraternity Website

On May 31^st, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Confraternity of Most Holy Rosary in the Dominican Province of St. Joseph formally inaugurated its new website: www.rosaryconfraternity.org. Through this new endeavor, the Rosary Confraternity hopes to introduce more people to Our Lady’s Rosary and to increase awareness about the spiritual benefits of joining this international association. The first Rosary Confraternity was established in the 1470s through the zealous preaching of the Dominican Friar Alan de la Roche, O.P. A few years later, another local Rosary Confraternity was established in Cologne by Fr. Joseph Sprenger, O.P. After this, Rosary Confraternities began to be established throughout Europe and eventually throughout the world. It was partly due to the spread of the Confraternity itself that devotion to Our Lady’s Rosary flourished so widely and a more uniform system of reciting the Rosary developed. From the very beginning, the Rosary Confraternity (or, as it is known in some parishes, the Rosary Altar Society) was associated with the Dominican Friars and ultimately the formal establishment of all Rosary sodalities in parishes became a privilege reserved to the Dominican Order. Today, members of the Rosary Confraternity promise to recite fifteen decades of the Rosary each week and to include the intentions of the other members in their prayers. Although this obligation is very minimal, the spiritual benefits are extensive. Along with several plenary and partial indulgences that are granted to members of the Confraternity, members also benefit from the countless Rosaries that are prayed for their intentions by the other members throughout the world. For more information about the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary or to enroll directly through the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, visit the new website at www.rosaryconfraternity.org. From the website, you can also purchase rosaries, books, and some religious gifts. This website maintains a permanent link to the Confraternity website–just scroll down to the bottom of this page and look under “Dominican Websites”.