St. Augustine's Seminary professor seeks return to the Rosary

October is the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, yet for many Catholics the annual dedication passes almost unnoticed. A one-time defining practice of the faith, the Rosary now seemingly struggles for attention. 

While each bead once marked a certain rhythm of family life and parish devotion, it now risks becoming something of a forgotten practice. This month, a Catholic professor is reflecting on what could be at stake. For Dr. Josephine Lombardi, it is more than a private devotion, but a proven way of entering the mysteries of Christ’s life, death and resurrection through the heart of His mother.

An academic dean at Toronto’s St. Augustine’s Seminary as well as an associate professor of pastoral and systematic theology, Lombardi has long held a personal devotion to Our Lady that began in childhood. Inspired by her mother, who was born on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and subsequently named Maria after Our Lady, Lombardi revealed that she herself began reciting the Rosary regularly in her early 20s and has prayed it every day since then.

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In 2012, she wrote Living with the Rosary, a book that looked to help everyday Catholics meditate more deeply on the mysteries by aiming to connect the insights of each to everyday lived experiences. 

“ I've experienced mountains moving in my life due to this powerful prayer, and that is proof that Mary’s intercession is powerful. It was something where I wanted to encourage all Catholics to also have a deep relationship with Our Lady, and several popes, like Pope Pius XII and John Paul II, both referred to the Rosary as a compendium of the Gospel,” she told The Catholic Register.

Indeed, some Catholics may remember Pope John Paul II’s quote, “The Rosary is my favourite prayer,” giving papal credence to its longstanding importance.

Beginning as a lay substitute for the 150 Psalms of the monastic Liturgy of the Hours, beads were first counted upwards of 150 Our Fathers. By the early 12th century, St. Dominic had popularized the prayer after an apparition of Mary, and over the next three centuries, the practice gained increasing prominence. Introductory prayers, the Our Father and the scriptural half of the Hail Mary were in place by the mid-12th century, and in 1569 Pope Pius V formally established the devotion and fixed Oct. 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the 17th century, the familiar five-decade structure, the Gloria, and the Apostles’ Creed completed the prayer we know today.

Lombardi attests that today, the same practice allows for deep, dedicated meditation on the few moments in Scripture where Mary speaks and appears, with each mystery helping us see our own stories in the Gospel and follow the Lord more closely.

So certain of the practice's ability to deepen our spiritual connection with Jesus and His mother, she pondered whether the devotion has truly faded, or whether Catholic leaders have failed to keep it at the forefront of the global faith life. 

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“ Have we failed as Catholics to encourage this devotion? Have we failed to make it relevant to today's context? To bear witness to the power of this prayer?” she asks. 

For her, such a decline would see the faithful lose touch with a living relationship rather than a mere routine or practice.

“We lose experiencing the power of Our Lady's intercessory prayer, the opportunity to bring to the mysteries of our Lord's life, death and resurrection, and Our Lady's intimacy with her Son and with us, to see our story in His. We even lose the opportunity to enter into the fullness of our faith, the fullness of the Gospel, if we don't even consider or be open to developing a devotion to this very powerful prayer.” 

Thankfully, a certain subset of the faith has released this before it's too late. Young Catholics are increasingly praying the Rosary, driven by various youth-led rallies, local prayer chapters and global church initiatives. 

The best example is perhaps “The Rosary in a Year" podcast, from Catholic multimedia publisher Ascension, which debuted at #1 on the overall Apple Podcasts charts, even surpassing powerhouse mainstream shows like The Joe Rogan Experience.

Meanwhile, other youth initiatives like Aid to the Church in Need's "One Million Children Praying the Rosary” continue yearly, recently seeing Pope Leo XIV join more than 1,000 children in Rome’s Grotto of Lourdes to kick off the dedicated initiative. 

“It’s encouraging to see how Catholics are using the media for good — to evangelize and to refresh the memory of Catholics regarding the treasures of our faith,” Lombardi said. 

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In this month of dedication to that very invitation to relationship, perhaps it is time to uncover the beads long hidden away to let them once again draw us back into the mysteries of Christ’s life through the intercession of His mother. Lombardi’s advice? Start slow, but never cease, this month and each after it. 

“Even pondering the words of the Hail Mary is a start, and remembering that the Lord desires that we remain close to His mother. She's been described as the way to the way, and once you develop a deep connection with Our Lady, I'm certain that you feel her prayers for you in a more powerful way,” she said.