What other chaplets do Catholics pray?

7 min

Awaiting theological review

The simple answer

Besides the Rosary, Catholics pray several chaplets: short prayers counted on beads, each centred on a mystery of Jesus, on Mary or on a saint. In Portugal people often call them terços or coroas. Some come from the Middle Ages, some from the private revelations of saints. All of them are optional devotions: none is a magic formula, and none takes the place of the Mass or the Rosary. Below are the best known, with how to pray them and when.

In the Bible

Scripture

Jesus warns against babbling as if many words could force God, because the Father knows what we need. Repetition is not the problem; trying to manipulate God is.

Matthew 6:7–8

Scripture

Jesus tells his disciples that they ought always to pray and not lose heart; Paul writes: pray without ceasing.

Luke 18:1 · 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Scripture

Simeon tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul, the first of the sorrows remembered in the Seven Sorrows chaplet.

Luke 2:34–35

Scripture

Revelation shows Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.

Revelation 12:7–9

Scripture

Isaiah says of the suffering servant: by his bruises we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Where it comes from

Historical context

Praying on beads or knots is not only Catholic: Eastern Christians pray the Jesus Prayer on a prayer rope, and other religions also use beads to count prayers.

Tradition

Tradition dates the Franciscan Crown, on the seven joys of Mary, to 1422, when a young Franciscan novice was taught to offer Mary a crown of prayers instead of flowers.

Historical context

The Servants of Mary, founded in Florence in the 13th century, spread devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is kept on 15 September.

Private revelation

The Chaplet of Saint Michael is linked to Antónia d'Astónaco, a Portuguese Carmelite of the 18th century, who said the archangel asked for it. Pius IX granted it indulgences in the 19th century.

Origin and indulgence awaiting verification(awaiting verification)

What the Church teaches

Catechism

The Church's devotion to Mary, expressed in liturgical feasts and in prayers such as the Rosary, is intrinsic to Christian worship but differs from the adoration given to God.

CCC 971

Catechism

Medieval piety in the West developed the Rosary as a popular substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours.

CCC 2678

Catechism

These forms of popular piety are good when they lead people to Christ and to the liturgy of the Church.

CCC 1674

How to pray it

1
The Rosary (terço)
Five decades of Hail Marys, each with an Our Father and a Glory Be, meditating on the life of Jesus. A terço is literally a third: before 2002 the full Rosary had fifteen mysteries, and five were a third. Any time of day; see the Rosary article for the full method.
2
Divine Mercy
On ordinary rosary beads, offering the Father the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus and asking mercy for us and the whole world. Often prayed at three in the afternoon; see the Divine Mercy article for the words.
3
Chaplet of Saint Michael
Nine salutations, one for each choir of angels, each followed by one Our Father and three Hail Marys; then four Our Fathers in honour of Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael and your guardian angel, and a closing prayer. Any day, especially around 29 September, the feast of the archangels.
4
Seven Sorrows of Mary
Seven groups of seven Hail Marys, each after remembering one sorrow: Simeon's prophecy, the flight into Egypt, Jesus lost in the Temple, meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, Jesus taken down from the Cross, and his burial. Often prayed on Fridays, in Lent and on 15 September.
5
Chaplet of the Holy Wounds
On ordinary rosary beads, offering the Father the wounds of Jesus for the healing of souls and asking mercy. It comes from the private revelations of Sister Marie-Marthe Chambon, a Visitation nun in Chambéry, France, in the 19th century, and is widely prayed in Portugal and Brazil. Often prayed on Fridays and in Lent.
6
Franciscan Crown
Seven decades of Hail Marys on the seven joys of Mary: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of Jesus, the visit of the Magi, finding Jesus in the Temple, the risen Jesus, and her Assumption and coronation. The appearance of the risen Jesus to his mother is a tradition, not told in the Gospels.
7
Prayers tied to hours
Not chaplets, but they answer the question of when: the Angelus at six in the morning, at noon and at six in the evening, replaced by the Regina Caeli in the Easter season; and the Hour of Mercy at three in the afternoon.
Marialis Cultus, 41

A common misunderstanding

Some chaplets never fail, and if you skip a day or say a word wrong, something bad will happen.

In fact

No chaplet forces God, and no devotion brings bad luck. The Church approves these prayers as ways of trusting God, not as formulas. It is better to pray one slowly than several in a rush.

Why it matters today

Choose one chaplet that fits your life now, Saint Michael when you feel attacked, the Seven Sorrows when you are grieving, Divine Mercy at three in the afternoon, and pray it for a week. Do not pile up obligations: these are gifts, not homework.

Bible passages

Matthew 6:7–8 · Luke 18:1 · 1 Thessalonians 5:17 · Luke 2:34–35 · Revelation 12:7–9 · Isaiah 53:5

Catechism

CCC 971; 2678; 1674 ↗