The rosary, a prayer treasured by Catholics around the world, was brought to life at St. Mary's Church Oct. 22, by members of the Rosary and Scapular Society and volunteers.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church considers Mary “the example of holiness” and the rosary “the epitome of the Gospel.” Rosary, which means “crown of roses,” has its origins in the second century, when lay members of the church prayed a series of short prayers in honor or Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The rosary is actually comprised of several prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary prayer, the Gloria and the Apostle's Creed. A set of rosary beads is often used to help remember the order of the prayers.

There are also four types of spiritual mysteries that are remembered: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious, all of which honor events in the life of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection.

The living rosary at St. Mary's celebrated the five glorious mysteries, which are the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Coming of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of Mary and the Coronation of Mary.

Toni Considine, the coordinator of the service, and Debbie Lovell, the president of the society, explained to the participants their role. Pastor Frank Lioi would read scripture passages at the start of each mystery, then readers, who represented the beads of a rosary, would recite the Lord's prayer, a Hail Mary prayer, or the Gloria.

As they took their turns reading, they stood beneath a statue of Mary, the patron saint of the church. She was dressed in blue and white robes under a halo of stars. The high, arched ceilings of the sanctuary contributed a church-filling echo to the voices of the approximately 50 people present as their prayers were carried up toward heaven.

For the Hail Mary prayer, the reader would say, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus,” and everyone else present responded with, “Hail, Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

This prayer is based on a passage from the Gospel of Luke, where Elizabeth, who was pregnant with the child who would become John the Baptist, saw Mary for the first time since her immaculate conception.

The service closed with the singing of “Salve Regina,” which means, “Hail, blessed lady.” The tune was based on a traditional religious chant, and the congregation sang it in Latin, a language that has a long tradition in the Catholic church.

This the first time we have done a living rosary, and we thought we would try it,“ said Debbie Lovell after the service.

“I wish more people would have taken advantage of this service,” said Marlyn Salato, who has only been a member of the society for two years. “I joined because a friend invited me, and I had a desire to be more active in the church.”

St. Hyacinth's Church in Auburn has been staging living rosaries for the past six years on the first Sunday in October.

“This event seems to be catching on,” said Teresa Dec, a member of the Spiritual Life and Evangelization Committee. “It gets the people involved in praying the rosary, and some of our young people portrayed the mysteries for us. We encourage special devotions like the rosary, and we invite everybody to come. There was a 'thank you' letter in the paper about our rosary, and that made us feel that we're doing something people appreciate.”