Saturday Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries for Saturday, Prayed Step by Step

On Saturday the Rosary is prayed with the Joyful Mysteries. Saturday is Our Lady’s day, and the Joyful Mysteries let us look at the first years of Jesus through the heart of his Mother. Below is the whole Saturday Rosary, step by step: the opening prayers, the five Joyful Mysteries with their Scripture passages and a short meditation for Saturday, the closing prayers, and Saturday’s traditional devotion to Our Lady. It takes about 20 minutes. The same mysteries are prayed on Monday.

DecadeJoyful MysteryScriptureFruit
1The AnnunciationLuke 1:26–38Humility
2The VisitationLuke 1:39–56Love of neighbor
3The NativityLuke 2:1–20Poverty of spirit
4The Presentation in the TempleLuke 2:22–38Obedience
5The Finding of Jesus in the TempleLuke 2:41–52Joy in finding Jesus

Rosary for each day: Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday · Friday · Saturday · Sunday

Offering for the Saturday Rosary

Before you begin, offer the Rosary for an intention. A Saturday offering, written for this page:

Holy Mary, Mother of God, on this day dedicated to you I offer this Rosary through your hands to your Son, for my family and for [intention]. Amen.

Opening prayers

1. On the crucifix, make the Sign of the Cross:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

2. Still holding the crucifix, pray the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified;
died, and was buried.
He descended into hell;
the third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

3. On the first large bead, pray the Our Father:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

4. On the next three beads, pray three Hail Marys, traditionally for an increase of faith, hope and charity:

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

5. Pray the Glory Be:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

The five Joyful Mysteries

For each decade: announce the mystery, read or recall the Scripture, pause on the meditation, then pray one Our Father on the large bead, ten Hail Marys on the small beads, the Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer:

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,
lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.

The meditations below were written for Saturday. For a longer reflection on each mystery, see our page on the Joyful Mysteries.

First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation

Scripture: Luke 1:26–38 · Fruit of the mystery: Humility

Look at Mary’s heart at the Annunciation: wholly open, wholly given to God.

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer.

Second Joyful Mystery: The Visitation

Scripture: Luke 1:39–56 · Fruit of the mystery: Love of neighbor

Mary carries Jesus to Elizabeth, and the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. Mary always brings us to Jesus.

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer.

Third Joyful Mystery: The Nativity

Scripture: Luke 2:1–20 · Fruit of the mystery: Poverty of spirit

“Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Ponder one word of the Gospel with her.

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer.

Fourth Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple

Scripture: Luke 2:22–38 · Fruit of the mystery: Obedience

Simeon tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul. Bring her the sorrows of the people you love.

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer.

Fifth Joyful Mystery: The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Scripture: Luke 2:41–52 · Fruit of the mystery: Joy in finding Jesus

For three days Mary searched for her Son in anguish. She understands every parent who is worried about a child.

Our Father, ten Hail Marys, Glory Be, and the Fatima Prayer.

Closing prayers

Hail, Holy Queen:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy! Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope!

To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us.

And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Versicle and response:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Closing prayer:

O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant we beseech thee, that meditating upon those mysteries, in the most holy Rosary of the most blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise: through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

End with the Sign of the Cross. Many people add a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father (an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be).

Saturday, Our Lady’s day

Since the Middle Ages Saturday has been dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On the first Saturday of each month, Our Lady of Fatima asked for the First Saturday devotion: confession, Communion, five decades of the Rosary and fifteen minutes of meditation on its mysteries, in reparation to her Immaculate Heart. End the Saturday Rosary with the Hail, Holy Queen.

Frequently asked questions

What mysteries of the Rosary are prayed on Saturday?

The Joyful Mysteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation in the Temple and Finding of Jesus in the Temple.

Who decided which mysteries are prayed on each day?

The plan comes from St. John Paul II’s apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (2002, no. 38): Joyful on Monday and Saturday, Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday, Luminous on Thursday. It is a recommendation, so you may pray any set on any day.

Does the Saturday Rosary count for the First Saturday devotion?

Yes. On a first Saturday, five decades of the Rosary are one of the four practices Our Lady of Fatima asked for, together with confession, Communion and fifteen minutes of meditation on the mysteries.

How long does the Saturday Rosary take?

About 15 to 20 minutes when prayed at a calm pace, a little longer with the meditations read aloud.

More Rosary pages

Texts and sources

  • Prayers of the Rosary: public-domain texts, as on our Rosary prayers page (Baltimore Catechism, 1891, and other sources listed there); Fatima Prayer as taught on July 13, 1917.
  • St. John Paul II, apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 16, 2002), nos. 19–21 and 38.
  • Scripture references use modern chapter and verse numbering; quotations are from the Douay-Rheims Bible.
  • Offerings and meditations written for biddingprayers.com by Seminarian Giuseppe.