From Wikipedia:
"A rosary provides a physical method of keeping track of the number of Hail Marys
said. The
fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to keep
track of the count mentally, the mind is more able to meditate on the mysteries.
A five decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade), with additional
large beads before each decade. The Hail Mary is said on the ten beads within
a decade, while the Our Father is said on the large bead
before each decade. A new mystery is meditated upon at each of the large beads.
Some rosaries, particularly those used by religious orders,
contain fifteen decades, corresponding to the traditional fifteen mysteries of the
rosary. Both five and fifteen decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand,
which starts with a crucifix
followed by one large, three small, and one large beads
before connecting to the rest of the rosary.
The praying of the rosary is started
on the short strand, reciting the Apostle's Creed at the crucifix,
an Our Father at the first large bead, three Hail Marys on the next three beads,
then a Glory be to the Father on the next large
bead. The praying of the decades then follows.
The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials including wood, bone, glass,
crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious
materials including coral, crystal, silver, and gold. Rosaries
are sometimes made from the seeds of the "rosary pea" or "bead tree".
Today, the vast majority of rosary beads are made of glass, plastic, or wood. Early
rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often
made as a series of chain-linked beads.
Rosary beads are at times used to say Roman Catholic rosary based prayers which
do not primarily involve the Hail Mary and the mysteries of the rosary. Examples
include the Chaplet of Divine Mercy introduced by Saint Faustina Kowalska and the
Rosary of the Holy Wounds introduced by the Venerable Sister Mary Martha Chambon.[28]
These prayers often use rosary beads, but their words and format do not correspond
to the usual mysteries. Both Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Venerable Sister Mary
Martha Chambon attributed these prayers to Jesus as part of their visions of Jesus
Christ."
See our collection of Catholic rosaries currently available
here.