“Ever since Blessed Alan de la Roche reestablished this devotion the voice of the people, which is the voice of God, called it the Rosary. The word Rosary means “Crown of Roses,” that is to say that every time people say the Rosary devoutly they place a crown of one hundred and fifty — three red roses and sixteen white roses upon the heads of Jesus and Mary. Being Heavenly flowers these roses will never fade or lose their exquisite beauty. So the complete Rosary is a large crown of roses and the Rosary of five decades is a little wreath of flowers or a small crown of Heavenly roses which we place on the heads of Jesus and Mary. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is therefore the most important one.”
— St. Louis de Montfort
