Closing Prayer
The Rosary closing prayer asks God to help us imitate the mysteries we have contemplated and receive the eternal life won by Christ. It commonly follows the Hail, Holy Queen and its versicle and response. Finish with the Sign of the Cross; other devotional additions remain optional.
On this page
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 while meditating on these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Listen to the Rosary closing prayer
The recording uses “that meditating upon these mysteries” and begins with “Let us pray.”
In Latin
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix.
R. Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi.
Orémus. Deus, cuius Unigénitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectiónem suam nobis salútis ætérnæ præmia comparávit, concéde, quæsumus: ut hæc mystéria sacratíssimo beátæ Maríæ Vírginis Rosário recoléntes, et imitémur quod cóntinent, et quod promíttunt assequámur. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
Meditation that shapes our lives
The closing prayer asks that contemplating the Rosary's mysteries may lead us to imitate what they contain and receive what they promise. Its opening recalls the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
“Imitate what they contain” gives a practical direction to contemplation. At the Annunciation, Mary receives the angel's message and consents to God's will. Her response may recall a responsibility we have found difficult to accept. The closing petition asks for help in responding faithfully to what God asks of us too.
“Obtain what they promise” points toward the eternal life won by Christ. We ask God for the grace to receive that life through his Son. The final words direct the petition through Christ our Lord, as the prayer concludes in the same faith professed in the opening Creed.
The customary closing sequence
After the fifth decade, many Catholics pray the Hail, Holy Queen, followed by the versicle and response and this closing prayer. The Compendium of the Catechism presents this sequence in its appendix of common prayers. It is a traditional way of concluding the Rosary, though families and communities may add other prayers according to their custom.
The versicle asks the Holy Mother of God to pray for us. The response asks that we may be made worthy of Christ's promises. A leader can say the versicle, with everyone answering; a person praying alone says both. “Let us pray” introduces the prayer addressed to God.
The recording contains only the closing prayer, beginning with “Let us pray.” It uses “that meditating upon these mysteries,” a small variation from the displayed text.
After the closing prayer
The closing prayer is said after the decades, without an additional bead. After its final Amen, make the Sign of the Cross. In a group, leave a brief pause before announcing any further prayers.
This prayer is often called the Rosary collect or Oremus, from the Latin invitation “Let us pray.” English prayer books differ in older and newer forms of address. The traditional English form and its Latin counterpart both ask for grace to imitate the mysteries and obtain what they promise.