Rosary Walk

Draw Closer to Christ

The Rosary Walk provides a fitting setting for pilgrims to draw closer to Christ by contemplating Him in prayer while meditating upon the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of His Incarnation and Redemption. Beautiful bronze plaques at each alcove explain the Mystery which is being depicted.

Further enriching the experience of the pilgrims, descriptions of the Mysteries – taken from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae,  and the “Hail Mary” written in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Nahuatl (Aztec) – can be found on the flanks of each alcove.

Reflecting the Marian Message

Further enriching the experience of the pilgrims, descriptions of the Mysteries – taken from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae,  and the “Hail Mary” written in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Nahuatl (Aztec) – can be found on the flanks of each alcove.

The Shrine commissioned artist Anthony Visco, of Atelier of the Sacred Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to create the twenty images of the Mysteries, along with symbols in the corners of the tiles. The images were completed in the “azulejos” or blue and white ceramic style of Lisbon, Portugal, to reflect the Marian message.

Referring to the Rosary Walk, Visco said in an interview:

"I wanted an immediacy to them, so that they can be recognized by people from far away. Each mystery had to have its own distinct character, its own distinct composition, and its own distinct light source, something that was almost supernatural. I wanted to show the variety of light in our lives as it comes through Christ … Very simply, when there is the Rosary, there is always hope."

In 2002, Pope Saint John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter on the Rosary of the Virgin Mary:
Rosarium Virginis Mariae  (English / Spanish).