The Fifteen Saturdays of the Most Holy Rosary
Based on Meditations by St. Bartolo Longo
About the Devotion
Originating with the Dominicans in the 17th century, the Fifteen Saturdays devotion is centered on the Mysteries of the Rosary. It is meant to be prayed for a special intention over fifteen consecutive Saturdays, each one dedicated to a different Mystery. Our exclusive edition of the Fifteen Saturdays contains fifteen meditations on the Mysteries, which may be used as part of the devotion or read on their own.
About St. Bartolo Longo
Our book is based on meditations by St. Bartolo Longo, an ex-Satanist priest who became the “Apostle of the Rosary.” A Third Order Dominican, Longo played a key role in founding the Sanctuary of Pompeii and spreading devotion to the Rosary. He popularized the Fifteen Saturdays in the late 1800s, publishing his own meditations on the Mysteries under the same title as our book, The Fifteen Saturdays of the Most Holy Rosary. Longo also incorporated into the devotion the patronage of Our Lady of Pompeii, a Marian title closely associated with Our Lady of the Rosary. Our book cover features the image of Our Lady of Pompeii acquired by Longo for the Sanctuary of Pompeii.
About the Artwork
To accompany the meditations, we chose a unique series of fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary paintings from Saint Paul’s Church, a historic Dominican church in Antwerp, Belgium. The cycle of paintings was commissioned in the 17th century with the intent of aiding the faithful in meditating on the Mysteries. They were hung in the north aisle of the church, allowing the faithful to pray a decade while standing in front of each Mystery.
How to Practice the Fifteen Saturdays
The Fifteen Saturdays is designed to be practiced over fifteen uninterrupted Saturdays. Pope Leo XIII permitted the devotion to alternatively be done over fifteen consecutive Sundays, recognizing that work may prevent some people from attending Mass on Saturdays. The basic structure of the Fifteen Saturdays is as follows:
1. Attend Mass on Saturday (or Sunday) and offer your Communion in honor of the Mystery and for your intention.
2. Meditate on the Mystery on that Saturday (or Sunday).
3. Practice the virtue associated with the Mystery during the rest of the week.
Praise from the Popes for St. Bartolo Longo’s Fifteen Saturdays
“By his whole life's work and especially by the practice of the ‘Fifteen Saturdays,’ Bartolo Longo promoted the Christocentric and contemplative heart of the Rosary, and received great encouragement and support from Leo XIII, the ‘Pope of the Rosary.’”
— Pope St. John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae 8, October 16, 2002
“Indeed, from that moment [St. Bartolo Longo] became an apostle of the Rosary and, with countless initiatives and writings, and especially with ‘The Fifteen Saturdays,’ he was one of the great interpreters of this Marian devotion, of which a long series of interventions by my Venerable Predecessors, especially from Leo XIII onwards, up to the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae of Saint John Paul II, who relaunched it at the dawn of the third millennium by proclaiming a Year of the Rosary.”
— Pope Francis, “Message of Pope Francis on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Image of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii,” October 7, 2024
