54 day rosary novena
Traditionally a novena is nine days. Thus, Our Lady’ ’s words to young Fortuna — “make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition, and three novenas in thanksgiving. ”
The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet.
So began six novenas of Rosaries — which became known as the 54-day Rosary Novena.
To do the novena properly — one must pray the Rosary for 54 consecutive days, without missing a day, and must pray the particular Mystery indicated for that day following the correct sequence.
That is, the first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed.
The fourth day of the novena begins again with the Joyful Mysteries and continues on in that sequence throughout the 54 days of the novena (see chart below).
People have asked over time about the Luminous Mysteries — this novena was given by Our Lady as noted above in 1884 and only allows for the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries.
The Miraculous Rosary Novena
It has been reported that the miracle of young Fortuna ’s cure upon praying the 54-day Rosary Novena, made a deep impression on Pope Leo XIII. He wrote 17 encyclicals on the Rosary and urged all Christians to love the Rosary and pray it fervently.