New study reveals the rosary rivals modern meditation for mental health benefits 

 

Brussels, Belgium, Jun 21, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

In an era where mindfulness apps dominate smartphones and meditation studios populate urban corners, a new groundbreaking international study suggests that the ancient Catholic prayer practice of praying the rosary may offer comparable mental health benefits to Eastern-inspired meditation techniques.

The research, published in the Journal of Religion and Health, also challenges assumptions made about traditional practices like the rosary, revealing surprising insights about who is actually praying the rosary in 2025.

Researchers from Italy, Poland, and Spain surveyed 361 practicing Catholics to assess the impact of praying the rosary on well-being and mental health. They found that participants who prayed the rosary reported higher levels of well-being, increased empathy, and significantly lower levels of religious struggle or spiritual anxiety — which research has shown can be benefits of other meditation techniques.

Researchers also found that 62.2% of participants held graduate or master’s degrees, challenging an assumption they say some may hold that traditional Catholic devotions appeal mainly to the less educated.

“We were struck by how this traditional practice transcends educational and generational boundaries,” said lead researcher Father Lluis Oviedo from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome.

Oviedo told CNA that the study originated out of a frustration that a lot of research had been devoted to the benefits of practicing mindfulness and other meditation techniques, but practically nothing has been published about the rosary, despite it clearly being a form of meditation too.

“Our team tried to explore whether we could find similar benefits in this Catholic prayer to those attributed to more fashionable forms of meditation,” he said. “I was convinced that we would find positive results as I knew from personal experience and the testimonies of others what this prayer meant and what they experienced during it.”

Challenging stereotypes

The research revealed cultural variations across the three countries studied.

Poland showed the highest engagement, with participants scoring 3.70 on rosary practice frequency (compared with 3.38 in Italy and 3.35 in Spain). This aligns with Poland’s reputation as one of Europe’s most religiously observant nations where Catholic traditions remain deeply woven into the social fabric despite decades of communist suppression.

Italy, despite hosting the Vatican, showed more moderate engagement levels. Italian participants reported the highest empathy scores (4.31), suggesting that the practice’s benefits extend beyond personal spirituality to enhanced social connection — a finding that resonates with Italy’s communal culture.

Spain presented an intriguing paradox: lower rosary practice frequency but strong well-being outcomes among those who do pray it regularly. This may reflect Spain’s complex relationship with Catholicism, where traditional practices persist alongside rapid secularization.

The mental health connection

Perhaps the study’s most striking finding is how praying the rosary functions as a mental health intervention.

Participants consistently reported that the practice provided “spiritual peace, calm, and confidence” (26.3%), helped with “coping with problems” (10.2%), and offered “protection against evil” (8.6%).

One participant said: “Praying the rosary saved my life. After my husband’s death, I couldn’t cope with the pain and emptiness. Every day, I reached for the rosary and it gave me the strength to survive these difficult moments. Without it, I don’t know how I would have managed.”

The research also showed that praying the rosary correlated positively with reduced depression and increased optimism about the future. These effects rival those reported in studies of mindfulness meditation yet come without the sometimes hefty price tags of meditation retreats or app subscriptions.

Why it matters

The study’s implications extend far beyond Catholic communities. As mental health crises escalate globally — with particular severity in the U.S. and Europe — the research suggests society may be overlooking accessible, culturally rooted resources for psychological well-being.

In the U.S., where the wellness industry generates billions annually, the findings raise questions about the commodification of spiritual practices. Why pay for expensive meditation classes when a traditional practice offers similar benefits? The study also challenges assumptions some have that Eastern non-Christian practices are superior to Western spiritual traditions.

For Germany, where both Catholic and Protestant traditions have shaped the culture but face declining influence, the research offers a potential bridge between secular mental health approaches and traditional spiritualities. German Catholics might find validation in maintaining practices often dismissed as outdated.

The implications for Poland are particularly significant. As the country navigates tensions between its deeply Catholic identity and European Union secularization pressures, the study provides empirical support for the mental health value of traditional practices — potentially influencing both health care policy and cultural debates.

In Italy, where Catholicism remains culturally significant despite declining Mass attendance, the findings suggest that traditional practices like the rosary might serve as accessible mental health resources, particularly for older populations who may be less comfortable with secular therapy.

Breaking down barriers

The researchers noted a striking bias in academic literature: PubMed contains 30,060 entries for “mindfulness” but only 13 for “rosary prayer.” This disparity reflects broader cultural prejudices that often dismiss Western devotions as more primitive.

“From a purely cultural phenomenological point of view, mindfulness is in, glamorous, fashionable and interesting, while the rosary is out, outdated, boring and uninteresting,” the researchers observed. Yet their data suggests this perception is more about cultural fashion than empirical reality.

The study’s network analysis revealed that religiosity impacts well-being both directly and through two key pathways: increasing empathy and reducing religious struggle. The repetitive nature of the rosary — similar to mantra meditation — appears to create a meditative state that calms anxiety and promotes emotional regulation.

Interestingly, the practice wasn’t associated with social isolation or narrow-mindedness, as stereotypes might suggest. Instead, higher levels of rosary prayer correlated with increased empathy, suggesting it enhances rather than diminishes social connection.

“One thing is certain, there is a divide within the Catholic Church, and within other churches, between those who pray and adopt a devotional stance, and those who interpret their Christian faith in terms of social awareness and involvement,” Oviedo said. “It is time to overcome this kind of binary model and adopt a style that combines devotion and empathy towards others. A divorce between the two makes the Christian message and the salvation we offer in Christ less credible and effective.”

The power of repetitive prayer

As societies grapple with mental health epidemics, spiritual emptiness, and the limitations of purely pharmaceutical approaches to psychological well-being, the research suggests benefits from a more inclusive view of contemplative practices. The rosary’s accessibility — requiring only beads and some time — makes it particularly relevant for economically disadvantaged populations who can’t afford therapy or meditation classes.

The study does not advocate for religious conversion or suggest that the rosary is superior to other practices. Rather, it argues for recognizing the diverse ways humans cope with suffering and find meaning.

One researcher concluded: “We count on a broader palette of spiritual or religious expressions with similar positive effects, and so, we can avoid some almost spiritual monopolies and one-sided expressions in the usual counseling and caring interventions.”

Longer-term impact

Oviedo said it is too early to evaluate the reception of this study.

“I was quite surprised that there was media interest in this topic, as it has been neglected in many settings, even within Catholic circles,” he said. “The worst aspect is the theological indifference or even hostility towards such devotional practices, which are considered alien to standard theology. The problem runs deeper, relating to a theology that is unable to connect with believers in how they live and express their faith.”

Oviedo said Catholics need to develop a “lived theology” — or a “theology from below.”

“This theological approach requires us to pay more attention to how believers feel, how they experience their faith, and how they sense salvation in action,” he said. “Indeed, many studies on religion, health, well-being, and flourishing are published every year, but almost no theologians pay any attention to them, even though they reveal the positive effects of religious faith and intense religious practice, or how to recognize salvation as something real. The rosary is a good example of this and suggests a different approach to theology if we really want to make the Christian message more credible.”