Hello there Rosary lovers! In this post we will answer the query: is it OK to pray the Rosary while sitting?

We have other posts similar to this one focusing on prayer postures. I suggest you check them out.

Yes, it is absolutely fine to pray the Rosary while sitting. St Louis de Montfort confirms this in his amazing book ‘The Secret of the Rosary’, which I highly recommend to you.

He also states it is perfectly fine to pray the Rosary while walking, and even while working. So there is a lot of leeway for what posture to adopt when praying the Rosary, and when to pray it.

Throughout Catholic history, many Catholics have prayed the Rosary whilst also being necessarily busy at the same time, such as doing housework, or manual labour. As St Louis de Montfort puts it, the soul knows what is being said, even if the mind isn’t completely engaged.

The Jesus Prayer in the Orthodox Christian tradition is very similar at this point. The Jesus Prayer is designed to be prayed whenever, wherever, even during sleep. You are supposed to pray it so much that it becomes a part of you, that you can eventually say it without thinking. Your heart/mind just says it without you being fully conscious of it.

The Rosary is similar. It can accompany you throughout your day: whilst driving, lying in bed, showering, or sitting.

The Catholic Church does not obligate any specific posture from Catholics when they pray in their own time. You are free to pray sitting, walking, kneeling, standing, or whatever really.

You can pray lying in bed. Why not?

You can even pray on the toilet.

So yes, by all means, pray the Rosary while sitting if that works for you. It doesn’t always work for me, but sometimes it does. And I recommend you ‘shake things up’ a bit too when you pray the Rosary. You don’t always need to pray the Rosary in the same posture.

You’ll find that your Rosary recitations take on a new life when you change the posture or perhaps go for a walk, or even have a lie down whilst doing it. That’s what I find anyway.

Perhaps you’re different to me. Perhaps you like the routine of praying the Rosary in a specific place, at a specific time, in a specific posture everyday. If that works for you, great! Do it! Don’t give up, if it helps you.

But yes, there is much flexibility when it comes to praying the Rosary, and sitting down is perfectly fine.

The only time sitting down may be a problem is if you tend to get very sleepy when you sit down. Or if your attention tends to struggle when you sit down.

Maybe you associate sitting down with chilling out. If that is you, it might be better to adopt a different posture when praying the Rosary, or to go for a walk, or to pace around whilst praying the Rosary.

O and don’t forget to use your Rosary beads when you sit and pray the Rosary. The beads will help you stay focused and just holding them brings blessings and a partial indulgence.

==> If you don’t have any Rosary beads, you might find this helpful. <==

I hope that has fully answered the question. Let me know if I can help any further in the comments below.

God bless!