Glorious Mysteries · 1 of 5
The Resurrection
Scripture: Mark 16:1-7
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him. Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'"
Spiritual fruit: Faith
Traditionally prayed on: Wednesday and Sunday
The Resurrection of the Lord is the first of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. It commemorates the central event of the Christian faith: the rising of Christ from the dead on the third day, in fulfillment of the Scriptures and of his own predictions. The narrative is recorded in all four canonical Gospels (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20) and is the subject of the most extensive treatment in the apostolic preaching, especially in 1 Corinthians 15.
The mystery
The Resurrection took place on the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath of Passover, "very early when the sun had risen" (Mark 16:2). The witnesses to the empty tomb, in all four Gospel accounts, are first the women: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and Joanna, named in various combinations across the Synoptic accounts. The angelic message announces the fact that the One who was crucified has been raised, and commissions the women to bear word to the apostles.
The risen Christ then appears across the Easter season to a series of witnesses: to Mary Magdalene first (John 20:11-18), to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), to the apostles in the Upper Room with and without Saint Thomas (John 20:19-29), to Saint Peter and the disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21), and, as Saint Paul records, to "more than five hundred brothers at once" (1 Corinthians 15:6).
The bodily nature of the Resurrection is essential to Catholic doctrine. Christ rose not in a merely spiritual sense, not as a memory or a continuation of his teaching, but in his real human body, now glorified. This bodily Resurrection is the foundation of the Catholic hope of the resurrection of all the faithful at the end of time.1
Meditation on faith
The traditional spiritual fruit of the Resurrection is faith. The mystery is the foundational Christian act of faith: the assent to the testimony of the apostles, who walked with the risen Christ for forty days, that he is truly risen and alive. Saint Paul writes: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). The Catholic faith stands or falls upon the Resurrection.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Resurrection is at once a historical event, attested by the witnesses; a transcendent event, exceeding the categories of historical investigation; and the foundation of the Christian's hope of glory.2
Praying the Resurrection
To pray the first Glorious Mystery: announce "The first Glorious Mystery, the Resurrection," pray an Our Father, ten Hail Marys while meditating on Christ's rising from the dead, and conclude with a Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer.
The Glorious Mysteries are traditionally prayed on Wednesdays and Sundays. They are particularly fitting throughout the Easter season. For the previous mystery in the salvation-historical sequence, see the Crucifixion. For the next mystery, see the Ascension.
Sources
Footnotes
Last reviewed: May 1, 2026. Sources verified.