The Franciscan Crown, also known as the Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin, dates back to the year 1422.  A very pious young novice who had been received into the Franciscan Order that year, had, previous to his reception, been accustomed to adorn a statue of the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of fresh and beautiful flowers as a mark of his piety and devotion.   Not being able to continue this practice in the novitiate, he decided to quit and return to the world.  The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and prevented him from carrying out his purpose.  She then instructed him how, by reciting daily a rosary of seven decades in honor of her seven joys, he might weave a crown that would be more pleasing to her and far more meritorious to his soul than the material wreath of flowers he had been wont to place on her statue.  From that time the practice of reciting the crown of the seven joys became one of the favorite devotions among the friars.

 

The seven joys of the Franciscan Crown are:

1st Joy: The Annunciation

2nd Joy: The Visitation

3rd Joy: The Nativity

4th Joy: The Visit of the Magi

5th Joy: The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

6th Joy: The Resurrection

7th Joy: The Assumption and Coronation