As with the Sign of the Cross, the Rosary begins with a prayer so familiar that its repetition can sometimes dull our awareness of its true depth. Perhaps nowhere is this more the case than with the Apostles’ Creed. Line by line, it tells the most remarkable story ever told. If you hold its words in your heart, you find yourself at the very centre of that story. The events it proclaims did not happen in some remote or disconnected place — they happened because God loves you.

A creed is a formal statement of faith. Like stained glass windows, statues, or icons, it is a way of passing on the truth rapidly, accurately, and accessibly, even to those who cannot read Scripture themselves. From the 2nd century onward, Christian communities shared centralised creeds to unite themselves in the truths of the faith.

By the 4th century, a legend arose that each of the Twelve Apostles had contributed one line to this shared profession. Hence the name: Apostles’ Creed. Whether literal or symbolic, the story reminds us of something the Creed itself contains — our belief in the Holy Catholic Church, in apostolic succession, and in our belonging to the Church Christ founded when He entrusted His mission to St. Peter.

The Apostles’ Creed is above all a profession of faith. It is a concise summary of the Gospel and of the whole biblical story: though humanity strays, God always has a plan to draw us back to Himself. It is our faith in miniature.

It also binds us to the Church. In every age, Christians have been tempted to use Christ and His message to support their own purposes or politics. The Creed is a corrective, calling us back to the centre. In speaking it aloud, we align ourselves with the teaching of the Catholic Church, with the Apostles and their successors, and with one another. What begins as a personal prayer is lifted into the voice of the universal Church.

Each line of the Creed holds depths for meditation. Some phrases appear directly as Mysteries of the Rosary — “He was crucified, died, and was buried.” Others, like “He descended into Hell,” open more challenging grounds for contemplation. In this way, the Creed sets the stage for the Rosary as a whole, orienting our minds before we enter into the particular Mysteries.

The Creed also steadies us in times of doubt, what St. Ignatius and others call spiritual desolation. It gives us a framework: an “if A, then B” pattern of faith. Perhaps I struggle to comprehend the Resurrection. But when I proclaim “was crucified, died, and was buried” and then “I believe in the communion of saints,” I recall two undeniable truths: Christ was certainly crucified, and the earliest Christians were certainly martyred for proclaiming His Resurrection. If A, then B.

So when we begin the Rosary and recite the Apostles’ Creed, it is not mere preamble before the “main event.” It is the foundation, the very reason we pray. It grounds us in the promises of Christ — the same promises we ask to be made worthy of when the Rosary concludes.

Pause. Pray. Pass it on.