The Franciscan Crown or
The Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin
 

The Franciscan Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary is composed of seven decades of one Our Father and ten Hail Marys each. At the end two Hail Marys are added, and it is concluded with the Our Father and Hail Mary. The last Our Father and Hail Mary are said for the intentions of the Pope in order to gain the indulgence. The 72 Hail Marys commemorate the seventy-two years the Blessed Mother is supposed to have lived on earth. The seven decades need not be recited at once, but the single decades may be separated provided that the whole Rosary is said on the same day. It is not necessary to meditate on the mysteries of this Rosary; it suffices to say the single decades in honor of the respective mystery.

The following are the mysteries of the Franciscan Crown:

 
First Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary joyfully conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

 
Second Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary Joyfully carried Jesus when she went to visit Elizabeth.

 
Third Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary brought Jesus into the world.

Fourth Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary joyfully exhibited Jesus to the adoration of the Magi.

Fifth Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary joyfully found Jesus in the Temple.

Sixth Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary joyfully beheld Jesus after His Resurrection.

 
Seventh Mystery:
The Immaculate Virgin Mary was joyfully received by Jesus into Heaven, and crowned Queen of Heaven and earth.
 

The use of this chaplet was begun in the order of St. Francis in 1422. It is said that a certain novice, before joining the Order, was accustomed to place a crown on a statue of the Blessed Virgin. When he was not allowed to continue this practice, he resolved to leave the Order. Then Mary appeared to him and dissuaded him, telling him that he could offer a much more pleasing crown by reciting a rosary of seven decades in honor of her Seven Joys. This is the most highly indulgenced of all the types of little rosaries or chaplets.

Source:
MY TREASURY OF CHAPLETS
Patricia S. Quintiliani
Heffernan Press, 1990