Glorious Mysteries · 3 of 5
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
Scripture: Acts 2:1-13
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language?"
Spiritual fruit: Love of God
Traditionally prayed on: Wednesday and Sunday
The Descent of the Holy Spirit is the third of the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Upper Room at Jerusalem, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection. The narrative is recorded in Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13. This event is celebrated annually as the Solemnity of Pentecost, which closes the Easter season.
The mystery
For the nine days following the Ascension, the apostles, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the women who had followed Christ, and "his brothers" (the wider circle of his relations), were gathered "in one accord, devoting themselves to prayer" in the Upper Room (Acts 1:13-14). On the fiftieth day, the feast of the Jewish Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), the Holy Spirit descended upon them.
The visible signs were three: a sound from heaven like a strong rushing wind that filled the house, tongues of fire that parted and rested upon each of them, and the gift of speech in many languages, by which they immediately began to proclaim the mighty acts of God. The crowd of Jews from every nation gathered for the feast heard the apostles speaking, each in his own native language; the Christian preaching to the world began that morning.
Saint Peter then delivered the first apostolic sermon (Acts 2:14-36), interpreting the descent of the Spirit through the prophecy of Joel and proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ. Three thousand were baptized that day. Pentecost is therefore the foundational moment of the Church's public mission: the day on which the Church, animated by the Spirit, began its universal preaching of the Gospel.1
Meditation on love of God
The traditional spiritual fruit of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is the love of God. The mystery presents the gift that the Spirit himself is and bestows: the divine love poured into human hearts. As Saint Paul teaches: "The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit is the principal author of the Church's life, the source of its sacraments, and the indwelling guest of every soul in the state of grace. The descent of the Spirit at Pentecost is not a one-time event but the inauguration of the Spirit's permanent gift to the Church across all of history.2
The traditional Pentecost sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus ("Come, Holy Spirit") and the Holy Spirit Novena are common Catholic ways of praying this mystery beyond the rosary.
Praying the Descent of the Holy Spirit
To pray the third Glorious Mystery: announce "The third Glorious Mystery, the Descent of the Holy Spirit," pray an Our Father, ten Hail Marys while meditating on the descent of the Spirit upon the apostles and Mary, and conclude with a Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer.
For the previous mystery, see the Ascension. For the next mystery, see the Assumption.
Sources
Footnotes
Last reviewed: May 1, 2026. Sources verified.