Pope Benedict XVI is suggesting that families and parishes rediscover the prayer of the Rosary in the Year of Faith, which begins later this week.

“With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel, so that it shapes all our lives,” the Pope said Oct. 7 in his Sunday Angelus comments.

The Rosary, which comes from the Latin for “garland of roses,” is a traditional Marian prayer that involves meditating on the episodes of Christ’s life, ranging from his incarnation and birth to his death and resurrection.

“I invite you to pray the Rosary personally, in the family and in the community, learning at the school of Mary, which leads us to Christ, the living center of our faith,” Pope Benedict told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.

The pontiff prays the Rosary every evening while strolling in the Vatican Gardens with his personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein.

Moments earlier during Sunday Mass, the Pope opened the 2012 Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization. The gathering is meant to advance efforts to re-evangelize the modern world. He asked for prayer for its success and for the Year of Faith, which begins Oct. 11.

“Entrusting these intentions to our Lady of the Rosary, I invoke upon all of you God’s abundant blessings!”