(LifeSiteNews) — Celebrity influencer Russell Brand has uploaded a video of himself praying the Rosary to his millions of followers on X.
In a video published to X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 18, Brand, a former Buddhist, encouraged his 11.8 million followers to pray the Rosary with him as part of his daily meditation.
“For our meditation today, we’re going to do something a little bit different,” he said. “We’re going to chant the Holy Rosary.”
I pray the Rosary, have you tried it before?🙏📿 pic.twitter.com/NHuWP2u29u
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) April 18, 2024
“Now I don’t know all the prayers, but today we’ll be looking at the chant itself,” he continued, proceeding to recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.
The Holy Rosary is a Catholic devotion given by Mary, the Mother of Christ, to St. Dominic in 1214 during an apparition.
The Rosary consists of praying fives “decades” of 10 Hail Marys separated by five Our Fathers and five Glory Bes. Many Catholics also pray the prayer given to the children by Our Lady of Fatima following each Glory Be. Those who pray the Rosary meditate on different events in the life of Christ during each decade. Those events are categorized as the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries of Christ. Pope St. John Paul II added the five Luminous Mysteries in 2002.
The Church points to James 5:16 (“Pray one for another that you may be saved”) and to the example of Mary successfully asking Jesus to perform a miracle at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-11) as proof of Her intercessory power with Christ. It also recalls that in the Book of the Apocalypse 4:8 angels are described as continually praising God “night and day,” which the Rosary’s structure reflects.
The Rosary has been a source of comfort for many struggling with their faith. In November, Tammy Peterson, wife of prominent Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, revealed that praying the Rosary every day has transformed her life.
Countless Catholics have also attributed devotion to the Rosary as the reason for their recovery from illness, as is the case with Tammy Peterson who prayed the Rosary during her struggle with cancer.
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, this is hardly the first time Brand has revealed that he prays the Rosary. In March, he told his viewers that he prays the Rosary daily.
Similarly, on February 28 and March 1, he released two videos announcing he has given up sugar and complaining for Lent.
Lent is a 40-day long period in the Church’s liturgical life modeled on the time Christ fasted in the desert just prior to His Passion and Resurrection. This year’s Lenten season began on February 14 and ended March 31 on Easter.
In one of his videos, Brand, who is 48 and lives in England, said that “we have no choice but Christ” and that “this cannot anymore be a left versus right thing” but a “right versus wrong thing.”
Brand made headlines in January when he announced that he wears a crucifix and is seeking a “personal relationship” with God. Similar to podcaster Joe Rogan, he fights against political correctness, media bias, and wokeism, among other topics, earning him many conservative and Christian supporters.
His hit podcast Stay Free with Russell Brand has 1.81 million subscribers on Rumble, making it one of the most watched shows on the platform. He currently has 11.8 million followers on X.
In yet another video released on February 27, Brand said he went to a Catholic church recently and was given a book by the priest.
“It’s fascinating,” Brand said in the video. “When I read this story… I started to feel the reality of Christ, and the reality of Christ’s love.”