The Franciscan Crown, also called the Rosary of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin, dates back to the year 1422. The famous Franciscan historian, Fr. Luke Wadding, relates that a very pious young man, who had been admitted to the Franciscan Order in that year, had previous to his reception, been accustomed to adorn a statue of the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of fresh and beautiful flowers as a mark of his piety and devotion. Not being able to continue this practice in the novitiate, he repined very much, and finally decided to quit the cloister and return to the world.

Our Lady then appeared to him and prevented him from carrying out his purpose. "Do not be sad and cast down, my son," she said sweetly, "because you are no longer permitted to place wreaths of flowers on my statue. I shall teach you to change this pious practice into one that will be far more pleasing to me and far more meritorious to your soul. In place of the flowers that soon wither and can not always be found, you can weave for me a crown from the flowers of your prayers that will always remain fresh and can always be had.

"Recite one Our Father and ten Hail Marys in honor of the joy I experienced when the angel announced to me the Incarnation of the Son of God. Repeat these same prayers in honor of the joy I felt on visiting my cousin Elizabeth. Say them again in honor of the supreme happiness that filled my heart on giving birth to Christ the Savior, without pain and without loss of my virginity. Recite the same prayers a fourth time in honor of the joy I felt when presenting my Divine Son to the adoration of the Magi. Repeat them for the fifth time in honor of the joy that thrilled my soul when, after seeking Jesus with deep sorrow for three days, I found Him at last among the doctors in the Temple. Sixthly, recite the one Our Father and then ten Hail Marys in honor of the joy I experienced on beholding my Divine Son gloriously risen from the grave on Easter Sunday. Finally, for the seventh time, repeat these prayers in honor of my own most glorious and joyful Assumption into Heaven, when I was crowned Queen of heaven and earth. If you recite these prayers as I have directed, rest assured, dear son, you will weave for me a most beautiful and acceptable crown and will merit for yourself innumerable graces."

When Our Lady had disappeared, the overjoyed novice at once began to recite the prayers in honor of her Seven Joys, as she had directed. While he was deeply engrossed in this devotion, the novice master happened to pass by and behold, he saw an angel weaving a marvelous wreath of roses and after every tenth rose he inserted a golden lily. When the wreath was finished, the angel placed it on the head of the praying novice. The master then demanded under holy obedience that the youth tell him the meaning of the vision. Joyfully, yet fearfully, the novice complied. The good priest was so impressed with what he had seen and heard, that he immediately made it known to his brethren. Thus the practice of reciting the Crown of the Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin soon spread over the entire Franciscan Order and became one of the favorite devotions of the friars.

Later, it became customary to add two Hail Marys in honor of the seventy-two years that Our Lady is said to have lived on earth, and one Our Father and Hail Mary for the intention of the Pope to gain the indulgences.