Vintage Oversized Wooden Rosary — Dark tone

Catholics were not the first to pray with beads. And while the exact origin of prayer beads is unknown, men and woman of many faiths and cultures (Hindus, Greeks, Buddhists, and more) have (and do) use beads to pray.

In fact, the word bead in English is actually derived from an Old English word that means prayer. The use of prayer beads almost universally is to allow the person to keep track of the number of prayers that have been said, while at the same time focusing on the deeper meaning of the prayers themselves.