- The rosary connects to an app on iPhone or Android devices via Bluetooth, and the app takes you through the steps to pray the rosary.
- Through the app, users can also see intentions from Pope Francis and find other prayers.
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The Vatican created a $110 wearable 'eRosary' to help get young Catholics to pray
The Vatican launched a smart wearable eRosary this week, Engadget reported.
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The Vatican released a wearable smart rosary this week through the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network , where users can pray for "peace in the world."
The device, which can be worn as a bracelet, is made up of 10 black beads, plus a "smart cross" that stores data. The beads allude to the traditional design of a rosary, in which 10 beads make up one decade, or set of prayers. When the wearer activates the rosary, they can choose what kind of prayer they'd like within the free app. There is a standard rosary, a contemplative, and thematic rosary, which will be updated periodically.. The app shows progress, and keeps track of prayer history.
In a press release , the Vatican said that the rosary device is a tool for learning, aimed at the "frontiers of the digital world where the young people dwell."
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This isn't the first time that the Vatican has directly addressed technology and its impact on young people. In September, Pope Francis attended a Vatican conference about morality and technology , in which he warned Silicon Valley about the dangers of AI.
Here's how the eRosary works.
Like other wearables, such as smartwatches, the eRosary is meant to be worn on your wrist.
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In addition to tracking prayers, it tracks health information.
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The rosary works by connecting to an iPhone or Android app over Bluetooth.
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Click to Pray
The app is fairly intuitive and prompts you to connect and charge your device. The Vatican says that the device should be accessible to all ages.
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Click to Pray
To activate the device, perform the sign of the cross (as indicated in the image) with the eRosary.
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Once activated, the app gives instructions to go through the rosary.
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It also keeps track of your progress, showing how often you pray and for how long.
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By prompting you to hold and move the device, the app mimics the experience of a traditional rosary.
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Click to Pray
The bracelet is part of the Vaticans "Click to Pray" family, an app where Pope Francis has a profile and lists his personal prayer intentions.
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Within the app, you can see Pope Francis prayer intentions, and pray for them yourself.
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As the name says, you literally click to pray for an intention.
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Currently, its only available in Italy, but a spokesperson told Business Insider that US availability is in the short-term plan.
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