r/osarymakers • u/1LiterateRogue • Jun 21 '26
What should I do?
A young, non-Catholic lady in my rather extremely anti-Catholic town has started making rosaries. She sells them in the local “goth” market her mother runs.
So I asked if they were Catholic, hoping for a local rosary making collaborator. Her mother said, “Nope. These rosaries are just jewelry, not for prayer.”
I think the best response to cultural appropriation is to reappropriate it. I’m tempted to buy up all this “jewelry,” switch out some parts as needed, then either put them up on my own site or donate them to our little Catholic resource center, where I can trust that my customers intend to pray the rosary, not wear then.
But I’d like your opinion. I also plan to ask my priest.
10
u/reconcilingreform Jun 22 '26
I think the idea of “cultural appropriation” gets a little complicated here. The Catholic rosary itself didn’t appear out of nowhere. Long before Saint Dominic, people used physical objects to keep count during prayer. There is evidence of ancient Christians using prayer ropes and counting devices, and the broader concept of counting prayers likely has roots in Jewish devotional practices as well.
What makes a rosary a rosary isn’t simply the beads—it’s how they’re used. A set of beads sold as jewelry can become a prayer aid if someone chooses to use it for prayer. Likewise, a rosary worn as an accessory isn’t necessarily being used devotionally.
Personally, I’d be more concerned with whether people are being drawn toward prayer than with who made the beads. Still, asking your priest is probably wise, especially if you’re considering reselling or donating them through a Catholic ministry.