Wood, Stone, Glass or Paracord Rosary: the Materials Compared

A wooden rosary lies lightly in the hand, a stone one has weight, and one made of paracord is impervious to moisture and survives a trouser pocket. Which material is right depends on how and where you pray. This guide compares wood, stone, glass, paracord and metal by weight, feel and durability, sets out what the Church has decided about the material, and explains why a gemstone changes nothing about prayer.

What material can a rosary be made of?

A rosary may be made of any material that is suitable for praying with in the hand: wood, stone, glass, metal or beads on paracord. The Church prescribes no particular material. For blessing with indulgences, the Congregation of Indulgences merely required, in the case of glass, that the beads be solid.

Counted prayers existed long before today’s rosary. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1912 considers it very probable that as early as the 11th and 12th centuries pebbles, berries or discs of bone were threaded on a string. Countess Godiva of Coventry, who lived around 1075, bequeathed to a statue of Our Lady in a monastery a circlet of precious stones which she had threaded on a cord in order to count her prayers exactly. In Paris in 1268 there were four guilds of patenôtriers, the craftsmen who made such prayer strings.

On 29 February 1820 the Congregation of Indulgences decided that rosaries of iron, tin, lead or fragile, easily worn material can also be blessed with indulgences, and those of glass or crystal dummodo globuli sint ex vitro solido atque compacto: provided the beads are of solid, dense glass. Pope Pius VII confirmed the answer in the audience of the same day. On 22 March 1839 the Congregation also affirmed blessing with indulgences for rosaries of polished steel.

How do wood, stone, glass, paracord and metal rosaries differ?

Wood, stone, glass, paracord and metal differ above all in weight, grip and durability. Wood is light, stone has weight, and glass is light and looks festive. Paracord with metal beads and metal ball chains are made for the rigours of everyday life.

The details in the table come from our own product and collection descriptions. We do not list weights in grams, so the table compares weight only relatively.

What are the advantages of a wooden rosary?

A wooden rosary is lighter than one of stone or metal. Anyone who prays for a long time or always carries the rosary with them will notice this. Over the years wood develops a patina that no new piece has.

We usually knot wooden beads with a diameter of 8 mm. Ebony is dark and heavy, with a grain ranging from black to dark brown. Sandalwood feels smooth and warm and is fragrant with the natural oils in the wood, above all santalol. Olive wood shows a lively figure and is hard. Our beech beads are made in Germany; their colouring and surface finish are resistant to saliva and safe to suck. You will find all models among our rosaries with wooden beads.

What are the advantages of a stone rosary?

A stone rosary has weight: as you pray you feel each bead individually, and the hand finds its rhythm. Stone beads take on the warmth of the hands during prayer. Because every stone has its own markings, no stone rosary is quite like another, not even within the same model.

We knot our rosaries with stone beads from 8 mm semi-precious stones: jasper in brown and grey, black agate, obsidian, howlite with fine veining, lava stone with a porous surface, pink aventurine and blue tiger’s eye. Lava stone is grippy and matt; agate and obsidian are smooth and cool. On the lava stone rosary, 10 mm Our Father beads of matt obsidian sit between the Hail Mary beads of lava; it is 55 cm long. The selection can be found among our rosaries with stone beads.

Is a glass rosary a good choice?

A glass rosary is well suited to prayer and can be blessed with indulgences provided the beads are solid. Cut-glass beads are light, feel cool in the hand and catch the light, which is why a glass rosary looks festive. It is a popular gift for First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

The condition of the solid bead goes back to the decision of the Congregation of Indulgences of 29 February 1820, which admitted rosaries of glass or crystal to the blessing with indulgences if the glass is solid and dense. We knot 8 mm cut-glass beads on white or black cord; on the olive wood rosary, 12 mm amber-coloured cut-glass beads form the Our Father beads. The selection includes our rosaries with glass beads.

How durable are paracord and metal rosaries?

Paracord and metal are made for a rosary that goes along every day in a trouser pocket, rucksack or car. 550 paracord is tear-resistant and impervious to moisture, stainless steel beads have a heavy feel and are long-lasting, and a metal ball chain does not tangle.

We knot our paracord rosaries from 550 paracord, the parachute cord, 4 mm thick. The Hail Mary beads mostly measure 10 mm and, depending on the model, are of stainless steel, of a cadmium- and lead-free metal alloy or of natural stone. In the Combat Rosaries a ball chain replaces the cord. The beads are solid, 6 mm in size, of stainless steel, bronze or electroplated copper, held by double split rings. Our paracord rosaries from the workshop show the selection.

Even a robust rosary wears out. Several of our product descriptions contain the advice to check it regularly for damage and not to go on using it if it is damaged.

Do gemstones have a special effect in prayer?

Gemstones have no special effect in prayer. A blessed rosary is a sacramental: the Church uses it to obtain spiritual effects by virtue of her intercession, and the material is of no account in this. A rosary of lava stone prays no differently from one of beech wood.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law defines sacramentals as things or actions which the Church uses in order to obtain, ex sua impetratione, by virtue of her intercession, effects above all of a spiritual kind (can. 1144). St Thomas Aquinas draws the line to superstition in the case of sacred words worn around the neck. Among other things, this is to be avoided:

“… si spes habeatur in modo scribendi aut ligandi, aut in quacumque huiusmodi vanitate quae ad divinam reverentiam non pertineat. Quia hoc iudicaretur superstitiosum.” If hope is placed in the manner of writing or binding, or in any such vanity that does not pertain to reverence for God; for that would be judged superstitious.

St Thomas Aquinas: Summa theologiae II-II, q. 96, a. 4. Our translation from the Latin.

Thomas says the same of relics in the same article: it would be superstitious to pay attention to whether the reliquary is triangular. Whoever chooses a stone because he likes it and it sits well in the hand chooses rightly. Whoever attributes a power of its own to it falls, according to Thomas, into superstition.

Wood Ebony Rosary Beads of genuine ebony, 8 mm, on black cord, with St Benedict medal and St Benedict cross. View the rosary Stone Lava Stone Bead Rosary, black/anthracite Genuine lava stone beads, 8 mm, Our Father beads of obsidian, Miraculous Medal and St Benedict cross, 55 cm long. View the rosary

Frequently asked questions about rosary materials