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Wearing a Rosary around your neck
Yesterday at the gym I was doing my cardio and right across from me was a older man on the stationary bike. He was cruising along reading a magazine. I noticed that he had a rosary around his neck. I have never worn a Rosary around my neck because it was not part of my Catholic upbringing and it seemed to tread close to being disrespectful. I remember in high school going to the mall with friends and seeing a Rosary hanging with “the other jewelry” and I almost bought it just to redeem it.
Prayer for healing at St. Agilolph's shrine
So as I watched this guy, I tried to figure out what he was all about. Was it a sign of his faith? Was it random? Did it match his other accessories? No chance I was going to figure it out. But it got me thinking about what the deal is with wearing a Rosary around one’s neck. Since I doubted this information would be in the Catechism, I turned to my next source of information: the Internet.
Here’s what I found about why people wear a Rosary around their neck:
- a fad for some younger folks who aren’t particularly religious
- people need a sign of something holy nearby (e.g., troops, prisoners)
- to show that one is Catholic
- a cultural custom among people of Mexico
- a person with memory issues can easily find it
- a gang symbol for some gangs
- a desire to emulate singer Madonna
- to show respect for Mary
Apparently this is not a recent phenomenon. The blog Paternosters notes that wearing Rosaries is at least centuries old. Some for social status and some for religious purposes too. There’s a series of blog posts dedicated to this: If you’ve got it, flaunt it, Rosaries on belts, Tying one on, Ring around the collar, Loops, drapes and dangles, Just hanging around, and What did Margaret mean?
Bono from U2 wears and displays the Rosary given him by Pope John Paul II
To further contextualize the question of wearing a Rosary around one’s neck, keep in mind that many of us hang Rosaries or Rosary-esque items from ourselves and our cars all the time! A rosary hanging from the rear view mirror of a car (presumably a Catholic car) or a bed post, a Rosary ring or bracelet, a Rosary keychain, and I’ve even seen Rosary tattoos.
From the variety of Catholic perspectives I’ve seen on this, it seems the general consensus is that so long as it is done with respect, it is okay. And, I suppose, even if it is done without respect, is it possible that God might still take that as an opportunity to bring some good in the world? Yeah, I kinda think God is capable of that! 
Have you encountered this custom of wearing a Rosary around the neck? What do you think?
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Here in London it has been quiet common for the last 5 years or so to see young people wearing Rosaries round their necks, it started as a sign they were a drug dealer or in a gang. Despite some protests from older members of the congregation our priest always gives them away free to any young person who asks, his view is that we don’t know what is in their heart and that at some point in the future they may remember they weren’t turned away from the church but welcomed.
Hi Sister Julie,
While at the Eucharistic Congress in 2008 in Québec, they had kiosks which sold everything from Rosaries to t-shirts. At one of the kiosks there were these stunning examples with the tinniest of gold beads. These Rosaries were actually necklaces. They had a clasp on the top and one could not have slipped it over their head without it. I bought one and from time to time I do wear it, although it mostly sits on my nightstand next to the Bible. I also have a Rosary bracelet clasped around a strap of my backpack so I am able to pray the Rosary on campus if I have a spare 30 minutes or so in front of the blessed sacrament. I do not feel this is disrespectful. I agree with your statement that even if it is, god can bring some good to the world out of it. Cheers and blessings.
I can’t resist!
http://www.saintelizabethchurch.org/Library/upload/DriveFast.jpg
I remember seeing that a bit ago! What was that used for?
Sr. Julie,
When I was in Malawi, Africa a couple years ago, I saw many Catholics wearing the rosary. The group I was with were concerned that it was blasphemous or irreverent. The priest we were with said that it is an outward sign of their faith, a notice to the Muslim population in that area that they were Catholic, and a way to keep the blessings of Jesus and Mary with them at all times. They are literally dirt poor and can use all the blessings and reminders of heaven they can get.
On that same trip we were teaching the local order of nuns (sorry, I forget their order name) how to make knotted rosaries from string. They were thrilled to have something to occupy their hands, to pray with as they worked, and to be able to give to they patients at the hospital they ran next door. It was a wonderful feeling to pass on that skill.
I am old fashioned and look at this the way you do. It feels disrespectful to me. I have a wooden cross I was given at the completion of a life in the spirit seminar-it is hanging in my car from my rearview mirror. I have a rosary in my center console but I can’t display it -just doesn’t feel right to me. The bracelets I’ve seen don’t bother me-they are small and obviously jewelry. I’ve seen an entire roary neclace made of real gold-I knew the person wearing it and knew it was a reverant gesture, she mostly wore it under her clothing. Seeing people wear it for fashion disturbs me. I do love what the priest said about not turning anyone away but I wish we lived in a more respectful world where the motives wouldn’t be in question. I find wearing it altogeather unnecessary-that is what medals are for. I only think of religious wearing it as part of thier habits as being normal.
That was posted at a parish website under humor. A couple shades into the tacky zone, imho, but if it gets people to slow down…
Interesting entry, Julie!
I was raised Catholic and we were not allowed to put a rosary around our necks because my mom thought it was disrespectful. However, my little brother had a large, colorful, wooden beaded rosary in his toybox. ?!
After I made final vows I went to Argentina to live and work among the very poor. All of the teens there wore rosaries and were not at all afraid to show the world their religious beliefs by making the sign of the cross and kissing the crucifix around their neck every time they spoke of someone who had died, or passed a church …
I came to realize that I had been raised in a very white, middle-class, Protestant, U.S. society that taught me to separate church (my religious beliefs) and state (my everyday lived experience) which had a very strong influence on me.
Today I continue to wear the rosary ring under my community ring that was given to me 15 years ago by a Sister while I was in Argentina, and I have a rosary made of rope hanging from the rearview mirror of my car.
Isn’t it wonderful how time and experience can move us!
Well it is the same here the teenagers wear the rosary round their neck as a fashion item…. Thanks to David Beckham!
But as Another Sr. Julie said when i was gowning up (all those years ago!) It was disrespectful to wear the Rosary round your neck!
We here have St Pio stickers on are cars to keep us safe as well as a lil bottle of Holy Water in the glove box.
But my Nan goes further and has a lil statute of Mary on the dash board! Which I believe saved my mothers life when she was in a car crash where the car turned over a ditch and my Mam walked away without a scratch yet Mary’s lil statue was totaly disfigured! Amazing if you ask me!
ugh, this topic makes me fight with my brother. i totally think attitude is everything. that being said, let me share this:
my best friend died in 2001 from cancer. i got her rosary when she died–we prayed it together every day of her illness for three years, from her diagnosis to her death. somehow, after that, i ended up with everybody’s rosaries, but only after they died. my grandfather’s, then my grandmother’s, a woman i visited at a nursing home… and they all are precious to me.
two of my siblings profess to be catholic, though neither of them has ever been to church since catholic school. my second youngest brother, similarly schooled, does not profess to be catholic at all and, in fact, says he “hates” christians. he says this very publicly and often and would have no qualms with my mentioning it, by the way.
but he begs for my rosaries. he wears rosaries all the time, rosaries he picks up at yard sales and thrift stores, and i have to say, i hate it. i beg him not to. the respect is just not there. (and who sells their rosary at a yard sale??) he laughs at my begging. there’s a lot of begging going on in this relationship.
i understand why my brother feels the way he does about “christians”–a lot of distasteful things have been thrust upon him in the name of christianity–and so i guess the desperate need for rosaries seemed too…off.
when you wrote that god can use the rosaries as an opportunity to bring good, i had to nod. god can bring good from anything. i pray for my brother several times a day. maybe rosaries will help my brother will come back home to the church some day. maybe his grasping at rosaries has more to do with that longing to be home than with any disrespect.
@ another sister julie—that picture always makes me laugh and think of riding with my dad. am i going to hell?
I have Rosaries in my car, in my dinning room, hallway , bedroom, coat pocket and by my bedside. I pray the rosary weekly, plan to do more when I can find a minute.I gave my sister rosaries when her husband passed away and she had anxiety attacks. She would hold on to them as she drove which calmed her down and finally sent her back to church regularly. I have seen people wearing them and wondered why they do that to. I think on some level they get comfort from the rosary even if they don’t admit it to someone else. God bless..
The topic always seemed to come up on various rosary-making sites, and creates a big to-do. I’m glad that there does seem to be some cultural sensitivity on this discussion, however. (Hrm, I should get back into rosary making. I mostly did mission ones–wire/chain.)
Marla, if that’s the case, then you will have company–me! @_@
When i was in 3rd year high school, our class president usually puts her rosary around her neck so when she will lead the rosary, it would be easier for her. For me, I guess wearing a rosary around your neck is a symbol that Mary is the center of your life. Though some use this as bling blings or some sorts of fashion. You’re right, Sister Julie, it’s fine as long as it’s done with respect.
I have been living as a volunteer in Uganda for the last two and half years and the wearing of rosaries is a very common thing here, generally as a sign that a person is a Catholic and at a moments notice you can join in the reciting of the rosary! And often durng Mass it is worn outside the shirt/blouse especially when going up to receive Holy Communion to “prove” to the priest that you are a Catholic! At baptism or First Holy Communion, the children are often given a gift of a rosary by the celebratant and often a priest in the sub-parish chapels can be delayed for anything up to 20 minutes after Mass blessing rosaries!! The rosaries here are far from being bling bling as they are often simple plastic or wooden ones. When we gave out some rosaries at one of the local prisons there was nearly a small riot to receive one, especially as they were the “glo-in-the-dark” variety. There is a very real devotion to Mother Mary with many parishes having a small Lady Chapel built near the main parish church and it is unusual for there not to be someone inside in them during the day.
I forgot to add that they are also a very very common sight in cars and buses – you can generally tell the religion of the driver by it. Catholics have rosaries, muslims have Allah Akabar displayed somewhere.
I was recently given the Rosary of my departed grandfather. As I child I would see him kneel nightly next to his bed and pray the Rosary before retiring for the evening. I have just recently returned to the Church and one of the things I, too have undertaken is praying the Rosary daily. The problem was keeping it close enough when needed. One Sunday I asked Father to bless the Rosary and since I have worn it around my neck. I use it as a constant reminder that I am never alone; I use it to pray when I am bored or angered during business meetings; I keep it close in the event of a tragedy (to pray for others and to identify myself as a Catholic.) I don’t care why others do what they do. My only job is to pray for others and let God judge their motives.
Mike, what a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing this.
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