---
title: "Catholic Church Launches $109 Bluetooth “Click to Pray” Gadget"
description: "The Catholic Church has a new idea to promote religion in the age of smartphones: a $109 smart rosary bracelet that connects to an app."
date: "2019-10-17"
modified: "2019-10-17"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/catholic-church-bluetooth-rosary-gadget"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "gadgets"
  - "religion"
  - "the digest"
  - "wearables"
---

# Catholic Church Launches $109 Bluetooth “Click to Pray” Gadget

![The Catholic Church has a new idea to promote religion in the age of smartphones: a $109 smart rosary bracelet that connects to an app.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/catholic-church-bluetooth-gadget.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Henryk Niestrój via Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\</em\>*

## Rosary's Baby

The Catholic Church has a new idea to promote [religion in the age of smartphones](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/japanese-temple-cyberpunk-robot-goddess>): a [$109 electronic rosary bracelet](<https://www.fastcompany.com/90417708/the-popes-first-wearable-is-a-110-rosary-that-tracks-your-prayers>) that guides users through traditional prayers.

"Aimed at the peripheral frontiers of the digital world where the young people dwell, the Click To Pray eRosary serves as a technology-based teaching tool to help young people pray the Rosary for peace and to contemplate the Gospel," reads a [press release](<https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-10/click-pray-rosary-smart-digital-device-world-peace.html>) that almost sounds like a joke but probably isn't. "The project brings together the best of the Church’s spiritual tradition and the latest advances of the technological world."

## Like a Prayer

Users activate the gadget, which comes in a [box shaped like the Bible](<https://www.businessinsider.com/vatican-wearable-erosary-young-catholics-prayer-2019-10>), by making the sign of the cross. The device connects via Bluetooth to a free app that collects Fitbit-style analytics on how often believers have been praying.

A Vatican group called the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network created the eRosary, but it's not clear whether the gimmicky gadget enjoys support among the highest levels of the Catholic Church — at press time, the [Twitter-happy Pope Francis](<https://sports.yahoo.com/did-pope-francis-announce-his-saints-fandom-on-twitter-161042654.html>) had yet to post about the project.

**READ MORE:** [Vatican launches $110 'click to pray' wearable rosary](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/star-older-than-universe>) \[*Engadget*\]

**More on religion:** [*Professor: Belief in Aliens Could Replace Traditional Religion*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/professor-belief-aliens-replace-religion>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)