Stop us if you’ve heard this one: The Vatican — you know, those folks behind a little thing called the Catholic Church? — has launched its very own wearable. Called the Click To Pray eRosary, it does exactly what you think it would, based on the name. Basically, it’s a technological version of the old faithful rosary.

That means it’s got basic gesture functions (you can activate the eRosary by making the sign of the cross), has app support (which includes “…an audio guide, exclusive images and personalized content about the praying of the Rosary”), and offers users the option to pray several different rosaries. Some of those will change throughout the year — we’re almost hoping the Vatical releases Fortnite-style ‘season’ trailers for those. We’d totally watch that.

Keeping the faith (on your wrist)

The Click To Pray eRosary is being made for the Vatican by a company called GadgeTek Inc. It consists of several rosary beads, as well as the cross-shaped segment that hosts all the tech and sensors. While squarely aimed at folks who belong to the Catholic Church, the device is not all about faith and prayer. The eRosary also offers tracking… of rosaries said, sure, but also basic health info which is picked up by the wearable and stored on the Click to Pray app. You know, the Pope’s app?

According to the Vatican the smart rosary “…is an initiative of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, a pontifical work with the mission of mobilizing Catholics through prayer and action, in the face of the challenges confronting humanity and the mission of the Church.” And using technology to do that is an interesting move for an institution as old as the Catholic church. It’s not going to displace your Apple Watch or Fitbit but it may make for a great gift for the religiously-inclined in your life. It’s currently on sale, for around R1650.

Source: Vatican News