religious gift for 89 yr old. Catholic Gramma
 

Hi all

since we were talking about gifts on another post, I thought I'd ask a silly question:

is it possible to buy something like a rosary which has been blessed by the Pope? I think it would really make my Gramma's day to bring back something like that.

this sounds silly, bordering on cynical even, but are there gift shops in Vatican City which do sell something like this? (I can just see the note in his minder: Tues. 8-11 AM. bless 300 rosaries for sale. use proceeds to finish cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel!)

thanks!

Yes, there is a nice gift shop right in the vatican museums, I thrilled my catholic friends by bring them a blessed rosary. They have really beautiful one's there and crosses too!

It's been a while but I bought some RC gifts from the shop on the roof of St Peter's in '94. It was run by nuns and seemed a bit more "authentic" then the peddlers around the Vatican.

I hope it's still there.

Hi flygirl. As SeaUrchin mentioned you can visit the shops in Vatican City and request that your purchases be blessed. When I had it done, it was an overnight event, however, and may be delayed by other things, like the Pope being sick or gone, but items are usual available to be picked up the next day, so don't plan to buy it on your last morning before the flight home. A blessed item is a wonderful gift for Catholics. And yes, they are blessed en masse, the Pope doesn't personally handle any item - unless maybe you are one of the Kennedys - but that doesn't change the blessing.

You can buy "pre-blessed" items at certain gift shops in Vatican City. You can also buy an item, anywhere, and bring it to either a general papal audience on Wednesdays or the Angelus blessing on Sundays at noon, and the Pope will bless items then. For the best selection of religious items, go to the Ancora book and gift shop on Via della Concilizione just off Piazza Pio XII in front of St. Peter's Square.

Last time I was in Rome, I bought a rosary for my mother at one of the shops in the Vatican, where the beads were made out of compressed rose petals. A slight fragrance of roses was released every time you prayed.

Hi -- While in Rome, our tour guide, who called himself "Professor" took us to a shop called Mondo Catolico which is right in view of St. Peters. He told us that this was a shop authorized by the Vatican for selling religious articles blessed by the Pope. Some people spent a fortune on rosaries there. Later on I met a Catholic priest who told me that this was totally untrue -- he said the Pope never blesses rosaries that will be for sale. One of the ladies in our group found the same rosary in another shop for about 50 Euros less. Needless to say she was very upset and complained about the tourguide.

Hi fly,

Religious groups have been selling these "souvenirs" for about 6000 years.

I joined te Cuhurch whilst at University and was thrilled when my mother (very non-Catholic) brought me a rosary from Lourdes. Not blessed by anyone but my mum:)

Not being Catholic, I was wondering if it is in bad taste to wear a rosary as a necklace? I can think of both pro and con ideas on this tho I think some of them are so beautiful.

I've never seen a rosary worn as a necklace. I wouldn't do it, because it might be viewed as offensive.

I was brought up Catholic as a child, but I haven't practiced any religion since I was about 12. However, sometimes I am offended by bigoted ANTI-Catholic comments, and I've thought of wearing a cross as a gesture of protest or just to have it conspicuously in the face of the people making the bigoted remarks when I know I'm going to be in their presence. I know I'm free to do so, and after all, I was born Catholic and had communion and confirmation. However, so far I've refrained from wearing it because I'm not religious and I wonder whether it might be inappropriate to wear a cross when it doesn't have deep religious meaning to me, though I can't imagine that it would be offensive.

I'm pretty sure that observant Catholics would think it's inappropriate to wear a rosary as jewelry.

Yes, it would be inappropriate.

We bought my mother-in-law a rosary from the gift shop at St. Peter's that she really loved. 14 years ago. This summer, we had the great (and cheap!) idea of bringing back holy water from St. Peters for her. What a hit! Along the little streets, there are shops filled with religious articles. Ask for a holy water holder. We bought a bunch of these little plastic Virgin Mary holy water holders, took them in to the font inside the church, and filled them up.

A rosary is not a piece of jewelry and it would be inappropriate to treat one as such. Actually, crosses on chains, religious medals and, of course, scapulars, should been worn underneath clothing according to the Church.

Thanks, I thought it might be viewed that way. I wear a ruby cross on my necklace though and never thought it was offensive or that it should be worn under clothing.

It is possible to purchase a religious object that has been subsequently blessed by a pope. However, according to canon law it is illicit to purchase an object that has been already blessed by the pope or any other Roman cleric for that matter. First you buy it, then the pope blesses it. The clerks who work in la Città Vaticano will be happy to explain the protocol to you.