I first started praying a daily rosary 10 years ago on my drive to work, counting the prayers with my fingers until my wife gifted me a beautiful chain rosary with olive wood beads.
Unfortunately, I only used this new rosary for a few months before one of the chains snapped in my hands as I was praying. I remember feeling so frustrated thinking, “what am I supposed to do with this now?”
After that, I kept praying every day using my fingers again. Meanwhile, my broken rosary sat untouched inside a car cupholder for two years because I had absolutely no idea what to do with it.
Maybe you’ve had a similar experience too. It’s hard to know how to treat a damaged rosary since, blessed or not, it’s a sacred and personal prayer tool that deserves respect.
But what are we actually supposed to do in this situation? Well, the good news is there’s several ways to handle it! Since my own rosary fell apart all those years ago, I’ve learned a lot about how to deal with broken devotionals and sacramentals and I’m going to share it with you here.
So grab that cracked rosary out of your drawer or car cupholder and keep reading to learn five things you can do when yours breaks.
1. Get it repaired.
I fixed my chain rosary with some micro cord I found at a scouting store - and that little project eventually led to the collection of 30+ full-length rosaries and pocket rosaries that you see in our store today.
Because I know firsthand how frustrating it is to have your rosary break mid-prayer, we now offer free repairs on all Catholic Woodworker rosaries, no matter whether it’s been blessed or not.
If any part of your rosary breaks under conditions of normal wear and tear, click here to learn how to start the repair process. We’re happy to help and want to keep you praying with the devotional tools you love!
2. Pray with it anyway.
Even if a rosary breaks, you can continue praying with it as long as it doesn’t distract you from meditating on the mysteries. Personally, when my chain rosary split I only went back to praying on my fingers because it would’ve been too disruptive to pray with it as is. But if you only have one missed or cracked bead on your rosary, it might not be as big of a problem for you.
At the very least, you could consider praying with your broken rosary while you order a new, more durable one.
3. Display it as a keepsake.
Though I fixed the chain rosary my wife gave me, I prefer to pray with my paracord ones today. I kept that rosary, though, because it holds so much personal value, reminding me of my wife and of how far I’ve come over the years as I’ve grown in faith.
So while you may not pray with yours after it breaks, you can still keep it as a keepsake. Maybe even going so far as to display it near your home altar or in a frame where it can serve as a reminder to pray.
4. Turn it into something new.
If you’re crafty and up to the challenge, you can take the intact parts of your rosary and fashion them into something new to use in prayer or devotion, like a chaplet or rosary bracelet. Even materials from blessed rosaries can be used, and after completing your project, you can have the new item blessed as a whole.
Any leftover beads or cord should be treated with care, which brings us to our next and final idea.
5. Dispose of it respectfully.
As a last resort, you can always reverently dispose of a broken rosary or its remaining pieces.
The proper way to handle blessed items is to return them to the earth by burying them. While it’s not strictly necessary to bury an unblessed rosary, it’s a nice way to honor its devotional purpose too.
If burying your rosary whole isn’t feasible for some reason, you can safely burn it and then bury the ashes.
Keep Praying
No matter what you decide to do, don’t let a broken rosary derail your prayer life. Whether you repurpose, repair, or retire your rosary, continue to turn to the Blessed Mother in prayer every day—even if it means counting your Hail Marys on your fingers till a new one arrives.
Looking for a durable, heirloom-quality rosary to pray with for years to come? Explore our collection here.
