Holy Week Rosary — I love the famous image of Pietà, a marble sculpture by Michelangelo completed in 1498. It's a sweet and tender image of Mary holding the body Jesus Christ, her Son, after He was taken down from the cross. Imagine the agony in her heart!

I was fortunate to see this sculpture with my own eyes in St. Peter's Basilica on May 28, 2013. I have since purchased a small replica which sits here on my desk. And when I stumbled on the rosary centerpiece featuring the image, I just had to have it.

I've had the centerpiece for a while, but I finally got the idea to make a rosary. With Holy Week coming soon, I decided to make this rosary with 8 mm beads. The six Our Father beads are made of wood, which of course symbolizes the wood of the cross. The 53 Hail Mary beads are red, an obvious symbol of blood. The chain, eye pins, and jump rings are all silver-plated steel.