Vatican Flag Rosary — Soon after Pope Leo XIV was elected by his fellow cardinals, I felt the urge to make this rosary. Since I've been to the Vatican, I decided to fashion this one after the flag of Vatican City (which is flying in front of my house) instead of for the pope himself. So I found these beads at a shop on Etsy. As I assembled the decades, I realized that I didn't like the mix of white and yellow. So I disassembled them and moved some beads around. I like the overall mix now. The beads are all 8mm Czech opaque glass: 43 yellow and 16 white. I used the Eucharistic chalice centerpiece as a symbol of the real presence of Christ, a key belief of the Catholic church. The crucifix is from a recycled rosary. It's the same crucifix that we've seen featured on the papal ferula. I also found a charm with the image of the flag so I attached that to the centerpiece.

While I love all of the brand new parts that I found, I think Pope Francis would have liked the recycled crucifix, so a slight nod to him seems appropriate.