Lithuanian Couple Sells $126 Rosaries Inspired by Cathedrals

A Lithuanian couple sells four handmade rosary designs at $126 each, modeled on St. Peter's Basilica, Chartres Cathedral and two French churches — and they now ship five to seven orders a day.

Gabriele and Tomas Eitavičiai, both 33, launched Theotokos Rosaries in 2020 from a desktop in their rented flat in Klaipėda, Lithuania. The company, named after the ancient Greek title for Mary meaning "God-bearer" or "Mother of God," now counts more than 56,000 Instagram followers, three employees and an office in Telšiai, where the couple hopes to eventually open a physical store.

How did a pandemic livestream become a business?

Gabriele traced the idea to the COVID-19 pandemic, when she watched a livestream of Pope Francis praying the Rosary for the world. Having drifted from her faith during her university years, she returned to prayer.

"I kind of naturally started to look for a beautiful rosary to pray with," she told the National Catholic Register. "And I couldn't find one that I really loved."

So she made one herself, then another for her goddaughter. In 2020, she and Tomas turned the hobby into a small business. Sales started at roughly one rosary a month, then climbed to one a day, then several. The largest market is the United States, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Each rosary is made to order and typically ships within about five weeks.

What does a $126 rosary actually look like?

Each design mirrors a specific church's palette:

• St. Peter — dark gray larvikite, a black stone, paired with fiery crystal glass
• Chartres — light gray stone with coral and purple glass
• Lyon (Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière) — turquoise tones and creamy glass beads
• St. Germain — tiger-skin jasper with earthy, wood-like patterns

The goal, Gabriele said, was to offer "this little piece of that beautiful church that can fit in their pockets."

Eight-millimeter beads mark the Hail Mary prayers; 12-millimeter beads mark the Our Father. The crucifix carries a built-in St. Benedict Medal and natural olivewood inlays meant to evoke the Garden of Gethsemane. Gabriele, who studied illustration in Edinburgh and later designed packaging for an ice cream company, hand-drew the centerpiece medal depicting the Blessed Virgin as Theotokos with the Christ Child.

Assembly takes about an hour per rosary, from preparing materials to inspecting and packing. Workers check every bead for scratches, chips and sharp edges, and tie knots at precise lengths using the company's micro-braid-cord technology.

Gyrius Bareika, who joined while on a break from graphic design studies, expected simple work. "At first when I saw the rosaries, I thought that it would be easy to make," he said. "You got a string, you put all the stone beads, and you put all the metal pieces together, and then you put the cross."

The job changed his view. "The more I began working on those rosaries," Bareika said, "the more I realized how valuable they are."

Who is buying?

Allison Fehringer, who received a rosary from Gabriele, described the unboxing as "so luxurious and beautiful, like a piece of artwork" — wrapping paper and feathers included, "like it was crafted with reverence, not flashiness." She now carries her Divine Chartres Rosary in her pocket, saying the beads' weight and sound remind her of "God's presence" and prompt her "to pray throughout the day."

Martynus Reimeris, a 23-year-old Vilnius resident who converted to Catholicism at 19, said the devotion was hard to adopt after a Protestant upbringing. "It seemed so difficult, coming from the Protestant lifestyle, to just [begin] taking up the Rosary and praying it even once," he said. His St. Peter Rosary, with gold-plated details, draws attention: "Every single time I am on the bus or walking around praying the Rosary, I get asked about it."

The company also gained reach through Catholic apologist Matt Fradd, host of The Daily Wire podcast Pints With Aquinas. Fradd contacted the couple unprompted to say he loved the rosaries; Gabriele had listened to his podcast for years and called it her favorite. They sent rosaries to Fradd and his wife, Cameron, then supplied more for podcast guests. Fradd shared them with his audience without asking for anything in return, and a paid partnership with The Daily Wire followed.

What's next?

Gabriele and Tomas are preparing a new collection, targeted for release around Christmas, drawing on what they call a "different kind of sacred art." For Gabriele, the mission hasn't changed since her first pandemic-era rosary. Praying it, she said, feels like "holding the hand of our Blessed Mother" — a reminder, when anxious, "of Mary, who always leads us back to Christ."