Our Lady of the Rosary Religious Pendant / Mother of Pearl Religious Charm / Gold Religious Charm / Confirmation Gift

This unique and stunning pendant shows the famous painting of The Queen of the Rosary giving the rosary to St. Dominic and St. Rita.

The legend of the famous painting is as follows: In Pompeii a priest by the name of Bartolo wanted to organized a parish mission and invited a group of priests to speak about devotion to the Holy Rosary. To conclude the mission, he planned to exhibit a painting of Our Lady.

He found an appropriate picture in a Naples shop, but unfortunately, he could not afford to purchase it. He was later informed that the picture was unsuitable, since Canon Law at that time required that a painting be executed in oils upon canvas or wood. The picture he had chosen was an oleograph on paper. On his return home he shared his disappointment with Friar Alberto Radente, who told him of a painting that a nun named Mother Concetta had in her convent. Since she was willing to part with it, Friar Alberto encouraged Bartolo to ask for it.

This painting had originally been discovered in a junk shop by Friar Alberto. He had purchased it for a mere eight carlins, or the equivalent of one dollar. The friar had given the portrait of Our Lady to Mother Concetta some time earlier. When Bartolo saw this painting, he was extremely displeased by its pitiful condition and its historical and artistical flaws. He described the painting in this manner: Not only was it worm-eaten, but the face of the Madonna was that of a coarse, rough country-woman . . . a piece of canvas was missing just above her head . . . her mantle was cracked. Nothing can be said of the hideousness of the other figures. St. Dominic looked like he was homeless. To Our Lady's left was St. Rose. This latter I had changed later into a St. Catherine of Siena . . . I hesitated whether to refuse the gift or to accept. I had promised a picture unconditionally for that evening. I took it. Bartolo was enticed into accepting the picture by Mother Concetta. She encouraged him with the words: "Take it with you; you will see that the Blessed Mother will use this painting to work many miracles." The words proved to be prophetic.

Since the painting was too large for Bartolo to carry back with him, he wrapped it in a sheet and gave it to a man who routinely drove his wagon between Naples and Pompeii. Not knowing the subject of the painting, the man arrived with the portrait positioned atop a load of manure that he was to deliver to a nearby field. In this inauspicious manner the Queen of the Rosary arrived in Pompeii.

The painting arrived on November 13, 1875. Two months after its arrival, in January of 1876, the picture's first restoration was completed in time for the canonical foundation of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary which had been organized by Bartolo Longo.

It was not long after that miracles started to take place.

This beautiful pendant celebrates that miracle. The central image of the Virgin Mary and the saints are in 18K Yellow Gold.

It is over top a Mother of Pearl backing. Above them are swags of floral garlands.

The bail is stamped for metal purity and shows 750.