Psalter & Paternoster

The first prayer beads documented in the Roman Catholic Church were called Psalters. Religious Clerics were required to pray the Divine Office, which included reciting and meditating on the 150 Psalms of the bible during specific times throughout the day. The Psalter had 150 to 300 beads, one bead for each of the 150 Psalms. Later, the Paternoster—meaning “Our Father” in Latin—was created for the lay people and those who could not read. The Lord’s Prayer would be repeated instead of the Psalms. Paternosters can be have 50, 100, or 150 beads.