Father Tony Robbins recently returned from a visit to the Holy Land. While there, he arranged to have hundreds of olive wood Rosaries made in Israel shipped back here to distribute to every child and faculty member at St. Joseph School. They came from a supplier in Bethlehem known as St. George's Souvenirs.
The origins of the Rosary are hazy, but the use of prayer beads and repeated recitation of prayers to aid in mediation go back to the earliest days of the Catholic Church. It even has roots in pre-Christian times. Tradition holds that St. Dominic devised the Rosary as we know it in the 13th century. Some scholars think he not so much "invented" it as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith.
The two additional photos show Father Tony with elementary school students Luke Worm and Annabelle Miller after they received their Rosaries from him. The other photo shows one of the Rosaries with the icon of Mary, Mother of Jesus, that's packaged with the Rosaries.