The Vatican has launched 'Click to Pray' rosary beads that connect to smartphones in a bid to attract younger, more digital-savvy generations to the Church.

The so-called 'eRosary' can be worn as a bracelet and connected to smartphones by a mobile app that's activated by making the sign of the cross.

The rosary bracelet by 'Click to Pray' is compatible with an iOS and Android app and can be ordered from Amazon.it for £85 ($110).

It features 10 black agate and hematite rosary beads, and a silver 'smart cross'.

The Vatican has launched 'Click to Pray' eRosary beads (pictured) that connect to smartphones in a bid to attract younger and more digital-savvy generations to the Church

Click to Pray said in a statement: 'Aimed at the peripheral frontiers of the digital world where the young people dwell, the Click To Pray eRosary serves as a technology-based pedagogy to teach the young how to pray the Rosary, how to pray it for peace, how to contemplate the Gospel.'

Christians wanting to use the electronic device for their prayers must first download the 'Click to Pray eRosary' app, which the bluetooth-friendly and water-resistant bracelet then syncs to.

Taiwan-based tech company GadgTek Inc (GTI) developed the eRosary as part of Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network initiative.

Once activated, the 'Click to Pray' app offers the wearer to pray the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a 'themed' rosary, with options including Laudato Si, migrants and refugees, vocations, and young people.

The eRosary features 10 black agate and hematite rosary beads, and a silver 'smart cross'

The app tracks the wearer's progress during each prayer and logs each rosary completed. It also contains a selection of prayers and songs.

According to the organisation's website, the app 'connects you with thousands of people who, in all the continents, are praying every day for the challenges of humanity and for the mission of the Church as the Pope proposes in his monthly prayer intentions.'

It 'offers you three brief moments of prayer each day' and people are 'invited to join the Pope's call to connect your heart with others seeking to serve the mission of Jesus.'

The website added: 'In addition to daily prayer, the device also records and provides your health data, so you are encouraged to have a better lifestyle.'