Biden's beads

From the New York Times account of the death of bin Laden:

“On Sunday afternoon, as the helicopters raced over Pakistani territory, the president and his advisers gathered in the Situation Room of the White House to monitor the operation as it unfolded. Much of the time was spent in silence. Mr. Obama looked ‘stone faced,’ one aide said. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. fingered his rosary beads. ‘The minutes passed like days,’ recalled John O. Brennan, the White House counterterrorism chief.”