1. An action or object; such as, the rosary, of ecclesiastical origin that serves to express or to increase devotion: Marjorie carried her beloved hand-carved sacramentals in a special container to protect them.
2. In the Roman Catholic Church, an action, as the sign of the cross, a ceremony resembling a religious object, regarded as being instituted by the church rather than by Christ and serving as a means of receiving sanctifying grace: In her university class of theology, Olive presented several of the sacramentals which were used in her church.