Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Last updated
Fresco of the Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by the symbols of the Litany of Loreto in Bayeux Cathedral) Lauretanische Litanei, Bayeux Kathedrale.jpg
Fresco of the Blessed Virgin Mary surrounded by the symbols of the Litany of Loreto in Bayeux Cathedral)

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Marian litany originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It is also known as the Litany of Loreto (Latin: Litaniae lauretanae), after its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto (Italy), where its usage was recorded as early as 1558.

Contents

The litany contains many of the titles used formally and informally for the Virgin Mary, and would often be recited as a call and response chant in a group setting. The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary has also been set to music [1] by composers such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (nine settings) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (who composed two settings), [2] Jan Dismas Zelenka, [3] Joseph Auer, [4] and Johannes Habert. [5]

A partial indulgence is granted to those who recite this litany. [6]

Background

According to Directory on Popular Piety:

Litanies are to be found among the prayers to the Blessed Virgin recommended by the Magisterium. These consist in a long series of invocations of Our Lady, which follow in a uniform rhythm, thereby creating a stream of prayer characterized by insistent praise and supplication. The invocations, generally very short, have two parts: the first of praise (Virgo clemens), the other of supplication (Ora pro nobis). The liturgical books contain two Marian litanies: The Litany of Loreto, repeatedly recommended by the Roman Pontiffs; and the Litany for the Coronation of Images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which can be an appropriate substitute for the other litany on certain occasions. ...The Litanies are independent acts of worship. They are important acts of homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or as processional elements, or form part of a celebration of the Word of God or of other acts of worship. [7]

Form

In form, the Litany of Loreto is based on a fixed plan common to several Marian litanies already in existence during the second half of the 15th century, which in turn are connected to a notable series of Marian litanies that began to appear in the 12th century that multiplied in the 13th and 14th. The Loreto text had, however, the good fortune to be adopted in the famous shrine, and thus become known more than any other, to the many pilgrims who flocked there during the 16th century. The text was spread across Christendom, and finally received ecclesiastical sanction. [8]

Twelve invocations refer to Mary as Mother; six extol her as Virgin. Thirteen titles are derived from the Old Testament, followed by four calling on her as helper and advocate. The last thirteen name Mary as Queen. In June 2020, Pope Francis added three new invocations to the litany: "Mother of Mercy" (after Mother of the Church), "Mother of hope" (after Mother of Divine Grace), and "Solace of Migrants" (after Refuge of Sinners). This makes fourteen invocations referring to Mary as mother and five as advocate.

A litany is prayed like this: first an invocation is said by the prayer leader followed by the response, "Pray for us". [9]

The Litany

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary was translated in the English form as: [10]

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins,
pray for us.
Mother of Christ,
pray for us.
Mother of divine grace,
pray for us.
Mother most pure,
pray for us.
Mother most chaste,
pray for us.
Mother inviolate,
pray for us.
Mother undefiled,
pray for us.
Mother most amiable,
pray for us.
Mother most admirable,
pray for us.
Mother of good counsel,
pray for us.
Mother of our Creator,
pray for us.
Mother of our Savior,
pray for us.
Virgin most prudent,
pray for us.
Virgin most venerable,
pray for us.
Virgin most renowned,
pray for us.
Virgin most powerful,
pray for us.
Virgin most merciful,
pray for us.
Virgin most faithful,
pray for us.
Mirror of justice,
pray for us.
Seat of wisdom,
pray for us.
Cause of our joy,
pray for us.
Spiritual vessel,
pray for us.
Vessel of honor,
pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion,
pray for us.
Mystical rose,
pray for us.
Tower of David,
pray for us.
Tower of ivory,
pray for us.
House of gold,
pray for us.
Ark of the Covenant,
pray for us.
Gate of Heaven,
pray for us.
Morning star,
pray for us.
Health of the sick,
pray for us.
Refuge of sinners,
pray for us.
Comforter of the afflicted,
pray for us.
Help of Christians,
pray for us.
Queen of angels,
pray for us.
Queen of patriarchs,
pray for us.
Queen of prophets,
pray for us.
Queen of apostles,
pray for us.
Queen of martyrs,
pray for us.
Queen of confessors,
pray for us.
Queen of virgins,
pray for us.
Queen of all saints,
pray for us.
Queen conceived without Original Sin,
pray for us.
Queen assumed into Heaven,
pray for us.
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
pray for us.
Queen of peace,
pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, that we Thy Servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow and enjoy eternal happiness. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

History

Origins

There is a great lack of documentary evidence concerning the origin of the Litany of Loreto, the growth and development of the litany into the forms under which it is known, and as it was for the first time definitely approved by the Catholic Church in the year 1587. Some writers declare that they know nothing of its origin and history; others, on the contrary, trace it back to the translation of the Holy House (1294); others, to Pope Sergius I (687); others, again, to Gregory the Great or to the 5th century; while others go as far back as the Early Church, and even the Apostolic Age. Historical criticism posits it to have been composed during the early 16th century or the end of the 15th. [8] Before that time, there were litanies of Mary - one in Gaelic, probably of the eighth century, and others of later date, in which the invocations were much longer than those in the Litany of Loreto. [1]

The oldest printed copy hitherto discovered is that of Dillingen in Germany, dating to 1558; it is fairly certain it is a copy of an earlier one, but thus far, the oldest known Italian copy dates from 1576. [8]

The litany was probably published and circulated in Germany by Saint Petrus Canisius. The Dillingen copy is entitled: Letania Loretana. Ordnung der Letaney von unser lieben Frawen wie sie zu Loreto alle Samstag gehalten ("Order of the Litany of Our Lady as said every Saturday at Loreto"). The text is just the same as we have it today, except that it has Mater piissima and Mater mirabilis, where now are Mater purissima and Mater admirabilis. Further, the invocations Mater creatoris and Mater salvatoris are wanting, though this must be due to some oversight of the editor, since they are found in every manuscript of this group; on the other hand, the Auxilium christianorum is introduced though it does not occur in the other texts. This title is found in a Litany of Loreto printed in 1558. Pope Pius V could not have introduced the invocation "Auxilium christianorum in 1571 after the Battle of Lepanto, as stated in the sixth lesson of the Roman Breviary for the feast of S. Maria Auxiliatrix (24 May); and to this conclusion the Dillingen text adds indisputable evidence. [8]

Development

Pope Pius V by Motu Proprio of 20 March 1571, published 5 April, had suppressed all existing offices of the Virgin Mary, disapproving in general all the prayers therein, and substituting a new Officium B. Virginis without those prayers and consequently without any litany. It would seem that this action on the part of the pope led the clergy of Loreto to fear that the text of their litany was likewise prohibited. At all events, in order to keep the old custom of singing the litany every Saturday in honor of the Virgin, a new text was written containing praises drawn directly from Scriptures and usually applied to the Virgin in liturgies. This new litany was set to music by the choirmaster of the Basilica of Loreto, Costanzo Porta, and printed at Venice in 1575. It is the earliest setting to music of a Marian litany that we know of. In the following year (1576) these Scriptural litanies were printed for the use of pilgrims. [8]

On 5 February 1578, the archdeacon of Loreto, Giulio Candiotti, sent to Pope Gregory XIII the "New praises or litanies of the most holy Virgin, drawn from Sacred Scripture", with Porta's music, expressing the wish that the pope would cause it to be sung in Saint Peter's Basilica and in other churches as was the custom at Loreto. The pope's reply is unknown, but we have the opinion of the theologian to whom the matter was referred, in which the composition of the new litany is praised, but which does not judge it opportune to introduce it into Rome or into church use on the authority of the pope, all the more because Pius V "in reforming the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin completely abolished, among other things, some similar litanies of the Blessed Virgin which existed in the old office. The judgment concluded that the litany might be sung at Loreto as a devotion proper to this shrine, and if others wanted to adopt it they might do so by way of private devotion. [8]

This attempt having failed, the Scriptural litany straightway began to lose favor, and the Loreto text was revived. In another manual for pilgrims, published in 1578, the Scriptural litany is omitted, and the old Loreto text appears. The Loreto text was introduced elsewhere, and even reached Rome, when Pope Sixtus V, who had entertained a singular devotion for Loreto, by the Bull Reddituri of 11 July 1587, gave formal approval to it, as to the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, and recommended preachers everywhere to propagate its use among the faithful. [8]

On the strength of this impulse given to the Litany of Loreto, certain ascetical writers began to publish a great number of litanies in honour of the Saviour, the Virgin, and the saints, often ill-advised and containing expressions theologically heterodox, so Pope Clement VIII had promulgated (6 Sept., 1601) a severe decree of the Holy Office, which, while upholding the litanies contained in the liturgical books as well as the Litany of Loreto, banned the publication of new litanies, or use of those already published in public worship, without the approbation of the Congregation of Rites. [8]

In Rome, the Litany of Loreto was introduced into the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore by Cardinal Francesco Toledo in 1597; and in 1613, Pope Paul V ordered it to be sung in that church, morning and evening, on Saturdays and on vigils and feasts of the Madonna. As a result of this example, the Loreto Litany began to be used, and is still largely used, in all the churches of Rome. The Dominicans, in their general chapter held at Bologna in 1615, ordered its recitation in all the convents of their Order after the Office on Saturdays at the end of the customary " Salve Regina ". [8] The Litany of Loreto was first included in the Rituale Romanum in 1874, as an appendix. [7]

Additions

Indulgence

The 2004 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithfuls of Christ who piously pray the litanies. [16]

Musical settings

Croats have several different folk musical settings (tunes) of litanies (in Herzegovina, [18] Solin [19] etc.).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosary</span> Catholic sacramental and Marian devotion

The Rosary, also known as the Dominican Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or beads used to count the component prayers. When referring to the prayer, the word is usually capitalized ; when referring to the prayer beads as an object, it is written with a lower-case initial letter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of Heaven</span> Marian title

Queen of Heaven is a title given to the Virgin Mary, by Christians mainly of the Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The title has long been a tradition, included in prayers and devotional literature and seen in Western art in the subject of the Coronation of the Virgin from the High Middle Ages, long before it was given a formal definition status by the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prayer to Saint Joseph</span> Prayers in Roman Catholicism

The following are Roman Catholic prayers to Saint Joseph.

Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin litania from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (litaneía), which in turn comes from λιτή (litḗ), meaning "prayer, supplication".

The Litany of the Saints is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, and Western Rite Orthodox communities. It is a prayer to the Triune God, which also includes invocations for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and all the martyrs and saints upon whom Christianity was founded, and those recognised as saints through the subsequent history of the church. Following the invocation of the saints, the Litany concludes with a series of supplications to God to hear the prayers of the worshippers. It is most prominently sung during the Easter Vigil, All Saints' Day, and in the liturgy for conferring Holy Orders, the Consecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or a diocesane hermit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salve Regina</span> Medieval Catholic hymn to Mary, mother of Jesus

The "Salve Regina", also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina is traditionally sung at Compline in the time from the Saturday before Trinity Sunday until the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent. The Hail Holy Queen is also the final prayer of the Rosary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica della Santa Casa</span> Church in Marche, Italy

The Basilica della Santa Casa is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legends claim the same house was flown over by angelic beings from Nazareth to Tersatto, then to Recanati, before arriving at the current site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal</span> Catholic shrine in Paris, France

The Chapel of Graces of the Miraculous Virgin or informally the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, is a Marian shrine located in Paris, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Good Counsel</span> Miraculous painting

Our Lady of Good Counsel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after a painting said to be miraculous, now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Measuring 40 to 45 centimetres the image is a fresco executed on a thin layer of plaster no thicker than an egg shell. Over the centuries, devotions to Our Lady of the Good Counsel grew among saints and Popes, to the extent that a reference to it was added to the Litany of Loreto and the devotion spread throughout the world. Her feast day is 26 April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titles of Mary</span> Descriptive names for Mary, mother of Jesus

Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.

<i>Ad Caeli Reginam</i> 1954 papal encyclical by Pope Pius XII, on the Queenship of Mary

Ad Caeli Reginam is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII, given at Rome, from St. Peter's Basilica, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh day of October, 1954, towards the end of the Marian year, in the sixteenth year of his Pontificate. The encyclical is an important element of the Mariology of Pope Pius XII. It established the feast Queenship of Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mater ter admirabilis</span>

Mater ter admirabilis, literally "Mother thrice admirable", is a Marian title in Latin given to a miraculous copy of the Salus Populi Romani icon, enshrined at the Münster Zur SchönenUnsere Lieben Frau in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. The title is a variant of Mater admirabilis from the Litany of Loreto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Catholic Mariology</span>

The history of Catholic Mariology traces theological developments and views regarding Mary from the early Church to the 21st century. Mariology is a mainly Catholic ecclesiological study within theology, which centers on the relation of Mary, the Mother of God, and the Church. Theologically, it not only deals with her life but with her veneration in life and prayer, in art, music, and architecture, from ancient Christianity to modern times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariology of the popes</span> Papal influence on Marian theology and devotion

The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church</span> Roman Catholic veneration of Mary

The veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church encompasses various devotions which include prayer, pious acts, visual arts, poetry, and music devoted to her. Popes have encouraged it, while also taking steps to reform some manifestations of it. The Holy See has insisted on the importance of distinguishing "true from false devotion, and authentic doctrine from its deformations by excess or defect". There are significantly more titles, feasts, and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than in other Western Christian traditions. The term hyperdulia indicates the special veneration due to Mary, greater than the ordinary dulia for other saints, but utterly unlike the latria due only to God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Help of Christians</span> Title of the Virgin Mary

Mary, the Help of Christians is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on 24 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian litany</span>

In Christian worship, Marian litany is a form of prayer to Mary, mother of Jesus used in church services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugium Peccatorum</span> Title of the Virgin Mary

Refugium Peccatorum, also known as Our Lady of Refuge, is a title for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. Its use goes back to Saint Germanus of Constantinople in the 8th century.

<i>Litanies à la Vierge Noire</i>

Litanies à la Vierge noire, FP 82, is a piece of sacred music composed by Francis Poulenc in 1936 for a three-part choir of women and organ, setting a French litany recited at the pilgrimage site Rocamadour which the composer visited. The subtitle, Notre-Dame de Rocamadour, refers to the venerated black sculpture of Mary. The composition is Poulenc's first piece of sacred music. In 1947 he wrote a version for voices accompanied by string orchestra and timpani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland</span>

The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland is an honorary title for Mary, mother of Jesus, used by Polish Catholics.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sullivan, John F. (1918). The Externals of the Catholic Church. P.J. Kenedy & Sons. pp. 273–79. PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. Abert, Hermann. W. A. Mozart, Yale University Press, 2007, p. 225, ISBN   9780300072235
  3. Stockigt, Janice B., Jan Dismas Zelenka: A Bohemian Musician at the Court of Dresden, Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 179, ISBN   9780198166221
  4. Auer, Joseph, "Lauretanische Litanei" (1890). Marian Sheet Music. 37
  5. Habert, Johannes, "Lauretanische Litanei in A dur, No. 2" (1877). Marian Sheet Music. 65
  6. Joseph Cardinal Ferretto, Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, The Enchiridion of Indulgences, No. 29, Liberia Editrice Vatican, 1968
  7. 1 2 Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Directory on Popular Piety, §203, December 2001
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 PD-icon.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Santi, Angelo de (1910). "Litany of Loreto". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  9. "Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia.
  10. "Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Prayers".
  11. Nardin, Vito. "Rosmini’s Contribution to the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception", Charitas, no. 11, November 2004, pp. 297–300
  12. Budwey, Stephanie. Sing of Mary: Giving Voice to Marian Theology and Devotion, Liturgical Press, Nov 14, 2014, p.65 ISBN   9780814682937
  13. Mauriello, Matthew. "Mary, Queen of Families". University of Dayton.
  14. "Letter of the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to the Presidents of the Conferences of Bishops on the invocations Mater misericordiæ, Mater spei, and Solacium migrantium to be inserted into the Litany of Loreto, 20.06.2020". 20 June 2020.
  15. "Pope adds three new invocations to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Vatican News. 20 June 2020.
  16. Enchiridion Indulgentiarum.quarto editur, Concessiones, 22 2°
  17. "Fabian Norman Verlag - Litany to the Mother of God EN".
  18. Luburič, Niko (2005). "Notni zapis litanija iz Hercegovine - Litanije Lauretanske, Napjev iz Hercegovine". Sveta Cecilija (in Croatian). 75 (1): 12-14. ISSN   1849-3106.
  19. Jankov, Mirko (2013). "Nekoliko crkvenih pučkih napjeva iz Solina" [Some folk church tunes of Solin]. Tusculum (in Croatian). 6 (1): 157-190. ISSN   1849-0417.