# Hail, Holy Queen

> The Salve Regina, an ancient Marian antiphon that greets the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Queen of mercy, usually prayed at the end of the Rosary and as a closing prayer at night.

- Source: Light of Saints, “Hail, Holy Queen”, https://lightofsaints.com/en/prayers/hail-holy-queen
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Published: 2026-11-06

## Meaning

This prayer greets Mary as Queen and Mother of Mercy, then admits that our life is an exile full of tears. We ask her to turn her eyes of mercy toward us and, after this life, to show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of her womb (cf. Lk 1:42).

## Prayer

_Traditional prayer of the Church._

### Hail Holy Queen

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

## Intentions & hopes

People pray the Hail, Holy Queen when they are tired, grieving or anxious, and whenever they want to close the day under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What we may hope for is comfort and trust that Mary leads us to Jesus, not the certainty of any particular outcome.

## When & how to pray

- Pray it as the closing prayer after the mysteries of the Rosary.
- Pray it at night before going to sleep.
- In the Liturgy of the Hours, this antiphon may be used to close Night Prayer; during the Easter season the antiphon Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli) is used instead.
- It can be prayed kneeling or standing, slowly, or sung to its Gregorian chant melody.
- End with the Sign of the Cross.

## Origins

The Salve Regina is a Latin Marian antiphon from the eleventh century. Traditionally it is credited to Blessed Hermann of Reichenau (1013–1054), a Benedictine monk at Reichenau Abbey on the shore of Lake Constance.

However, the attribution to Hermann is uncertain. Many musicologists now treat the work as anonymous, and scholars doubt whether the hymns linked to him survive in their original form.

The antiphon was introduced at Cîteaux in the middle of the twelfth century. One source says that the Cistercian monks used it as a daily processional chant from 1218 and as the close of Night Prayer from 1251, although these years differ from source to source.

According to a university guide, the Salve Regina has been part of Night Prayer in the Latin Rite since the fourteenth century.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), at Speyer Cathedral in Germany the Salve Regina was sung solemnly every day in honor of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. This local custom reflects the tradition that links the saint with the three closing invocations of the antiphon.

_Edition note: Text: The rights holder named on the source. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-11-05._

## Sources

- [Hail Holy Queen - Prayers - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/prayers/hail-holy-queen.html) — Text taken from www.vaticannews.va
- [Hail Holy Queen Prayer (Salve Regina)](https://www.knightsoftheholyeucharist.com/hail-holy-queen-salve-regina/) — Latin text from www.knightsoftheholyeucharist.com
- [Salve Regina](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13409a.htm) — Published by Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), New Advent
- [Impressions of Rome: Salve](https://christdesert.org/2018/08/impressions-rome-salve/) — Published by Benedictine Abbey of Christ in the Desert
- [Hermann of Reichenau (1013 - 1054) - Biography](https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hermann_of_Reichenau/) — Published by MacTutor History of Mathematics, University of St Andrews
- [Hymns/Antiphons - Mariology](https://libguides.stthomas.edu/c.php?g=88826&p=573157) — Published by University of St. Thomas Libraries