Hail Mary
Traditional prayer of the Church. · USCCB
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Hail Mary
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Latin text
Ave Maria
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Meaning in brief
This prayer echoes the greetings of the angel Gabriel and of Elizabeth to Mary (Lk 1:28, 42) and praises Jesus, the fruit of her womb. The second part asks Holy Mary, Mother of God, to pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Intentions and hope
Catholics pray the Hail Mary to entrust themselves and others to the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in times of joy and of sorrow. Many people pray it for those who are sick or near death, hoping for God's presence and for peace in their final moments.
When and how to pray
- Pray it at any time, alone or with others, calmly and slowly.
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross when you pray it on its own.
- In the Rosary, pray it ten times for each mystery, after the Lord's Prayer, closing with the Glory Be.
- Pray it also as part of the Angelus in the morning, at midday, and in the evening.
- When praying together, one person can lead the first part and the others respond with the second part.
Where it comes from
History
The first part of this prayer is made up of two greetings in the Gospel of Luke: the angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary (Lk 1:28) and Elizabeth's greeting when Mary visited her (Lk 1:42). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 2676–2677) explains the prayer phrase by phrase, including its closing petition. [4]
Herbert Thurston, in the Catholic Encyclopedia, concluded that there is hardly any trace of the Hail Mary as an accepted devotional formula before about the year 1050. Two Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, one of which perhaps dates from around 1030, already contain the words of Gabriel and of Elizabeth together. [3]
In the Middle Ages, the Hail Mary became a widespread devotion. Saint Louis of France, for example, would kneel and repeat this prayer again and again. Because of its link with the Angelus, the words of the Hail Mary were also often engraved on church bells. [3]
Around the year 1400, Dominic of Prussia joined 50 Hail Marys with short phrases about Jesus and Mary. The second part of the prayer ("Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us…") was added to the Rosary in the 16th century. [5][6]
Sources & version
Text: USCCB. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-10-30.
- Hail Mary
Text taken from www.usccb.org
Prayer text © USCCB; quoted with attribution and a link (owner decision K2, ADR 0067).
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Hail Mary
Published by New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2676–2677
Published by USCCB
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- St. Dominic and the Rosary
Published by Dominican Friars, Province of St. Joseph
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Hail Mary (Ave Maria)
Published by EBSCO Research Starters
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- The Legend of the Holy Rosary
Published by Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
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