Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Traditional prayer of the Church. · The rights holder named on the source

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Highlight the responses64 invocations

Kyrie

Leader: Lord have mercy

All: Christ have mercy.

Leader: Lord have mercy on us. Christ hear us.

All: Christ graciously hear us.

Invocations

Leader: God, the Father of heaven,

All: Have mercy on us.

Leader: God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

All: Have mercy on us.

Leader: God the Holy Spirit,

All: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Holy Trinity, one God,

All: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Holy Mary,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Holy Mother of God,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Holy Virgin of virgins,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of Christ,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of the Church,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of Mercy,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of Divine Grace,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of Hope,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother most pure,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother most chaste,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother inviolate,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother undefiled,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother most amiable,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother admirable,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of good counsel,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of our Creator,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mother of our Savior,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most prudent,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most venerable,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most renowned,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most powerful,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most merciful,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Virgin most faithful,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mirror of justice,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Seat of wisdom,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Cause of our joy,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Spiritual vessel,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Vessel of honour,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Singular vessel of devotion,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Mystical rose,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Tower of David,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Tower of ivory,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: House of gold,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Ark of the covenant,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Gate of heaven,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Morning star,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Health of the sick,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Refuge of sinners,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Solace of migrants,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Comfort of the afflicted,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Help of Christians,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Angels,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Patriarchs,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Prophets,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Apostles,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Martyrs,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Confessors,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of Virgins,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of all Saints,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen conceived without original sin,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen assumed into Heaven,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of the most Holy Rosary,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of families,

All: Pray for us.

Leader: Queen of peace.

All: Pray for us.

Lamb of God

Leader: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world

All: Spare us, O Lord.

Leader: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

All: Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Leader: Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

All: Have mercy on us.

Versicle

Leader: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

All: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Concluding prayer

Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants,

may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body;

and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin,

may be delivered from present sorrow,

and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

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Meaning in brief

The litany opens by calling on God the Holy Trinity for mercy, then greets Mary with many titles, such as Mother of God, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church, asking again and again, "Pray for us." These titles echo Mary's own words: "all ages will call me blessed" (Lk 1:48).

Intentions and hope

The faithful pray it to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and to ask her prayers for the Church, for families and for personal needs. We may hope to have Mary's prayers with us as we grow closer to her Son, Jesus Christ.

When and how to pray

It is usually prayed after the Rosary, and also in group prayer during the month of Mary (May) and the month of the Rosary (October).
Begin with the Sign of the Cross, kneeling, sitting or standing quietly.
When praying together, the leader says each invocation and the others answer as the text gives, for example "Have mercy on us" or "Pray for us"; when praying alone, say both parts slowly.
End with the closing prayer as found in Puji Syukur, the Indonesian Catholic prayer and hymn book.

Where it comes from

History

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto, belongs to the family of Marian litanies. According to the available historical summaries, a series of Marian litanies began to appear in the twelfth century and grew more numerous in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Loreto text follows a fixed arrangement also used by several other litanies, and that arrangement already existed in the second half of the fifteenth century. [4]

This litany did not begin at the shrine of Loreto. The New Catholic Encyclopedia traces it to older sources and says the oldest known manuscript of a litany similar to it dates from around 1200. The Catholic Encyclopedia holds that the litany was composed in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. [2][3]

The litany takes its name from the shrine of the Holy House (Santa Casa) in Loreto, Italy. Its use there is recorded no later than 1558, and pilgrims carried it home to many parts of Europe. [3][4]

On March 20, 1571, Pope Pius V issued a motu proprio forbidding unapproved forms of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and certain unapproved Marian litanies. For a time, it seemed that the Litany of Loreto would be replaced by a version drawn more from Sacred Scripture. [3][2]

Pope Sixtus V formally approved the Litany of Loreto in the bull Reddituri, dated July 11, 1587, and encouraged preachers to spread it. Today the liturgical books contain two Marian litanies: the Litany of Loreto, which the Popes have recommended again and again, and the Litany for the Coronation of an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. [3][4]

Popular story

This story is widely told but has never been confirmed by an official Church source.

The litany and the victory at Lepanto

According to a widely told story, after the victory of the Christian fleet at Lepanto (October 7, 1571), Pope Pius V approved the Litany of Loreto for the whole Church and granted an indulgence. It is said that he also added the invocation "Help of Christians" (Auxilium Christianorum) in thanksgiving for that victory.

What is known: The encyclopedias do not support this link. Pius V's motu proprio of 1571 actually restricted unapproved litanies, and the approval of the Loreto form is connected with Sixtus V in 1587. The Catholic Encyclopedia also found the title "Auxilium christianorum" in a Loreto litany printed in 1558, well before Lepanto. [3][2]

Where this story circulates: locusmariologicus.org

Popular story

This story is widely told but has never been confirmed by an official Church source.

The house of Nazareth and the litany's origin

According to the tradition of the shrine of Loreto, the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth, where Mary received the angel's message, was carried by angels to Loreto at the end of the thirteenth century (1294). According to a widely told story, this litany began with that event.

What is known: The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that some writers linked the litany with the transfer of the Holy House, but historical study points to a later origin, in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. The New Catholic Encyclopedia states that the litany did not originate at that shrine and mentions older manuscripts from around 1200. These sources do not judge the tradition of the Holy House's transfer itself. [2][3]

Where this story circulates: marianprayersinlatin.com

Sources & version

Text: The rights holder named on the source. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-10-30.

Litany of Loreto
Published by Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
Litany of Loreto
Published by New Catholic Encyclopedia (via Encyclopedia.com)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Published by Wikipedia
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.

Free to copy and share. Please credit lightofsaints.com. Copyright

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Kyrie

Invocations

Lamb of God

Versicle

Concluding prayer

Meaning in brief

Intentions and hope

When and how to pray

Where it comes from

History

Sources & version

Related prayers