Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven)
Traditional prayer of the Church. · USCCB
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Antifon
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son whom you merited to bear, alleluia,
has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
Versikel
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Doa
Let us pray.
O God, who have been pleased to gladden the world
by the Resurrection of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant, we pray,
that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary,
we may receive the joys of everlasting life.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Latin text
Antifon
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Versikel
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Doa
Oremus:
Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi mundum laetificare dignatus es, praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Meaning in brief
This prayer invites the Blessed Virgin Mary to rejoice because the Son she carried in her womb has risen as he said (cf. Mt 28:6), and then asks her to pray for us to God. The closing prayer asks that we, gladdened by the Resurrection of Christ, may rejoice in everlasting life together with his Mother.
Intentions and hope
The faithful pray it to give thanks for the Resurrection of Christ and to share the joy of Easter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. One may hope that this joy will strengthen everyday faith and turn the heart toward everlasting life.
When and how to pray
- Pray it during the Easter season, from Easter Sunday until the end of Pentecost Sunday.
- Pray it in the morning, at midday, and in the evening in place of the Angelus.
- By custom, this prayer is said standing, as a sign of Christ's victory over death.
- Say the four lines of the antiphon, each ending with alleluia, then the versicle and response, and then the closing prayer beginning "Let us pray."
- This prayer may also be sung or prayed as the Marian antiphon that closes Night Prayer (Compline) during the Easter season.
Where it comes from
History
The oldest known appearance of the Regina Caeli is as the Magnificat antiphon for the Octave of Easter, in a manuscript of the local Roman chant tradition from around 1200 that is now kept at St. Peter's Basilica. In the first half of the 13th century the antiphon was included in the Franciscan breviary, and from around the middle of the 13th century it began to be used as the closing antiphon of Night Prayer (Compline). [4][3]
Tradition · A pious tradition places the origin of this antiphon in the 6th century. The documents, however, do not support this; the earliest written sources date from the 13th century. [3]
The author of the Regina Caeli is unknown. Some have linked it to Pope Gregory V at the end of the 10th century, but this view is judged to have no solid basis. [5]
The Regina Caeli is one of the four traditional Marian antiphons, together with the Alma Redemptoris Mater, the Ave Regina Caelorum, and the Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen). Each is linked to a season of the Church year, and the Regina Caeli is the antiphon for the Easter season. [3]
On April 2, 1742, Pope Benedict XIV directed that the Regina Caeli be prayed in place of the Angelus during the Easter season, with the same indulgence as the Angelus. [3]
Sources & version
Text: USCCB. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-11-05.
- Regina Caeli
Text taken from www.usccb.org
Prayer text © USCCB; quoted with attribution and a link (owner decision K2, ADR 0067).
- Pope at Regina Caeli: 'Let us walk in the joy of the faith' - Vatican News
Latin text from www.vaticannews.va
Latin text quoted with attribution and a link.
- What is the Regina Caeli?
Published by Vatican News
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Regina Caeli Laetare
Published by Encyclopedia.com (New Catholic Encyclopedia)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)
Published by Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
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