Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Part of a series of articles on
Mother of Jesus
Chronology
Presentation of Mary Annunciation Visitation Marriage Joseph Virgin birth Nativity Holy Family Presentation of Jesus at the Temple Flight into Egypt Finding in the Temple Cana Crucifixion Resurrection Pentecost
Marian perspectives
Catholic Eastern Orthodox Protestant Anglican Lutheran Ecumenical Latter Day Saint Islamic
Catholic Mariology
Mariology History of Mariology Papal teachings Saints
Marian dogmas
Immaculate Conception Theotokos (Mother of God) Assumption Perpetual virginity
Mary in culture
Apparitions Art Feast days Hymns Music Shrines Titles
v t e

Part of a series on the
Mariology of the Catholic Church
Immaculate Conception by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (c. 1675)
Overview Prayers Antiphons Titles Hymns to Mary Devotional practices Saints Societies Consecrations and entrustments Veneration
Titles of Mary Theotokos (Mother of God) Mediatrix Mother of the Church Our Lady of Good Counsel Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Victory Our Lady, Star of the Sea Queen of Heaven Queen of Peace Queen of Poland Refugium Peccatorum (Refuge of Sinners) Untier of Knots Virgin of Mercy
Prayers and hymns Angelus Fátima prayers Flos Carmeli Hail Mary Hail Mary of Gold Immaculata prayer Magnificat Mary, Mother of Grace Memorare Sub tuum praesidium Marian hymns
Devotional practices Acts of Reparation Consecration to Mary First Saturdays Rosary Seven Joys of the Virgin Seven Sorrows of Mary Three Hail Marys
Movements and societies Sodality of Our Lady Congregation of Marian Fathers Company of Mary (Montfort) Marianists (Society of Mary) Marist Fathers Marist Brothers Schoenstatt Movement Legion of Mary World Apostolate of Fátima (Blue Army) Mariological Society Our Lady's Rosary Makers Marian Movement of Priests Fatima Family Apostolate Queen of Angels Foundation
Apparitions Approved, with widespread liturgical veneration endorsed by the Holy See: Fátima Three Secrets of Fátima Guadalupe Knock La Salette Lourdes Miraculous Medal Walsingham Dowry of Mary
Key Marian feast days Mother of God (1 January) Candlemas (2 February) Annunciation (25 March) Assumption (15 August) Nativity (8 September) Holy Name (12 September) Presentation (21 November) Immaculate Conception (8 December)
Catholicism portal
v t e

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.

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. They are used to recite or sing at the end of the Rosary, and as a separate act of Marian devotion. In the latter case, for example, they can form the main element of a celebration of prayer to the Most Blessed Virgin, be a processional song, or form part of a celebration of the Word of God.^[1]

A partial indulgence is granted to those who recite this litany.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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,^[5] 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".^[6]

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary was translated in the English form as:^[7]

The subsequent oration is:

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.

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.^[4] 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.^[9] For others, the first formularies of Marian litanies are documented from the second half of the 12th century and derive from the development of the Marian core of the Litany of the saints, which originated in the early 3rd century.

The oldest formulary from which the litanies that took the name 'Lauretane' from the sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto, where they were sung at the beginning of the 16th century, derive is a manuscript codex in the National Library of France^[10] that contains 73 invocations,^[11][12][13] including Flos virginitatis (= Flower of virginity), Forma sanctitatis (= Model of sanctity), Hymnus cælorum (= Hymn of heaven), Luctus infernorum (= Mourning of Hell), in addition to the invocations currently in use.^[11]

The 66 Marian invocations in the Parisian text cited above already have the structure of the Loreto litanies and are arranged similarly to those in the Loreto formulary.^[11] The structure is as follows: it begins with three invocations taken from the litanies of the saints (SanctaMaria, Sancta Dei Genitrix, Sancta Virgo Virginum), followed by a group of eleven invocations in which Mary is considered as 'Mother' (in Latin: Mater), then four invocations as 'teacher' (Magistra), a group that has disappeared in today's Lauretan litanies, eight invocations in which Our Lady is considered as 'Virgin' (Virgo), twenty-six symbolic titles of basically biblical origin, and finally thirteen invocations to Mary Queen (Regina). The various titles under which the Virgin was invoked derive from liturgical texts, contemporary authors, and homilies from the time of Charlemagne, with links to older texts: John Geometres (10th century), Venantius Fortunatus (c. 530-660), the hymn Akathist, Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306-372).^[10]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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".^[4] The Litany of Loreto was first included in the Rituale Romanum in 1874, as an appendix.^[3]

• The Dominicans caused the invocation Regina sacratissimi rosarii ("Queen of the Most Holy Rosary") to be inserted in the litany, and it appears in print for the first time in a Dominican Breviary dated 1614, as has been pointed out by Father Walsh, O.P., in The Tablet, 24 October 1908. Although by decree of 1631, and by Bull of Pope Alexander VII (1664), it was strictly forbidden to make any additions to the litanies, another decree of the Congregation of Rites, dated 1675, permitted the Confraternity of the Rosary to add the invocation Regina sacratissimi rosarii, and this was prescribed for the whole Church by Pope Leo XIII on 24 December 1883.^[9][4]
• The invocation Queen of All saints was added by Pope Pius VII when he returned to Rome after his long imprisonment by order of Napoleon.^[9]
• In 1766 Clement XIII granted Spain the privilege of adding after "Mater intemerata" the invocation Mater immaculata, which is still customary in Spain, notwithstanding the addition of Regina sine labe originali concepta. This last invocation was originally granted by Pope Pius IX to the Bishop of Mechelen in 1846, and, after the definition of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the Congregation by various rescripts authorized many dioceses to make a like addition, so that in a short time it became the universal practice.^[4] The title Queen conceived without original sin was granted by Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) from 1839 to certain dioceses;^[14] Pius IX (1846-1878) granted it in 1846 to the archdiocese of Malines and, after the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (8 December 1854),^[15] the Sacred Congregation of Rites with various rescripts authorised many dioceses to make the addition, so that in a short time it became universal practice (the addition did not become obligatory during the pontificate of Pope Pius IX, so much so that it is indicated as optional for dioceses that obtained an apostolic indult in the Rituale Romanum of 1881
• By decree of 22 April 1903, Pope Leo XIII added the invocation "Mater boni consilii" (Mother of Good Counsel), which, under the form of Mater veri consilii, was contained in the Marian litany used for centuries in St Mark's Basilica, Venice.^[4]
• The addition Queen of peace was ordered by Pope Benedict XV in 1916.^[16]
• In 1950, Pope Pius XII added Queen assumed into heaven.
• In 1980, Pope John Paul II added Mother of the church. The invocation Queen of families was added on 31 December 1995, also by Pope John Paul II.^[17]
• On 20 June 2020, during the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pope Francis added three invocations: Mother of mercy, Mother of hope, and Solace of migrants.^[18][19]

The 2004 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithfuls of Christ who piously pray the litanies.^[20]

• Tomás Luis de Victoria, Litanies de la Vierge for two Chorus.
• Palestrina, 11 Litanies de la Vierge for 3,, 4, 5, and 8 voices.
• Thomas Tallis, Laetania, for 5 voices
• William Byrd, Laetania, for 4 voices
• Alessandro Grandi, Litaniae Beatae Mariae Virginis, for 5 voices (1614)
• Paul Damance, Les Litanies de la Saint Vierge. (1707).
• Jan Dismas Zelenka, 10 Litanies ZWV 147–157.
• Johann Stamitz (1717-1757), Litaniae Lauretanae en do majeur pour voix seule, chœur et orchestre.
• Michel-Richard de Lalande, Litanies de la Saint Vierge à quatre parties, (music lost).
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier : 9 Litanies de La Vierge Marie :
  • H.82, for 3 voices and continuo;
  • H.83, for 6 voices and 2 treble viols;
  • H.84, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments, and continuo;
  • H.85, for soloists, chorus, flutes, strings, and continuo;
  • H.86, for 3 voices and continuo;
  • H.87, for soloists, chorus and continuo;
  • H.88, for soloists, chorus, and continuo;
  • H.89, for soloists, chorus, and continuo;
  • H.90, for soloists, chorus, and continuo. ( 1680 - 1690).
• Henry Du Mont, Les Litanies de la Vierge for 5 voices and continuo (1657), livre second.
• Paolo Lorenzani, Les Litanies à la Vierge, for 4 voices and continuo (after 1694)
• František Tůma, 20 Litanies de la Vierge Marie
• Charles d'Ambleville, Litanies de la Vierge.
• Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy, 4 Litanies de la Sainte Vierge.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Litaniae Lauretanae KV 109 and KV 195.
• Joseph Haydn, 12 Litanies ; (7 en do, Hob. XXIIIc2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 18, and 20 ; 2 en ré. Hob. XXIIId 6 & 7 ; 2 en fa. Hob. XXIIIf3 & 4 ; 1 en sol. Hob.XIIIg2).
• Luigi Cherubini, Litanies de la Vierge, for chorus (4 voices) and orchestra (1820)
• Charles Gounod, Litanies de la Sainte Vierge, for mixed chorus and organ. (1888)
• César Franck, Litanies de la Sainte Vierge, for 4 voices and organ (1888)
• Jules Massenet, Litanies de la Sainte Vierge, for chorus, organ or harmonium (1888)
• Ernest Reyer, Litanies de la Sainte Vierge, for 3 or 4 voices (1888)
• Ambroise Thomas, Litanies de la sainte Vierge , for 3 or 4 voices (1888)
• Alexandre Guilmant, 5 litanies en l'honneur de le Bienheureuse Vierge Marie, for 1, 2, 3 or 4 voices and organ or harmonium (1877)
• Léo Delibes, Litanies de la Sainte Vierge, pour choeur à 4 voix mixtes et orgue ou harmonium (1867)
• Simon Mayr, Litaniae Lauretanae in A major.
• Francis Poulenc, Litanies à la Vierge Noire (1936).
• Camille Saint-Saëns, Litanies à la Sainte Vierge pour soliste et orgue (1917).
• Joseph Auer, Lauretanische Litanei (1890).
• Johannes Habert, Lauretanische Litanei in A dur, N°2" (1877).
• Jehan Alain, Litanies for organ, opus 119A (1939)
• Sergio Antonio del Rio, Litanei zur Muttergottes (1998).^[21]
• Gilbert Amy, Litanies pour Ronchamp (2005)
• Thierry Escaich, Litanies pour un jubilé (2015)

Croats have several different folk musical settings (tunes) of litanies (in Herzegovina,^[22] Solin^[23] etc.).

• Marian devotions
• Marian litany
• Titles of Mary

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• The Litany of Loreto in Context, University of Dayton