From the Church’s beginnings, prayers to Virgin Mary have held a place of honor for Catholics.
Here are some of the most fundamental and majestic.
These prayers prayers to Virgin Mary take varied forms. Most of them combine:
- Prayers to God, modeled after the faith of Mary.
- Meditations on the Incarnation, Mary’s unique role in salvation history, or her perfect examples of virtues like faith, humility, and charity.
- Prayers to Mary, asking for her help and protection.
Like all prayers to Saints, our prayers to Virgin Mary rely on the Saints’ special power to intercede for us before Christ and the Father. But since Mary has a unique role in salvation, and a unique relationship to the Trinity, our prayers to the Blessed Virgin also rely on her special power of intercession.
“Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church. When we pray to her, we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men. Like the beloved disciple we welcome Jesus’ mother into our homes, for she has become the mother of all the living. We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope.” (Catechism, 2679)
“Because of Mary’s singular cooperation with the action of the Holy Spirit, the Church loves to pray in communion with the Virgin Mary, to magnify with her the great things the Lord has done for her, and to entrust supplications and praises to her.” (Catechism, 2682)
This is a collection of some of the more cherished Catholic prayers to Virgin Mary.
Hail Mary
The Hail Mary is a well-loved and beautiful basic Catholic prayer. It’s one of the essential prayers to Virgin Mary. It combines two lines from Scripture (Lk 1:28 and Lk 1:42) with a humble request for Mary to pray for us.
The Angelus
The Angelus is a meditation on the Incarnation, and Mary’s role in it. Like all prayers to Virgin Mary, we ask her for guidance and prayers. The first three verses are taken from Scripture.
The Angelus is traditionally said daily at 12 noon. Many Catholic churches ring their church bells at noon, the _Angelus bells_, to call the faithful to prayer.
This is often said as a group prayer, with the leader speaking the V parts and the group responding with the R lines. If you’re saying it alone, just read both parts together.
Prayer of Intercession to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
V. O God, come unto my assistance;
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father, etc.
R. As it was, etc.
I. Immaculate Virgin, who being conceived without sin, didst direct every movement of thy most pure heart toward God, and wast always submissive to His divine will; obtain for me the grace to hate sin with all my heart and to learn from thee to live in perfect resignation to the will of God.
Our Father once and Hail Mary seven times.
II. O Mary, I wonder at that profound humility, which troubled thy blessed heart at the message of the Angel Gabriel, that thou hadst been chosen to be the Mother of the Son of the most high God, the while thou didst profess thyself His lowly handmaiden; ashamed at the sight of my own pride, I beg of thee the grace of a contrite and humble heart, so that, acknowledging my misery, I may come to attain the glory promised to those who are truly humble of heart.
Our Father once and Hail Mary seven times.
III. Blessed Virgin, who didst keep in thy heart the precious treasure of the words of Jesus thy Son and, pondering over the sublime mysteries therein contained, couldst live only for God, how am I confounded by the coldness of my heart! Ah, dear Mother, obtain for me the grace of meditating always on the holy law of God, and of seeking to follow thine example in the fervent practice of all the Christian virtues.
Our Father once and Hail Mary seven times.
IV. O glorious Queen of Martyrs, whose sacred heart, in the Passion of thy Son, was cruelly pierced by the sword foretold by the holy and aged Simeon; obtain for my heart true courage and holy patience to bear well the tribulations and trials of this wretched life; may I show myself to be thy true child by crucifying my flesh and all its desires in following the mortification of the Cross.
Our Father once and Hail Mary seven times.
V. O Mary, mystic rose, whose lovable heart, burning with the living fire of love, adopted us as thy children at the foot of the Cross, becoming thus our most tender Mother, make me experience the sweetness of thy motherly heart and the power of thine intercession with Jesus, in all the dangers that beset me during life, and especially at the dread hour of my death; in such wise may my heart be ever united to thine, and love Jesus both now and through endless ages. Amen.
Our Father once and Hail Mary seven times.