Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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.[7]

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.[8]

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, 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".[9]

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary was translated in the English form as:[10]

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.[8]

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.[8]

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.[8]

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.[8]

Part of a series on the
Mariology of the Catholic Church
Virgo by Josef Moroder-Lusenberg
Overview Prayers Antiphons Titles Hymns to Mary Devotional practices Saints Societies Consecrations and entrustments Veneration
Prayers Angelus Fátima prayers Flos Carmeli Hail Mary Hail Mary of Gold Immaculata prayer Magnificat Mary, Mother of Grace Mary Our Queen Memorare Sub tuum praesidium
Antiphons Alma Redemptoris Mater Ave Regina caelorum Regina caeli Salve Regina
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
Hymns to Mary Hail Queen of Heaven, the Ocean Star Immaculate Mary Avé de Fátima Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming O sanctissima Regina Caeli Stabat Mater
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)
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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".[8] The Litany of Loreto was first included in the Rituale Romanum in 1874, as an appendix.[7]

• 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 Oct., 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.[1][8]
• 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.[1]
• 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.[8] The title Queen conceived without original sin dates from 1843, some years before the official promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.[11]
• 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.[8]
• The addition Queen of peace was ordered by Pope Benedict XV in 1916.[12]
• 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 December 31, 1995, also by Pope John Paul II.[13]
• On June 20, 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.[14][15]

• Tomás Luis de Victoria, Litanies de la Vierge for two Chorus.
• Palestrina, 11 Litanies de la Vierge for 3,, 4, 5, and 8 voices.
• William Byrd, Laetania, for 4 voices
• Thomas Tallis, Laetania, for 5 voices
• 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).[16]
• Gilbert Amy, Litanies pour Ronchamp (2005)
• Thierry Escaich, Litanies pour un jubilé (2015)

• 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