Prayers

The following are common Catholic prayers are in Latin.

  • Signum Crucis (Sign of the Cross)

The familiar and time honored Sign of the Cross can be traced back in one form or another to the first century. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who make the Sign of the Cross.

In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

  • Symbolum Apostolorum (Apostles’ Creed)

The Apostles’ Creed can trace its ancestry in one for or another, back to the time of the Apostles. The present form first appeared in the 6th century in the writings of Caesarius of Arles (d. 542), but prior versions can be traced back to 340 AD in a letter to Pope Julius I and even still further back to a circa 200 document containing the Roman baptismal liturgy.

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Jesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem et vitam aeternam. Amen.

  • Doxologia Minor (Glory Be)

A short expression of praise to the Trinity from the very early Church. The first part appears to be from a baptismal formula and the second part was added as an anti-Arian statement. It is used extensively in the Divine Office and also many other devotions such as the Rosary.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

  • Oratio Dominica (The Lord’s Prayer)

This prayer was given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself when the apostles asked Him to teach them to pray (Mt. 6:9-13) and has been an important prayer since. The Didache (1st/2nd century catechism) commends the prayer to be recited by the faithful three times during the day. In the latter part of the 4th century, it became an official part of the Mass where it was originally recited after the breaking of the bread. Later, Pope Gregory the Great, influenced by St. Augustine, moved it to just before the fractioning where it has been ever since. Today, the Didache’s tradition of reciting the prayer thrice daily continues in the Church with the Lord’s prayer being recited at Mass and then twice more during the Divine Office, at Lauds and Vespers.

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

  • Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

The Ave Maria is taken from the Gospel of St. Luke and joins together the words of the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation (Lk 1:28 ) together with Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary at the Visitation (Lk 1:42).

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

  • Oratio Fatima (The Fatima Prayer)

Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indignet.

  • Prayer after the Rosary

This prayer is the Collect for the Mass of the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 7th as still used in the Tridentine Latin Rite of Mass.

Oremus. - Deus, cujus Unigenitus per vitam, mortem et resurrectionem suam nobis salutis aeternae praemia comparavit; concede, quaesummus; ut haec mysteria sacratissimo beatae Mariae Virginis Rosario recolentes, et imitemur quod continent, et quod promittunt assequamur. Per eumdum Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

  • Hail Holy Queen

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae; Vita dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrymarum valle. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, Illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte: Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, Nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria. V/. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix. R/. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.