Litanies mariales

Texte officiel vérifié : Archidiocèse de Madrid, Église du Christ-Victoria — PDF « Saint Rosaire — Litanies de Lorette avec les ajouts du pape François 2020 ». Ce texte correspond à celui du site officiel vatican.va.

1. Que sont les litanies ?

From the Greek litaneía (supplication). A responsorial prayer: the celebrant or leader says an invocation, and the assembly responds. An ancient structure of Christian worship, already present in the processions of the fourth century.

An important distinction:

Official liturgical litanies: approved by the Church for public use. Only five are recognized for public worship and may be included in blessings, processions and other liturgical celebrations: of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, of the Sacred Heart, of the Most Precious Blood, of Loreto (to the Virgin) and of Saint Joseph.
Private devotional litanies: popular piety, the domestic setting or small communities. Many of them (Immaculate Heart, Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary, local titles).

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (Congregation for Divine Worship, 2002), n. 203, recalls that Marian litanies belong to the devotional heritage, but “must not replace, but rather lead to, the Liturgy”.

2. Litanies de Lorette — texte officiel complet

Origine et histoire

Shrine of Loreto (Italy, the house of Nazareth translated according to tradition). Its primitive form is attested in the sixteenth century.
Official approval: the bull Reddituri of Sixtus V, 11 July 1587.
Additions throughout the centuries (the principal ones):
- Auxilium Christianorum — Help of Christians: added by Pius V after the victory of Lepanto (1571), although the canonical formulation is dated to the late sixteenth century.
- Mater Immaculata / Regina sine labe originali concepta — Queen conceived without original sin: after the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (Pius IX, 1854).
- Mater Boni Consilii — Mother of Good Counsel: added by Leo XIII in 1903.
- Regina Sanctissimi Rosarii — Queen of the Most Holy Rosary: approved by Leo XIII in 1883.
- Regina Pacis — Queen of Peace: introduced by Benedict XV in 1917, during the First World War.
- Regina assumpta in caelum — Queen assumed into Heaven: added by Pius XII after the dogmatic definition of the Assumption in 1950.
- Mater Ecclesiae — Mother of the Church: added by Saint John Paul II in 1980, taking up the title proclaimed by Paul VI in 1964.
- Regina familiae — Queen of the family: added by Saint John Paul II in 1995.
- Mater misericordiae, Mater spei, Solacium migrantium — Mother of mercy, Mother of hope, Solace of migrants: added by Pope Francis, decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship of 20 June 2020 (letter of Cardinal Robert Sarah to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences).

Texte intégral en anglais (Litanie de Lorette avec les ajouts du pape François 2020)

V. Seigneur, ayez pitié. R. Seigneur, ayez pitié. V. Christ, ayez pitié. R. Christ, ayez pitié. V. Seigneur, ayez pitié. R. Seigneur, ayez pitié.

V. Christ, écoutez-nous. R. Christ, écoutez-nous. V. Christ, daignez nous exaucer. R. Christ, daignez nous exaucer.

V. Dieu le Père du ciel, R. ayez pitié de nous. V. Dieu le Fils, Rédempteur du monde, R. ayez pitié de nous. V. Dieu le Saint-Esprit, R. ayez pitié de nous. V. Sainte Trinité, un seul Dieu, R. ayez pitié de nous.

(To each invocation that follows, the response is: “pray for us”.)

Sainte Marie,
Sainte Mère de Dieu,
Sainte Vierge des vierges,
Mère du Christ,
Mère de l'Église,
Mother of Mercy, (added in 2020)
Mère de la divine grâce,
Mother of Hope, (added in 2020)
Mère très pure,
Mère très chaste,
Mère inviolée,
Mère immaculée,
Mère très amicale,
Mère très admirable,
Mère de bons conseils,
Mère de notre Créateur,
Mère de notre Sauveur,
Vierge très prudente,
Très vénérable Vierge,
Le plus renommé de Virgin,
Vierge la plus puissante,
Vierge très miséricordieuse,
Vierge très fidèle,
Miroir de la justice,
Siège de la sagesse,
Cause de notre joie,
Réceptacle spirituel,
Vase d'honneur,
Réceptacle singulier de dévotion,
Rose mystique,
Tour de David,
Tour d'Ivoire,
Maison d'or,
Arche d'Alliance,
Porte du ciel,
étoile du matin,
La santé des malades,
Refuge des pécheurs,
Solace of migrants, (added in 2020)
Consolateur des affligés,
Aide des chrétiens,
Reine des Anges,
Reine des patriarches,
Reine des Prophètes,
Reine des Apôtres,
Reine des Martyrs,
Reine des Confesseurs,
Reine des Vierges,
Reine de tous les saints,
Reine conçue sans péché originel,
Reine assumée au Ciel,
Reine du très saint Rosaire,
Reine de la famille,
Reine de la paix.

V. Agneau de Dieu, qui enlèves le péché du monde, R. ayez pitié de nous. V. Agneau de Dieu, qui enlèves le péché du monde, R. exaucez-nous. V. Agneau de Dieu, qui enlèves le péché du monde, R. ayez pitié de nous.

V. Priez pour nous, sainte Mère de Dieu. R. Afin que nous soyons rendus dignes des promesses du Christ.

Prière de conclusion

Grant, we beseech you, O Lord God, that we your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body, and, by the glorious intercession of the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary, be delivered from present sorrow and enjoy eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

3. Commentaire sur quelques invocations

Causa nostrae laetitiae — Cause of our joy. A medieval invocation. Mary is the cause of joy because she brought the Savior into the world. Saint Bede the Venerable linked Gabriel’s greeting “Ave, gratia plena” with the prophetic cry of Zephaniah 3:14: “Rejoice, O daughter of Zion!”. Christian joy is not sentimental optimism: it is the certainty of salvation, and Mary embodied it first.

Mater divinae gratiae — Mother of divine grace. By giving the world Christ, the source of all grace, Mary is called Mother of grace. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains it in III, q. 27, a. 5: “The fullness of grace was owed to the Blessed Virgin because she conceived the very Author of grace”.

Speculum iustitiae — Mirror of justice. Biblical justice is the uprightness that unites man with God. Mary reflected perfectly the holiness of her Son. Saint Bernard: “Speculum sine macula”, a spotless mirror. It takes up Wisdom 7:26 applied to Wisdom: “a spotless mirror of the working of God”.

Sedes sapientiae — Seat of Wisdom. A medieval Roman image: the Virgin seated with the Child-Wisdom on her knees. Christ is the eternal Wisdom of the Father (1 Cor 1:24); Mary is the living throne that bears him.

Rosa mystica — Mystical Rose. A medieval symbol. The rose, queen of flowers, alludes to Mary’s unique beauty among creatures. The “mystical rose” also refers to the “rosary”, a crown of spiritual roses.

Stella matutina — Morning star. She who announces the Sun, Christ. Saint Bernard in his sermon “De aquaeductu”: “Respice stellam, voca Mariam” (look at the star, call upon Mary).

Solacium migrantium — Solace of migrants. Added by Francis in 2020. Mary fled to Egypt with Joseph and the Child (Mt 2:13-15): every forced migration finds refuge in her. The universal Church invokes her for those who leave their land.

4. Autres litanies mariales traditionnelles

Litanies bibliques à la Vierge Marie

Un recueil de prières modernes rassemblant des invocations mariales tirées directement des Saintes Écritures. Approuvé pour un usage privé, il est largement diffusé dans les groupes d'étude biblique. Quelques exemples :

Fille de Sion (Sophonie 3:14)
Servante du Seigneur (Lc 1,38)
Plein de grâce (Lc 1,28)
Bénie entre toutes les femmes (Lc 1,42)
La femme du Magnificat (Lc 1, 46-55)
Mère du Sauveur (Lc 2,11)
La femme aux noces de Cana (Jn 2,1-11)
Femme au pied de la Croix (Jn 19,25)
Mère du disciple bien-aimé (Jn 19,27)
La femme dans la chambre haute (Actes 1:14)
Femme revêtue du soleil (Apocalypse 12:1)

Litanies du Cœur Immaculé de Marie

Approved by Pius XII in 1942 after the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart (31 October 1942). Private and devotional use. They include invocations such as: Immaculate Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Word made flesh / ark of the new covenant / summit of holiness / our refuge and that of sinners…

Litanies de l'Immaculée Conception

Une tradition espagnole et hispano-américaine, particulièrement enracinée après le dogme de 1854. Usage dévotionnel.

Litanies de Notre-Dame de Guadalupe

An American devotion. It combines Loreto titles with invocations proper to Tepeyac: Star of evangelization / Mother of Juan Diego / Dawn of salvation for America…

5. Lorsque les litanies sont récitées

At the end of the Holy Rosary (the most widespread use).
Marian processions, especially in May (the month of Mary) and October (the month of the Rosary).
Novenas and Marian triduums.
Votive Mass of Our Lady, as a devotional conclusion after the celebration (not within the eucharistic Liturgy).
Blessings of the Ritual that provide for them.

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (n. 195) specifies: the litanies “do not replace the Liturgy, but rather prolong it in domestic and communal piety”.

Sources

Official text of the Litany of Loreto with the 2020 additions — Archdiocese of Madrid, parish of Cristo de la Victoria — downloadable PDF at cristodelavictoria.archimadrid.es. Identical to the one published on vatican.va.
Vatican.va, Litany of Loreto — https://www.vatican.va/special/rosary/documents/litanie-lauretane_sp.html
Letter of Cardinal Robert Sarah (20 June 2020), Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments — https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/es/bollettino/pubblico/2020/06/20/letan.html
Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (CDWDS, 17 December 2001), nn. 195-203 — vatican.va
Bull Reddituri of Sixtus V (1587) — official approval of the Litany of Loreto.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 2673-2682 (“Prayer to the Holy Mother of God”).

🌹 Toutes les prières à la Vierge Marie · Angélus et Regina Caeli

The Litany of Loreto