TheLitany of the Saints (Latin:Litaniae Sanctorum) is a formalprayer of theRoman Catholic Church as well as theOld Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations ofEvangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations ofAnglo-Catholic churchmanship, andWestern Rite Orthodox communities.[1] It is a prayer to theTriune God, which also includes invocations for the intercession of theBlessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and all themartyrs andsaints upon whomChristianity was founded, and those recognised as saints through the subsequent history of the church. Following the invocation of the saints, the Litany concludes with a series of supplications toGod to hear the prayers of the worshippers. It is most prominently sung during theEaster Vigil,All Saints' Day, and in theliturgy for conferringHoly Orders, theConsecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or adiocesane hermit.
The definitive version of the Roman Catholic Litany of the Saints is a Latin text published in theRoman Gradual.[2] The current edition was published in 1974,[3] and contains a statement of approval from theCongregation for Divine Worship issued 24 June 1972. The current edition of the Roman Gradual was updated in 1979 to includeNeums from Ancient Manuscripts.[4]
The litany is published in five sections. The first contains a short series of invocations of God, beginning with a threefoldKyrie, followed by invocations ofGod the Father of Heaven, theSon who redeemed the world, theHoly Spirit, and theHoly Trinity.
The second section lists thesaints who are to be included, given in the following order. Within each category, men are listed in chronological order, followed by women, also in chronological order. Additional saints, such as the patron of a place or the founder of a religious order, may be inserted in the appropriate place. The official list of recognized saints can be found in theRoman Martyrology.
Certain names are grouped together by the litany itself (e.g. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael; Francis and Dominic); in the list above, a semi-colon always indicates the next line of the litany. Some priests and religious who are also Doctors of the Church (Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas Aquinas) are grouped with the "Priests and Religious", rather than with the "Bishops and Doctors". Strict chronological order is not followed in the case of the Jesuit, Francis Xavier (died 1552), who is placed after the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, who died in 1556.[5]
Part three of the litany is a series of petitions to Christ, the first 15 having the response, "free us O Lord", with a further 10 petitions ending "have mercy on us."
The fourth section includes a list of petitions endingte rogamus audi nos ("we beseech you to hear us") from which the appropriate prayers can be chosen for a particular occasion, but always ending with petitions for the whole church, for the ministers of the church, for the lay faithful and for all humanity. The rubrics printed before the litany indicate that other petitions "suitable to the occasion" and in the form proper to the Litany may be added "at the proper place".
The final part of the litany consists of a brief invocation calling on Christ to hear the prayers, and a closingcollect.
The Litany of the Saints is used prominently at theEaster Vigil, the Mass celebrated on the night beforeEaster Day. At this Mass, adults who have chosen to become Catholic receive the Sacraments of Initiation in the form ofBaptism, or simple Reception, withConfirmation andHoly Communion. Following the readings from Scripture and just before the actual rite of baptism or confirmation, the Litany of the Saints is sung. Even if there is no-one to be baptized, the Litany may be sung for the blessing ofholy water in the font. However, if the font is not blessed (i.e. holy water is blessed in a simple container on the sanctuary), the Litany is not used.
The Litany given for the Easter Vigil in theRoman Missal[6][7] contains a shortened list of saints:
A severely abbreviated form of the litany is given in the official text for the Rite ofBaptism of Children.[8] This consists only of the invocations of Mary Mother of God, St John the Baptist, St Joseph, St Peter and St Paul, and all holy men and women, with the addition of saints relevant to the circumstances of the baptism. In the rite the litany is immediately preceded by suggested orad hoc prayers for the child or children being baptized and family members present, and immediately followed by a prayer ofminor exorcism.
An extended form of the litany is also permitted for baptisms, beginning with a Kyrie, and followed by the same selection of saints used for the Easter Vigil (as listed above). The saints are followed by brief invocations of Christ and then petitions which include "Give new life to these chosen ones by the grace of baptism".
An expanded list is also specified in the ritualOrdo Rituum Conclavis for use during theconclave for the election of a new pope.[5][9] The additional saints are, in italics:
The Litany of the Saints is also prescribed[5] for ordination (different saints are added corresponding to the different grades of ordained ministry), religious profession, the blessing of an abbot, and the dedication of churches and altars.[10]
In theLatin version of the Litany, the names of one or more saints are chanted by acantor orchoir, and the congregants reply with either,Ora pro nobis (if one saint is addressed) orOrate pro nobis (using the plural imperative form of the verb, if more than one saint is addressed). Both responses translate to "Pray for us." However, it is permissible to personalize the Litany of the Saints for a funeral rite or other Mass for the dead. When this was done during the funerals of PopesJohn Paul II,Benedict XVI, andFrancis the response wasOra[te] pro eo, or "Pray for him."[5][11]
A Vatican recommendation[12] issued in 1988 proposes that the Litany can be appropriately used for the beginning of the Mass of the First Sunday of Lent, to offer a distinguishing mark for the beginning of Lent.
The iBreviary website offers a text in English[13] of the full Litany of the Saints expanded with many additional saints, drawn in part from the bespoke litanies for particular liturgical occasions. It includes a note that in ceremonies involving the pope, the canonized popes are moved from their usual place to form part of an expanded list of popes prior to other bishops and doctors.
In the late 1960s, Roman Catholic liturgical texts were changed according to the directives ofSacrosanctum Concilium, a key document of theSecond Vatican Council. The texts in use immediately prior to the Council, those of 1962, may still be used today by priests of theLatin Church under the conditions indicated in articles 4 and 5 of the 2021motu proprioTraditionis custodes.
The form of the litany in use prior to the Council is given in theRoman Ritual, published in a Latin-English edition in 1952.[14] TheCatholic Encyclopedia article available online[15] entirely reflects pre-Vatican II usage.
This Litany of the Saints begins with a threefoldKyrie, followed (as in the current version) by invocations ofGod the Father of Heaven, theSon who redeemed the world, theHoly Spirit, and theHoly Trinity. The names of the saints follow:
The litany then twice pleads with God to be merciful, and this is followed by 21 invocations for which the response isLibera nos, Domine ("O Lord, deliver us"), then 17 petitions with the responseTe rogamus, audi nos ("We beseech thee, hear us"). The final part of the litany consists of seven invocations of Christ, the first three under the title "Lamb of God".
The 2004Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partialindulgence to the faithfuls of Christ who piously pray the litanies.[16]
Litanies of the Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
| Litanies | |
| Litanies to Jesus Christ | |
| Marian Litanies | |
