"Regina caeli" (Ecclesiastical Latin:[reˈdʒinaˈtʃeli];Queen of Heaven) is a musicalantiphon addressed to theBlessed Virgin Mary that is used in theliturgy of theRoman Rite of theCatholic Church during theEaster season, fromEaster Sunday untilPentecost. During this season, it is theMarian antiphon that endsCompline (Night Prayer)[1] and it takes the place of the traditional thrice-dailyAngelus prayer.
In the past, the spellingRegina coeli was sometimes used,[2] but this spelling is no longer found in official liturgical books.
The antiphon itself consists of four lines:
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia:
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
The Son you merited to bear, alleluia,
Has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray to God for us, alleluia.[3]
Compline, as revised in 1969 after theSecond Vatican Council, ends with the antiphon alone. In the earlierRoman Breviary and in recitation atAngelus time duringEastertide, the followingversicle and the following prayer are added to the antiphon:
Translation:
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A verse translation in 7.7.7.7metre used in someAnglican churches is usually sung to thehymn tune known as the Easter Hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" (Jesus Christ is risen today) or the hymn tune "Ave Virgo Virginum" (Hail Virgin of virgins):
The authorship of "Regina caeli" is unknown. It has been traced back to the 12th century and is found in anantiphonary ofc. 1200 now inSt Peter's Basilica in Rome.[5] In the first half of the 13th century it was inFranciscan use, after compline.[citation needed]
Jacobus de Voragine's thirteenth-centuryGolden Legend includes a story that, during a procession with an image of the Blessed Virgin that was held to pray for the ending of a pestilence in Rome, angels were heard singing the first three lines of the "Regina caeli" antiphon, to whichPope Gregory the Great (590−604) thereupon added the fourth, after which he saw, atop what would consequently become known as theCastel Sant'Angelo, a vision of an angel sheathing his sword, thus signifying the cessation of the plague.[6]
As well as theplainsong melodies (a simple and an ornate form) associated with it, the "Regina caeli" has, since the 16th century, often been provided with polyphonic settings.[7]Pierre de Manchicourt's setting was published in 1539.[8]Tomás Luis de Victoria composed a setting for five voices in 1572[9] and another for eight voices in 1576.[10]Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina also composed at least two settings of the antiphon. A setting for four voices by Charles de Courbe dates from 1622,[11] andLully'smotetRegina coeli, laetare dates from 1684. 7Regina caeli, H.16, H.30, H.31, H.32, H.32 a, H.32 b, H.46, (1670–1680) have been composed byMarc-Antoine Charpentier. There are two settings byFrançois Giroust, three settings by the youngMozart (K. 108, K. 127, and K. 276), and one byBrahms (Op. 37 #3).[12]
Benedict XIV established the sameindulgences as theAngelus, i.e. those granted byBenedict XIII with theindult of 14 September 1724: plenary indulgence once a month, on a day of one’s choice, to those who, havingconfessed, contrited andcommunicated, had devoutly recited the prayer in the morning, at noon and in the evening, at the ringing of the bell, and 100 days of indulgence in the same way to those who had recited it in the other days, with the faculty not to lose the indulgence for those who recited theAngelus without knowing theRegina Caeli and subsequent faculty granted on 5 December 1727 to the religious busy at the ringing of the bell to recite the prayer at another time.[13]
Leo XIII (1878-1903) modified the conditions for obtaining the indulgence, making them easier. Until the reform of indulgences implemented byPope Paul VI in 1967[14] the sameindulgence was still granted.[15]
TheEnchiridion Indulgentiarum currently includes apartial indulgence for the faithful who recite theRegina Caeli at the three prescribed times of day during theEaster season.[16] Obtaining the indulgence does not require the recitation of theGloria Patri and what follows. This concession is given for texts approved by theHoly See, therefore it is necessary that the texts in the vernacular are approved by theEpiscopal Conferences and subsequently confirmed by theCongregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Therefore, differing translations are not indulged and can possibly be used for private performance. As with all indulgences, it is necessary to be in a state of grace; furthermore, the indulgence is applicable to oneself or the Poor Souls inPurgatory, but not to other living people on earth.[17]
Media related toRegina Coeli at Wikimedia Commons
