Litany of The Saints - Ordinary Roman Catholic Practice

Ordinary Roman Catholic Practice

The definitive version of the Roman Catholic Litany of the Saints is a Latin text published in the Roman Gradual. The current edition was published in 1979, and contains a statement of approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship issued 24 June 1972.

The litany is published in five sections. The first contains a short series of invocations of God, beginning with a threefold Kyrie, followed by invocations of God the Father of Heaven, the Son who redeemed the world, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Trinity.

The second section lists the saints 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. Distinctive names are given in brackets so the cantor knows which saint is intended, but a directive notes that the bracketed names may be omitted when the Latin is sung. 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 recognised saints can be found in the Roman Martyrology.

• The Virgin Mary and the Angels: Mary is invoked three times, as Holy Mary, as Holy Mother of God and as Holy Virgin of Virgins; the following invocations are: Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael; all holy angels.

• Patriarchs and Prophets: Abraham; Moses; Elijah; John the Baptist; Joseph; all holy patriarchs and prophets.

• Apostles and disciples: Peter and Paul; Andrew; John and James; Thomas; Matthew; All Holy Apostles; Luke; Mark; Barnabas; Mary Magdalen; all holy disciples of the Lord.

• Martyrs: Stephen; Ignatius (of Antioch); Polycarp; Justin; Laurence; Cyprian; Boniface; Stanislaus; Thomas (Becket); John (Fisher) and Thomas (More); Paul (Miki); John (de Brebeuf) and Isaac (Jogues); Peter (Chanel); Charles (Lwanga); Perpetua and Felicity; Agnes; Maria (Goretti); All holy martyrs.

• Bishops and Doctors of the Church : Leo and Gregory; Ambrose; Jerome; Augustine; Athanasius; Basil and Gregory (Nazianzen); John Chrysostom; Martin; Patrick; Cyril and Methodius; Charles (Borremeo); Francis (de Sales); Pius (X).

• Priests and Religious : Anthony; Benedict; Bernard; Francis and Dominic; Thomas (Aquinas); Ignatius (Loyola); Francis (Xavier); Vincent (de Paul); John-Mary (Vianney); John (Bosco); Catherine (of Siena); Teresa (of Avila); Rose (of Lima)

• Laity: Louis; Monica; Elisabeth (of Hungary); and all Saints of God.

Note that 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. Note also that Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila, the first women to be named as Doctors of the Church (in 1970) are nevertheless grouped with the Religious, not 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.

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 ending te 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 closing collect.