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Litany of the Saints
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Litany of the Saints
The Litany of the Saints (Latin: Litaniae Sanctorum) is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, and Western Rite Orthodox communities. It is a prayer to the Triune God, which also includes invocations for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and all the martyrs and saints upon whom Christianity 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 to God to hear the prayers of the worshippers. It is most prominently sung during the Easter Vigil, All Saints' Day, and in the liturgy for conferring Holy Orders, the Consecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or a diocesane hermit. Its extensive use for special liturgies, high degree of adaptability, typical inclusion of many popular saints, and wide-ranging invocations have made it one of the Church’s most popular prayers and an emblematic expression of Catholic spirituality.
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 1974, and contains a statement of approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship issued 24 June 1972. The current edition of the Roman Gradual was updated in 1979 to include Neums from Ancient Manuscripts.
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. 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 the Roman 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.
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.
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Litany of the Saints
The Litany of the Saints (Latin: Litaniae Sanctorum) is a formal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Old Catholic Church, Lutheran congregations of Evangelical Catholic churchmanship, Anglican congregations of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship, and Western Rite Orthodox communities. It is a prayer to the Triune God, which also includes invocations for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Angels and all the martyrs and saints upon whom Christianity 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 to God to hear the prayers of the worshippers. It is most prominently sung during the Easter Vigil, All Saints' Day, and in the liturgy for conferring Holy Orders, the Consecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or a diocesane hermit. Its extensive use for special liturgies, high degree of adaptability, typical inclusion of many popular saints, and wide-ranging invocations have made it one of the Church’s most popular prayers and an emblematic expression of Catholic spirituality.
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 1974, and contains a statement of approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship issued 24 June 1972. The current edition of the Roman Gradual was updated in 1979 to include Neums from Ancient Manuscripts.
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. 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 the Roman 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.
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.