Litany of the Saints

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The Litany of the Saints (

Consecration of a Virgin and reception of the perpetual vows of a religious or a diocesane hermit
.

Catholic practice

The Litany of the Saints is usually sung during ordination mass when the candidates to be ordained lay prostrate

The definitive version of the Roman Catholic Litany of the Saints is a Latin text published in 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.[3]

The litany is published in five sections. The first contains a short series of invocations of God, beginning with a threefold

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,[clarification needed] 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 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.[4]

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.

At the Easter Vigil

The Litany of the Saints is used prominently at the

Holy 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 of holy 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 the Roman Missal[5][6] contains a shortened list of saints:

  • Holy Mary,
    Teresa of Jesus (i.e. of Avila)
    ; and all holy men and women, Saints of God.

At infant baptisms

A severely abbreviated form of the litany is given in the official text for the Rite of

minor 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".

At the election of a pope

An expanded list is also specified in the ritual Ordo Rituum Conclavis✓for use during the

conclave for the election of a new pope.[4][8]
The additional saints are, in italics:

In other ceremonies

The Litany of the Saints is also prescribed[4] 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.[9]

In the

Funeral of Pope John Paul II and recently the Funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the response was Ora[te] pro eo, or "Pray for him."[4][10]

A Vatican recommendation[11] 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[12] 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.

Pre-Vatican II practice

In the late 1960s, Roman Catholic liturgical texts were changed according to the directives of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a key document of the Second Vatican Council. The texts in use immediately prior to the Council, those of 1962, may still be used today by priests of the Latin Church, freely if celebrating without the people, under the conditions indicated in article 5 of the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum if with the people.

The form of the litany in use prior to the Council is given in the Roman Ritual, published in a Latin-English edition in 1952.[13] The Catholic Encyclopedia article available online[14] entirely reflects pre-Vatican II usage.

This Litany of the Saints begins with a threefold

Holy 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 is Libera nos, Domine ("O Lord, deliver us"), then 17 petitions with the response Te 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".

Indulgence

The 2004

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithfuls of Christ who piously pray the litanies.[15]

References

  1. ISBN 978-2-85274-094-5
    . Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Graduale Romanum" (PDF).
  3. ISBN 978-2-85274-094-5
    in Latin
  4. ^ a b c d The Litany of Saints in the Liturgy, William Fitzgerald, O. Praem., Adoremus November 2008, accessed 3 November 2021
  5. ^ The Roman Missal: English Translation according to the Third Typical Edition, version for England & Wales, Scotland and Australia, published by Catholic Truth Society, 2010, translated from the 2002 Latin edition of the Roman Missal as amended in 2008; rubrics at page 405; litany at page 406.
  6. ^ ICEL extract for singing the Litany at the Easter Vigil, accessed 8 October 2012
  7. ICEL
    as amended 1984; short litany at page 20; extended litany at pages 165-166.
  8. ISBN 978-88-209-6943-1
    . Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  9. ^ Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar, 1978, ICEL
  10. ^ Body Theology: Litany of the Saints, accessed 28 October 2012
  11. ^ Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts (paragraph 23), Congregation for Divine Worship, 20 February 1988, accessed 28 October 2012
  12. ^ iBreviary Litany of Saints, accessed 28 October 2012
  13. ^ The Roman Ritual in Latin and English with Rubrics and Plainchant Notation. Translated and edited by Philip T. Weller. Volume II: Christian Burial, Exorcism, Reserved Blessings, etc. Originally published 1952 by The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee. Reprinted 2007 by Preserving Christian Publications Inc., New York. Pages 453–457.
  14. ^ Litany of the Saints from the Catholic Encyclopedia accessed 28 October 2012
  15. Enchiridion Indulgentiarum
    .quarto editur, Concessiones, 22 2°
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