Ave Maria Litany
A litany, in Christian worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. It is punctuated by fixed responses eg. “Pray for us.”
The ‘chorus/refrain’ of this litany is “Ave, Maria”, the Latin words meaning “Hail, Mary” – the first words of the prayer:
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
AVE MARIA, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.