The Hail Mary in Various Languages

This feature shows how international and widespread Mary's name and devotion have become over time.  There are more than 150 known language versions of the Hail Mary.  Thanks to the efforts of David G. Landsnes, M.D., indefatigable researcher of the angel's salutation, The Marian Library is able to offer many examples of the languages in which this most popular of all Marian prayers is said.  At the heart of Christian prayer is the name of Jesus.  There is no liturgical prayer that does not conclude with a reference to Our Lord.  The Hail Mary reaches its high point in the words "blessed is the fruit of your/thy womb, Jesus."  We detect two movements in this prayer which alternate with one another.  The first part magnifies in fact the Lord for the great things he did for his "lowly servant," whereas the second part entrusts the supplications and praises of the children of God to the Mother of Jesus.  The new Catechism of the Catholic Church has a wonderful page on the meaning of the Hail Mary. (see CCC 2676-2677)  Mary is the perfect figure of prayer (Orans).  "When we pray to her--says the Catechism--we are adhering with her to the plan of the Father, who sends his Son to save all men." (CCC 2679)

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This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by J. C. Tierney was last modified Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.

URL for this page is http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/flhm.html