The Litany of the Saints is the oldest and most solemn litany in the Catholic Church. Its roots reach back to the early centuries — fragments of the form appear in seventh-century Western liturgical books, and Pope Gregory the Great instituted the great litanic processions of Rome in 590, asking the faithful to call upon the saints by name in supplication during plague. The litany became part of the Easter Vigil baptismal liturgy at least by the eighth century. Its current Roman-rite text was formally fixed by Pope Pius V in 1568 and revised in the post-Vatican II liturgical reform (1969). The structure unfolds in five major movements: (1) Kyrie eleison invocations and Trinitarian petitions; (2) the great roll-call of saints by name — Blessed Virgin Mary first, then archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael), patriarchs and prophets (Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist), apostles and evangelists (Peter, Paul, Andrew, John, James, etc.), martyrs (Stephen, Lawrence, Polycarp, Ignatius of Antioch, Cyprian, Sebastian, Agatha, Agnes), confessor-bishops and doctors (Athanasius, Basil, Gregory, Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose), founders and virgins (Anthony of the Desert, Benedict, Francis, Dominic, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila); (3) petitions of deliverance ('From all evil, deliver us, O Lord'); (4) petitions of supplication ('That You would govern and preserve Your holy Church, we beseech You, hear us'); (5) closing Agnus Dei and collect. The litany is one of the principal prayers of the Catholic liturgy and is used at: the Easter Vigil (during the Liturgy of Baptism), Holy Saturday baptisms, priestly and episcopal ordinations (the candidates lie prostrate while the gathered church sings the litany over them), the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) at the Rite of Election, the dedication of a church, the consecration of altars, and the conferral of religious vows. It is also customary in many parishes on the Solemnity of All Saints (November 1), at funerals of priests and religious, in moments of grave public need (war, pandemic, natural disaster), and as the closing prayer of pilgrimage processions. The litany names many saints; the local diocese or community is also free to add the patron saints of the local church.
15 min
Duration
1 day
Commitment
Intermediate
Level
The Litany of the Saints is prayed responsively, usually chanted in liturgical settings. A leader (priest, deacon, or trained cantor) intones the invocation; the assembly responds with the appropriate formula. The responses follow the structure: 'Pray for us' after each saint named or group of saints; 'Deliver us, O Lord' after each invocation of deliverance ('From all evil…'); 'We beseech You, hear us' after each petition of supplication ('That You would…'). The litany takes approximately fifteen to twenty minutes when sung at solemn pace in a liturgical setting; somewhat less when prayed at home in spoken form. For private devotion, the litany may be prayed from any approved printed text (the Roman Missal, a parish prayer book, or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website all carry the official Latin and English texts). When prayed at home, sit, stand, or kneel as you wish; the litany's pace is contemplative rather than rushed. The litany is appropriately used: (1) at All Saints (November 1) and All Souls (November 2) as the family prayer of those days; (2) at the bedside of someone gravely ill or dying — many Catholic hospital chaplains pray the litany as last rites approach; (3) at the start of a major pilgrimage or family undertaking, asking the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) to surround the petitioners; (4) in time of plague, disaster, or public emergency, in continuity with Gregory the Great's institution of the litanic processions during the Roman plague of 590. The litany's particular spiritual gift is the felt-presence of the communion of saints — the truth that the faithful praying on earth and those triumphant in heaven are one body in Christ, distinct in their stations but united in their prayer.
Coordinate sustained prayer for someone you love. Volunteers fill 30-minute slots covering days or weeks; the family receives a spiritual bouquet at the end.
Invite a small group to pray this with you. Everyone gets the same prayer text, the same rhythm, the same intention.