Litany of Loreto

Despite the fact that, from the seventeenth century onwards, the Litany of Loreto

has been the subject of endless panegyrics and ascetical writings, there is a

great lack of documentary evidence concerning its origin, the growth and

development of the litany into the forms under which we know it, and as it was for

the first time definitely approved by the Church in the year 1587. Some writers

declare that they know nothing of its origin and history; others, on the contrary,

trace it back to the translation of the Holy House (1294); others, to Pope Sergius

I (687); others, again, to St. Gregory the Great or to the fifth century; while others

go as far back as the earliest ages of the Church, and even Apostolic times.

Historical criticism, however, proves it to be of more recent origin, and shows that

it was composed during the early years of the sixteenth century or the closing

years of the fifteenth. The most ancient printed copy hitherto discovered is that of

Dillingen in Germany, dating from 1558; it is fairly certain that this is a copy of an

earlier Italian one, but so far, in spite of much careful research, the oldest Italian

copy that the writer has been able to discover dates from 1576.

In form, the Litany of Loreto is composed on a fixed plan common to several

Marian litanies already in existence during the second half of the fifteenth

century, which in turn are connected with a notable series of Marian litanies that

began to appear in the twelfth century and became numerous in the thirteenth

and fourteenth. The Loreto text had, however, the good fortune to be adopted in

the famous shrine, and in this way to become known, more than any other, to

the many pilgrims who flocked there during the sixteenth century. The text was

brought home to the various countries of Christendom, and finally it received for

all time the supreme ecclesiastical sanction.

Appended is a brief résumé of the work published by the present writer on this

subject, the reference being to the revised and enlarged French edition of 1900,

suplemented by any new matter brought to light since that time.

Sauren claims that the first and oldest Marian litany is a pious laus to the Virgin

in the "Leabhar Breac", a fourteenth-century MS., now in the library of the Royal

Irish Academy, and written "in the purest style of Gaedhlic", according to

O'Curry, who explained its various parts. This laus of fifty-nine eulogies on the

Virgin occurs on fol. 121, and O'Curry calls it a litania, attributing it at the latest

to about the middle of the eighth century. But it has not at all the form of a

lintany, being rather a sequence of fervent praises, like so many that occur in the

writings of the Fathers, especially after the fourth century. As a matter of fact, Dr.

Sicking has shown that the entire laus of the "Leabhar Breac" is copied almost

word for word from the first and third of the "Sermones Dubii" of St. Ildephonsus.

The earliest genuine text of a Marian litany thus far known is in a twelfth-century

codex in the Mainz Library, with the title "Letania de domina nostra Dei genitrice

virgine Maria: oratio valde bona: cottidie pro quacumque tribulatione recitanda

est". It is fairly long, and was published in part by Mone, and in its entirety by the

present writer. It opens with the usual "Kyrie Eleison"; then follow the invocations

of the Trinity, but with amplifications, e.g. "Pater de celis deus, qui elegisti

Mariam semper virginem, miserere nobis"; these are followed by invocations of

the Virgin Mary in a long series of praises, of which a brief selection will be

enough: "Sancta Maria, stirps patriarcharum, vaticinium prophetarum, solatium

apostolorum, rosa martirum, predicatio confessorum, lilium virginum, ora pro

nobis benedictum ventris tui fructum"; "Sancta Maria, spes humilium, refugium

pauperum, portus naufragantium, medicina infirmorum, ora pro nobis benedictum

ventris tui fructum"; etc. This goes on for more than fifty times, always repeating

the invocation "Sancta Maria", but varying the laudatory titles given. Then, after

this manner of the litanies of the saints, a series of petitions occur, e.g.: "Per

mundissimum virgineum partum tuum ab omni immundicia mentis et corporis

liberet nos benedictus ventris tui fructus"; and farther on, "Ut ecclesiam suam

sanctam pacificare, custodire, adunare et regere dignetur benedictus ventris tui

fructus, ora mater virgo Maria." The litany concludes with the "Agnus", also

amplified, "Agne dei, filius matris virginis Marie qui tollis peccata mundi, parce

nobis Domine", etc.

Lengthy and involved litanies of this type do not seem to have won popularity,

though it is possible to find other examples of a like kind. However, during the

two centuries that followed, many Marian litanies were composed. Their form

remains uncertain and hesitating, but the tendency is always towards brevity and

simplicity. To each invocation of "Sancta Maria" it becomes customary to add

only one praise, and these praises show in general a better choice or a better

arrangement. The petitions are often omitted or are changed into ejaculations in

honour of the Blessed Virgin.

A litany of this new form is that of a codex in the Library of St. Mark's, Venice,

dating from the end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century. It

is found, though with occasional variants, in many manuscripts, a sure sign that

this text was especially well known and favourably received. It omits the

petitions, and consists of seventy-five praises joined to the usual invocation,

"Sancta Maria". Here is a short specimen, showing the praises to be met with

most frequently also in other litanies of that or of later times: "Holy Mary, Mother

and Spouse of Christ, pray for me [other MSS. have "pray for us"–the "pray" is

always repeated]; Holy Mary, Mother inviolate; Holy Mary, Temple of the Holy

Ghost; Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven; Holy Mary, Mistress of the Angels; Holy

Mary, Star of Heaven; Holy Mary, Gate of Paradise; Holy Mary, Mother of True

Counsel; Holy Mary, Gate of Celestial Life; Holy Mary, Our Advocate; Holy Mary,

brightest Star of Heaven; Holy Mary, Fountain of True Wisdom; Holy Mary,

unfailing Rose; Holy Mary, Beautly of Angels; Holy Mary, Flower of Patriarchs;

Holy Mary, Desire of Prophets; Holy Mary, Treasure of Apostles; Holy Mary,

Praise of Martyrs; Holy Mary, Glorification of Priests; Holy Mary, Immaculate

Virgin; Holy Mary, Splendour of Virgins and Example of Chastity", etc.

The first Marian litanies must have been composed to foster private devotion, as

it is not at all probable that they were written for use in public, by reason of their

drawn-out and heavy style. But once the custom grew up of reciting Marian

litanies privately, and of gradually shortening the text, it was not long until the

idea occurred of employing them for public devotion, especially in cases of

epidemic, as had been the practice of the Church with the litanies of the Saints,

which were sung in penitential processions and during public calamities. Hence it

must be emphasized that the earliest certain mention we have of a public recital

of Marian Litanies is actually related to a time of pestilence, particularly in the

fifteenth century. An incunabulum of the Casanatensian Library in Rome, which

contains the Venice litanies referred to above, introduces them with the following

words: "Oraciones devote contra imminentes tribulaciones et contra pestem". At

Venice, in fact, these same litanies were finally adopted for liturgical use in

processions for plague and mortality and asking for rain or for fair weather.

Probably they began to be sung in this connection during the calamities of the

fifteenth century; but in the following century we find them prescribed, as being

an ancient custom, in the ceremonials of St. Mark's, and they were henceforth

retained until after the fall of the republic, i.e., until 1820.

In the second half of the fifteenth century we meet another type of litany which

was to be publicly chanted tempore pestis sive epydimic. The invocations are

very simple and all begin, not with the words "Sancta Maria", but with "Sancta

mater", e.g.: Sancta mater Creatoris; Sancta mater Salvatoris; Sancta mater

munditie; Sancta mater auxilii; Sancta mater consolationis; Sancta mater

intemerata; Sancta mater inviolata; Sancta mater virginum, etc. At the end,

however, are a few short petitions such as those found in the litanies of the

saints.

Before going further, it may be well to say a few words on the composition of the

litanies we have been considering. With regard to their content, which consists

mainly of praises of the Blessed Virgin, it would seem to have been taken not so

much from the Scriptures and the Fathers, at least directly, as from popular

medieval Latin poetry. To be convinced of this, it suffices to glance through the

Daniel and Mone collections, and especially through the "Analectica Hymnica

medii ævi" of DrevesBlume. In the earlier and longer litanies whole rhythmic

strophes are to be found, taken bodily from such poetry, and employed as

praises of the Blessed Virgin. With regard to their form, it is certain that those

who first composed the Marian litanies aimed at imitating the litanies of the

Saints which had been in use in the Church since the eighth century. During the

Middle Ages, as is well known, it was customary to repeat over and over single

invocations in the litanies of the saints, and thus we find that the basic principle

of the Marian litanies is this constant repetition of the invocation, "Sancta Maria,

ora pro nobis." And in order that this repetition might not prove monotonous in

the Middle Ages recourse was had to an expedient since then universally used,

not only in private devotions but even in liturgical prayer, that of amplifying by

means of what are called tropes or farcituræ. They had a model in the Kyrie of

the Mass, e.g. "Kyrie, fons bonitatis, pater ingenite, a quo bona cuncta

procedunt, eleison." It was an easy matter to improvise between the "Sancta

Maria" and the "Ora pro nobis", repeated over and over, a series of tropes

consisting of different praises, with an occasional added petition, imitated

however broadly from the litanies of the saints. Thus the Marian litany was

evolved.

Gradually the praises became simpler; at times the petitions were omitted, and,

from the second half of the fifteenth century, the repetition of the "Sancta Maria"

began to be avoided, so that the praises alone remained, with the

accompaniment "Ora pro nobis". This made up the new group of litanies which

we must now consider. The connecting link between the litanies we have

discussed and this new group may have been a litany found in a manuscript of

prayers, copied in 1524 by Fra Giovanni da Falerona. It consists of fifty-seven

praises, and the "Sancta Maria" is repeated, but only at intervals of six or seven

praises, perhaps because the shape or size of the parchment was so small that

it held only six or seven lines to the page, and the copyist contented himself with

writing the "Sancta Maria" once at the head of each page. But, because of its

archaic form, this litany must be considerably anterior to 1524, and may have

been copied from some fifteenth-century MS. The praises are chosen in part from

previous litanies, and in part they are original. Moreover, their arrangement is

better and more varied. The first place is given to praises bestowed on the name

of "Mater"; then come those expressing the Blessed Virgin's tender love for

mankind; then the titles given her in the creeds; then those beginning with

"Regina", which are identical with those we now have in the Litany of Loreto. Two

new titles are introduced: "Causa nostræ lætitiæ" and "Vas spirituale", which are

not found in earlier litanies. Noteworthy also are three invocations, "Advocata

christianorum", "Refugium desperatorum", "Auxilium peccatorum", which passed

by an easy change into the "Refugium peccatorum" and "Auxilium christianorum"

of the Litany of Loreto. In a word, if we omit the petitions of this older form, and

its reiteration of the "Sancta Maria", we have a litany which in the choice and

arrangement of praises comes very close to the Litany of Loreto.

Now there are many similar examples in which the litany consists of praises

alone without the repetition of the "Sancta Maria", and in which arrangement and

form come nearer and nearer to the Litany of Loreto. Such are: (1) a litany in a

manuscript of the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome (formerly, No. 392; second half of

the fifteenth century; fol. 123). Except for light variants, it is identical with one

printed at Venice in 1561, and another printed at Capri in 1503; (2) a litany found

in a manuscript missal of the sixteenth century; (3) a litany printed at Venice in

two different editions of the "Officium B. Virginis" in 1513 and 1545; (4) a litany

found in a codex of the "Compagnia della Concezione di Maria SS." of

Fiorenzuola d'Arda (Piacenza), founded in 1511; (5) a litany found in a codex of

the priory of Sts. Philip and James, Apostles, at Montegranaro, in which the

baptisms during the years 1548-58 are recorded. This litany is the shortest of all

and the closest in similarity to that of Loreto.

This form of litany was widely circulated, both in script and in print, during the

sixteenth century. A comparison of the texts will show that they contain the

praises in the Loreto Litany, with two exceptions: the "Virgo prudentissima" of

the Loreto Litany is found as "Virgo prudens", and the "Auxilium christianorum",

though it appears in no text before this time, is, as remarked above, an easy

variant of the litany of 1524. So far no MS. of the Loreto Litany has been

discovered, but it cannot be doubted that it is nothing more than a happy

arrangement of a text belonging to the last group. And, moreover, it may be laid

down as probable that the Loreto text became customary in the Holy House

towards the close of the fifteenth century, at a time when in other places similar

litanies were being adapted for public use to obtain deliverance from some

calamity. It is only in 1531, 1547, and 1554, that the documents afford

indications of litanies being sung in that sanctuary, though the text is not given.

The earliest printed copy of the Litany of Loreto so far known is that of Dillingen,

which is undated and seems to belong to the end of 1557 or the beginning of

1558. As. Dr. Paulus, following up a discovery made by Gass, has observed, it

was probably published and circulated in Germany by Blessed Canisius. It is

entitled: "Letania Loretana. Ordnung der Letaney von unser lieben Frawen wie sie

zu Loreto alle Samstag gehalten" (Order of the Litany of Our Lady as said every

Saturday at Loreto). The text is just the same as we have it today, except that it

has "Mater piissima" and "Mater mirabilis", where we have "Mater purissima" and

"Mater admirabilis". Further, the invocations "Mater creatoris" and "Mater

salvatoris" are wanting, though this must be due to some oversight of the editor,

since they are found in every manuscript of this group; on the other hand, the

"Auxilium christianorum" is introduced though it does not occur in the other

texts. We find this title in a Litany of Loreto printed in 1558. As already shown in

the writer's book on this subject, Pope Pius V could not have introduced the

invocation "Auxilium christianorum" in 1571 after the Battle of Lepanto, as stated

in the sixth lesson of the Roman Breviary for the feast of S. Maria Auxiliatrix (24

May); and to this conclusion the Dillingen text adds indisputable evidence.

The Litany of Loreto had taken root at Loreto, and was being spread throughout

the world, when it ran the grave risk of being lost forever. St. Pius V by Motu

Proprio of 20 March, 1571, published 5 April, had prohibited all existing offices of

the B. V. Mary, disapproving in general all the prayers therein, and substituting a

new "Officium B. Virginis" without those prayers and consequently without any

litany. It would seem that this action on the part of the pope led the clergy of

Loreto to fear that the text of their litany was likewise prohibited. At all events, in

order to keep up the old time custom of singing the litany every Saturday in

honour of the Blessed Virgin, a new text was drawn up containing praises drawn

directly from the Scriptures, and usually applied to the Bl. Virgin in the Liturgy of

the Church. This new litany was set to music by the choirmaster of the Basilica

of Loreto, Costanzo Porta, and printed at Venice in 1575. It is the earliest setting

to music of a Marian litany that we know of. In the following year (1576) these

Scriptural litanies were printed in two different handbooks for the use of pilgrims.

In both they bear the title: "Litaniæ deipare Virginis ex Sacra Scriptura

depromptæ quæ in alma Domo lauretana omnibus diebus Sabbathi, Vigiliarum et

Festorum decantari solent". But in the second handbook, the work of Bernardine

Cirillo, archpriest of Loreto, the old text of the litany is also printed, though with

the plainer title, "Aliæ Litaniæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis", a clear sign that it was

not quite forgotten.

On 5 Feb., 1578, the archdeacon of Loreto, Giulio Candiotti, sent to Pope

Gregory XIII the "Laudi o lettanie moderne della sma Vergine, cavate dalla sacra

Scrittura" (New praises or litanies of the most holy Virgin, drawn from Sacred

Scripture), with Porta's music and the text apart, expressing the wish that His

Holiness would cause it to be sung in St. Peter's and in other churches as was

the custom at Loreto. The pope's reply is not known, but we have the opinion of

the theologian to whom the matter was referred, in which the composition of the

new litany is praised, but which does not judge it opportune to introduce it into

Rome or into church use on the authority of the pope, all the more because Pius

V "in reforming the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin completely abolished,

among other things, some proper litanies of the Blessed Virgin which existed in

the old [office], and which (if I remember rightly) were somewhat similar to

these". The judgment concludes that the litany might be sung at Loreto as a

devotion proper to this shrine, and if others wanted to adopt it they might do so

by way of private devotion.

This attempt having failed, the Scriptural litany straightway began to lose favour,

and the Loreto text was once more resumed. In another manual for pilgrims,

published by Angelita in that same year 1578, the Scriptural litany is omitted,

and the old Loreto text appears with the title: "Letanie che si cantano nella Santa

Casa di Loreto ogni Sabbato et feste delle Madonna". In a new edition (1584) of

Angelita's book, the Scriptural litany is restored but relegated to a secondary

position, though included under the title "Altre letanie che si cantano", etc. From

this it is clear that for a time both litanies were in use at Loreto. But in

subsequent editions of Angelita's manual, and in other manuals of devotion, the

Scriptural litany is printed with the bare title "Litaniæ ex S. Scriptura

depromptæ", until the seventeenth century when it disappears altogether.

Meanwhile, thanks to Angelita's manuals, the Loreto text was introduced

elsewhere, and even reached Rome, when Sixtus V, who had entertained a

singular devotion for Loreto, by the Bull "Reddituri" of 11 July, 1587, gave formal

approval to it, as to the litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, and recommended

preachers everywhere to propagate its use among the faithful.

On the strength of this impulse given to the Litany of Loreto, certain ascetical

writers began to publish a great number of litanies in honour of the Saviour, the

B. Virgin, and the saints, often ill-advised and containing expressions

theologically incorrect, so that Pope Clement VIII had promulgated (6 Sept.,

1601) a severe decree of the Holy Office, which, while upholding the litanies

contained in the liturgical books as well as the Litany of Loreto, prohibited the

publication of new litanies, or use of those already published in public worship,

without the approbation of the Congregation of Rites.

At Rome the Litany of Loreto was introduced into the Basilica of S. Maria

Maggiore by Cardinal Francesco Toledo in 1597; and Paul V, in 1613, ordered it

to be sung in that church, morning and evening, on Saturdays and on vigils and

feasts of the Madonna. As a result of this example the Loreto Litany began to be

used, and is still largely used, in all the churches of Rome. The Dominicans, at

their general chapter held at Bologna in 1615, ordered it to be recited in all the

convents of their order after the Office on Saturdays at the end of the customary

"Salve Regina". Before this they had caused the invocation "Regina sacratissimi

rosarii" to be inserted in the litany, and it appears in print for the first time in a

Dominican Breviary dated 1614, as has been pointed out by Father Walsh, O.P.,

in "The Tablet", 24 Oct., 1908. Although by decree of 1631, and by Bull of

Alexander VII (1664), it was strictly forbidden to make any additions to the

litanies, another decree of the Congregation of Rites, dated 1675, permitted the

Confraternity of the Rosary to add the invocation "Regina sacratissimi rosarii",

and this was prescribed for the whole Church by Leo XIII (24 Dec., 1883). By

decree of 22 April, 1903, the same pope added the invocation "Mater boni

consilii", which, under the form of "Mater veri consilii", was contained in the

Marian litany used for centuries in St. Mark's Venice, as indicated above. In 1766

Clement XIII granted Spain the privilege of adding after "Mater intemerata" the

invocation "Mater immaculata", which is still customary in Spain,

notwhthstanding the addition of "Regina sine labe originali concepta". This last

invocation was originally granted by Pius IX to the Bishop of Mechlin in 1846,

and, after the definition of the Immaculate Conception (1854), the congregation

by various rescripts authorized many dioceses to make a like addition, so that in

a short time it became the universal practice. For these various decrees of the

Congregation of Rites, see Sauren, 27-29; 71-78.

DE SANTI, Le Litanie lauretaine in Civiltà Cattolica (Dec., 1896-April, 1897); ibid. (Nov., 1899),

456-62; ibid. (Dec., 1899), 637-38; published in book form: DE SANTI, Le litanie lauretane (Rome,

1897); French tr. BOUDINHON, Les Litanies de la Sainte Vierge (Paris, 1900); Germ. tr., NÖRPEL,

Die lauretanische Litanei (Paderborn, 1900); VOGEL, De ecclesiis Recanat. et Lauret., I (Recanati,

1859), 315-30; SAUREN, Die lauretanische Litanei (Kempten, 1895); SICKING, Twee litanien der

H. Maagd in De Katholick (Leyden, 1900), 329-36; GASS, Die Alter der lauretanischen Litanei in

Strassburger Diöcesenblatt (1901), 264-68; PAULUS, Die Einführung der lauretanischen Litanei in

Deutschland durch den seligen Canisius in Zeitsch. für kath. theol. (1902), 572-83; WALSH, Regina

Sacratissimi Rosarii in The Tablet (24 Oct., 1908), 656; DE SANTI, Per la storia delle Litanie

lauretane in Civilta Cattolica (Nov., 1900), 302-13.

Angelo De Santi

Transcribed by WGKofron

With thanks to St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX

Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor

Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org