The beautiful Hail Mary prayer, or Ave Maria is one of the first prayers a Catholic should learn to pray in Latin. So many lovely hymns are based on the Hail Mary in Latin that it is worth learning for that reason alone!

But an even better reason to perfect this prayer is so that the entire Rosary can be prayed in Latin. (Click here if you’d like to read some good reasons to pray in Latin.)

• Origin of the Hail Mary
• Hail Mary in Latin
• Hail Mary in English
• Resources for the Ave Maria prayer
• Pronunciation Video

Origin of the Hail Mary

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, The Hail Mary, otherwise known as the ‘Ave Maria‘, or the ‘Angelic Salutation’ is comprised of three parts.

The first comes from Scripture: the words, “Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women” were uttered by the Angel Gabriel as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. (Lk 1:28)

The second part is also taken from Luke’s Gospel (Lk 1:42) and recalls the words of St. Elizabeth to Our Lady, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb”, followed by “blessed art thou among women” which is repeated in both relevant sections of Scripture.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent tells us that the final part of the prayer comes from the Church Herself:

“Most rightly has the Holy Church of God added to this thanksgiving, petition also and the invocation of the most holy Mother of God, thereby implying that we should piously and suppliantly have recourse to her in order that by her intercession she may reconcile God with us sinners and obtain for us the blessing we need both for this present life and for the life which has no end.”

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Hail Mary in Latin

Áve María, grátia plena, Dóminus tecum. Benedícta tu in muliéribus, et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta María, Máter Déi, ora pro nobis peccatóribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostræ. Amen.

Hail Mary in English

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among 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.

Resources for the Ave Maria

There are several resources on this website related to the Ave Maria prayer.

• Redimentes Tempus – a free mini-course teaching Latin through this prayer
• Latina Rosarii – a downloadable text which teaches introductory Latin and which is based on the prayers of the Rosary
• Ave Maria sorting cards which can be printed and used to reinforce your learning
• and a pronunciation video.

Pronunciation Video