The Angelus
Also known as: Angelus Domini Angelus
English Text
V. The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary… V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to thy word. Hail Mary… V. And the Word was made flesh. R. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary… V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Translation tradition: Traditional English
Latin Text
V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae.
R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Ave Maria…
V. Ecce ancilla Domini.
R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
Ave Maria…
V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
R. Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria…
V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus.
Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine,
mentibus nostris infunde;
ut qui, angelo nuntiante,
Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus,
per passionem eius et crucem,
ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 1:26–38; John 1:14
When to pray: Three times daily at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM; Sundays with the Pope's broadcast.
History & Background
The Angelus is a devotional prayer recited three times daily — at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM — marking the hours with a bell. The practice of ringing a bell at evening and reciting three Hail Marys is attested from the 13th century; the Franciscans spread the evening bell under Pope Callixtus III (c. 1456). The noon ringing, originally a peace-prayer following conflicts with the Turks, was propagated by Pope Leo X (1517). The morning bell was added later, fixing the three-daily pattern. The current complete form, with versicles and the concluding collect, developed in the 16th century and appears in its settled form in the Roman Breviary of Pope Pius V (1568). Popes regularly recite and broadcast the Angelus from the Vatican on Sundays and feast days. During the Easter season (from Easter Sunday to Pentecost) it is replaced by the Regina Caeli.
The Meaning of the Angelus Prayer
A Daily Pause at the Heart of the Incarnation
The Angelus takes its name from its opening versicle — Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae, 'The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary' — and it draws the faithful back, three times a day, to the single most decisive moment in human history: the Word becoming flesh. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that 'the Annunciation to Mary inaugurates the fullness of time, the time of the fulfillment of God's promises and preparations. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the whole fullness of deity would dwell bodily' (CCC 484). Every recitation of the Angelus is a deliberate re-entry into that moment of fulfillment.
Structure: Three Versicles, Three Hail Marys, One Collect
The prayer is built on a tight, three-part biblical architecture. Each versicle announces a movement in the drama of the Annunciation — the angel's message, Mary's conceiving by the Holy Spirit, and the Word made dwelling among us — and each is followed by a Hail Mary prayed in response. The versicles are drawn almost verbatim from Luke 1:26-38 and John 1:14, and the concluding collect asks that, through Christ's passion and resurrection, we may attain the glory he promised. In his 1974 apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI commended the Angelus for 'its simple structure, its biblical character, its historical origin' and observed that it 'reminds us of the Paschal Mystery, in which recalling the Incarnation of the Son of God we pray that we may be led through his passion and cross to the glory of his resurrection' (§41). The Angelus thus honors Mary precisely by gazing through her at the mystery of God-made-man.
Mary's Fiat and Our Own
The pivotal movement of the prayer is Mary's answer: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38). The Catechism explains that, espousing the divine will for salvation wholeheartedly, 'she gave herself entirely to the person and to the work of her Son; she did so in order to serve the mystery of redemption with him and dependent on him, by God's grace' (CCC 494). When the faithful pray the Angelus, they are not merely recalling a past event — they are renewing their own fiat, surrendering to God's will in the present hour just as Mary surrendered at Nazareth. The three Hail Marys woven into the structure deepen this: they are an act of solidarity with Mary's 'yes,' offered through her intercession to the same God who asked it of her.
The Bell and the Sanctification of Time
The custom of ringing the Angelus bell at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM reaches back centuries. Paul VI praised the prayer's 'quasi-liturgical rhythm which sanctifies different moments during the day' (§41), connecting it to the ancient practice of pausing for prayer at set hours — a rhythm the Church has always valued (cf. Ps 55:17; Dan 6:10). The bell interrupts work, travel, and the noise of daily life with the announcement that at this ordinary hour, God once entered ordinary time. As Paul VI noted, for most people the characteristic periods of the day — morning, noon, and evening — still mark their activity and offer an invitation to pause in prayer.
Regina Caeli in Eastertide
From Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday, the Church replaces the Angelus with the Regina Caeli — 'Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.' This substitution, established by Pope Benedict XIV in 1742, is not an interruption of the Angelus tradition but its completion. Marialis Cultus itself observes that the Angelus, in recalling the Incarnation, already prays that we may be led through Christ's passion and cross 'to the glory of his resurrection' (§41). The Easter antiphon simply shifts from contemplating the moment of the Incarnation to celebrating its fruit: the Resurrection. Together, the Angelus and the Regina Caeli form a single, year-round prayer that keeps the faithful anchored to the two mysteries at the center of the faith — God becoming man, and that man rising from the dead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Angelus prayer and why is it prayed three times a day?
The Angelus is a short Catholic prayer commemorating the Annunciation — the moment the angel Gabriel told Mary she would conceive the Son of God, and she said yes. It is traditionally prayed at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM, marked by the ringing of a bell, to sanctify the morning, midday, and evening with a brief meditation on the Incarnation. Pope Paul VI praised this 'quasi-liturgical rhythm which sanctifies different moments during the day' in his 1974 apostolic exhortation Marialis Cultus.
What does the Angelus prayer mean?
The Angelus meditates on three Scripture-based versicles — the angel's announcement to Mary (Lk 1:26-28), her conceiving by the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35), and the Word becoming flesh (Jn 1:14) — each followed by a Hail Mary. Its deep meaning is a daily return to the Incarnation: the moment God entered human history through Mary's free and faithful 'yes.' The Catechism teaches that the Annunciation 'inaugurates the fullness of time, the time of the fulfillment of God's promises' (CCC 484).
Why is the Regina Caeli prayed instead of the Angelus during Easter?
From Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, the Church replaces the Angelus with the Regina Caeli ('Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia'), a substitution established by Pope Benedict XIV in 1742. The Angelus is ordered toward the Incarnation; the Regina Caeli celebrates its fruit — Christ's Resurrection. Paul VI noted in Marialis Cultus that the Angelus itself leads the faithful 'through his passion and cross to the glory of his resurrection,' so the Easter antiphon is the natural completion of what the Angelus anticipates throughout the rest of the year.
Is the Angelus the same as the Hail Mary?
No, though the Hail Mary is prayed three times within the Angelus. The full Angelus consists of three scriptural versicles (each announcing a moment of the Annunciation), three Hail Marys (one after each versicle), and a concluding collect prayer asking to share in Christ's resurrection. The Hail Mary itself is rooted in the angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary (Lk 1:28) and Elizabeth's exclamation (Lk 1:42), which the Catechism describes as a 'privileged expression' of Marian prayer (CCC 2676).
Related Prayers
Source
https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html verbatim