Hail Mary
Also known as: Ave Maria Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
English Text
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.
Translation tradition: Traditional English
Latin Text
Ave, Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum;
benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Scripture: Luke 1:28, 42
When to pray: Ten times per Rosary decade; traditional greeting before sermons; the Angelus; many Marian devotions.
History & Background
The first part of the Hail Mary derives directly from Scripture: the archangel Gabriel's greeting at the Annunciation (Lk 1:28) and Elizabeth's exclamation at the Visitation (Lk 1:42). The name "Jesus" was added to "the fruit of thy womb" by the Council of Ephesus (431), which defined Mary as Theotokos (Mother of God). The second part — the petition to Holy Mary, Mother of God — developed in the Western Church through the 11th–15th centuries and was fixed in its current form by Pope Pius V in the Roman Breviary of 1568. The Catechism of the Catholic Church devotes §§ 2676–2677 to the theological commentary on this prayer.
The Meaning of the Hail Mary Prayer
A Prayer Built From Scripture
Every line of the Hail Mary is drawn from the Bible or from the faith the Bible expresses. The prayer is not a medieval invention but a contemplative gathering of two moments in the Gospel of Luke, joined to a petition of the Church. Understanding those three parts (Gabriel's greeting, Elizabeth's blessing, and the Church's supplication) opens the prayer to a depth that repays a lifetime of reflection.
The First Half: Gabriel's Greeting at the Annunciation (Luke 1:28)
The prayer opens with the angel Gabriel's own words to Mary. The traditional liturgical wording prays, 'Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee,' rendering Luke 1:28. (The New American Bible, Revised Edition translates the same verse as 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.') The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that 'it is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary' (CCC 2676). When we begin the Hail Mary, we are therefore not composing our own flattery of Mary; we are repeating what God said to her first. The phrase 'full of grace' translates the Greek kecharitomene, a perfect passive participle that points to a grace already fully given. The Church understands this as the Immaculate Conception, the singular privilege by which Mary was preserved from original sin. As the Catechism notes, 'Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace' (CCC 2676).
The Second Half: Elizabeth's Blessing at the Visitation (Luke 1:42)
When the pregnant Mary arrived at the home of her cousin Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit moved Elizabeth to cry out: 'Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb' (Luke 1:42, NABRE). The prayer adds the name 'Jesus' to 'the fruit of thy womb,' a wording traditionally associated with the era of the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), the council that defined Mary as Theotokos, the God-bearer, Mother of God. The Catechism draws out Elizabeth's wonder: 'With Elizabeth we marvel, And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?' (CCC 2677). To pray the second half of the Hail Mary is to stand in Elizabeth's place and recognise who it is that Mary carries to us.
The Petition: Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for Us Sinners
The final part of the prayer belongs to the Church rather than directly to Scripture, though it is thoroughly biblical in spirit. It addresses Mary by the title the Council of Ephesus affirmed, 'Mother of God,' and makes one direct request: intercession. The Catechism explains: 'By asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners and we address ourselves to the Mother of Mercy, the All-Holy One. We give ourselves over to her now, in the Today of our lives. And our trust broadens further, already at the present moment, to surrender the hour of our death wholly to her care' (CCC 2677). The petition is therefore an act of humility, a recognition of our own need, and a trust that Mary's prayers are powerful because her Son listens to her, as he did at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11).
Is the Hail Mary Biblical?
Yes, in its foundations. The first half reproduces the angel's greeting (Luke 1:28) and Elizabeth's words (Luke 1:42). The title 'Mother of God' is grounded in Elizabeth's own phrase, 'the mother of my Lord' (Luke 1:43), and in the dogmatic definition of the Council of Ephesus. The petition for intercession reflects the biblical pattern of asking the holy to pray on our behalf (cf. Job 42:8; James 5:16). The prayer's full form was fixed in the Roman Breviary of Pope Pius V in 1568, but its scriptural roots stretch back to the first chapter of Luke.
Do Catholics Worship Mary?
No. The Church draws a firm and explicit line between the worship owed to God alone and the special veneration offered to Mary. The Catechism teaches that this devotion to the Virgin 'differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration' (CCC 971). When Catholics pray the Hail Mary, they are asking Mary to intercede, to pray for them, in the same way any Christian might ask a holy friend or a saint to pray on their behalf. Mary is not a source of grace; she points entirely to her Son. As the Catechism puts it, 'We can pray with and to her. The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary and united with it in hope' (CCC 2679).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Hail Mary in the Bible?
The first half of the Hail Mary comes directly from Scripture. The greeting echoes the angel Gabriel's words to Mary at the Annunciation (Luke 1:28), and 'Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb' are Elizabeth's Spirit-filled words at the Visitation (Luke 1:42, NABRE). The petition 'Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners' was added by the Church over later centuries, drawing on the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) and the biblical practice of asking the holy to intercede. The full prayer was fixed in the Roman Breviary of Pope Pius V in 1568.
Why do Catholics pray to Mary instead of directly to God?
Catholics do pray directly to God; the Lord's Prayer is the Church's premier prayer. Asking Mary to intercede is an additional practice, not a substitute. It follows the biblical pattern of asking others to pray for us (cf. James 5:16). Because Mary is the Mother of God and is now fully united with her risen Son in glory, the Church believes her intercession is powerful. The Catechism teaches that 'by asking Mary to pray for us, we acknowledge ourselves to be poor sinners' and entrust ourselves to her maternal care (CCC 2677). Catholics ask Mary to pray for them, not instead of God.
What does 'full of grace' mean in the Hail Mary?
The Greek word behind 'full of grace' is kecharitomene, a perfect passive participle indicating that Mary had already been completely filled with grace at the moment Gabriel addressed her (Luke 1:28). The Catechism explains: 'Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of him who is the source of all grace' (CCC 2676). The Catholic Church understands this as pointing to the Immaculate Conception, the teaching that Mary was preserved from original sin from the moment of her own conception, in anticipation of her Son's redeeming work.
How many times is the Hail Mary said in the Rosary?
The Hail Mary is prayed 53 times in a full five-decade Rosary: ten times in each of five decades, plus three times on the introductory beads. Each decade is also preceded by the Lord's Prayer and followed by the Glory Be. The Rosary meditates on scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary, and the repeated Hail Mary forms a contemplative background to that meditation. Pope St. John Paul II called the Rosary his favourite prayer and, in his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, described it as a compendium of the Gospel.
Related Prayers
Source
https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html verbatim