The History of the Angelus Prayer

Source: District of Asia

The Angelus derives its name from the first words evoking the account of the Annunciation: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ, the Angel of the Lord announced to Mary that she would be the mother of the Savior. It is traditionally recited in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, for example, before meals.

According to a plaque in the cathedral of Saintes (Charente-Maritime), the origin of this prayer can be traced to this location: "It is from this basilica that the Angelus spread to conquer the world. In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II requested that the bells of the cathedral and churches in Christendom be rung, morning and evening, so that prayers would be offered to the Virgin Mary for the success of the First Crusade, known as the Crusade of the Poor." At that time, the Angelus consisted only of the simple recitation of three Hail Marys in the morning and evening. Invoking the Mother of God with the angelic salutation was not insignificant, as the Muslims precisely rejected the mystery of the Incarnation, and consequently, the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying for them, and even in their name in a way, could only bring them graces of conversion.

After the First Crusade ended, the cathedral of Saintes continued its bell ringing and prayers morning and evening. Two centuries later, the French pope John XXII recommended that this pious custom be extended to the universal Church (Quam pium quam delicium bull, October 13, 1318, and Saluternum illud, May 3, 1327).

Another century would pass, and after a new disaster in Christendom, this prayer would also take place not only in the morning and evening but also at noon. The year 1453 indeed marked the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, and the end of the Byzantine Empire. Such a victory did not stop the Ottoman leader, Mehmed II. Waging relentless war against the Venetians and Genoese still present in the Eastern Mediterranean, he soon achieved one victory after another. Thus, in 1456, to confront this threatening expansion of Islam, Pope Callixtus III extended the recitation of the three Hail Marys not only to the morning and evening but also to noon, "for the conversion of Islam and for peace." This prescription was renewed by Popes Sixtus IV (1476) and Alexander IV (1500).

Did this prayer stop Islam at the gates of Europe? It is possible to assume so. Indeed, while Mehmet II had taken possession of some Venetian islands in the Adriatic (1479), one of his viziers landed in Italy and conquered Otranto (August 12, 1480), massacring 12,000 victims. But in 1481, Mehmet II suddenly collapsed, struck by an unknown ailment; he was only 49 years old. His death and the ensuing succession dispute marked the halt of Muslim conquests in European lands. It is not unreasonable to think that the Angelus of Callixtus III played a role in this...

But the Angelus only took its final form, as we know it today, under the pope of the victory at Lepanto (1571), Saint Pius V. The formula currently in use appeared for the first time in the revision of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, requested by this Dominican pope. This brief history reminds us how, in this 21st century, the Angelus prayer remains relevant. Praying in this way to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, while recalling the mystery of the Incarnation, is a powerful way to ask for the conversion of Muslims and for peace.

Abbé P. de LA ROCQUE

℣. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, 

℟. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

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.

℣. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, 

℟. Be it done unto me according to thy word. Hail Mary...

℣. And the Word was made flesh, 

℟. And dwelt among us. Hail Mary...

℣. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, 

℟. 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.