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THE LITANY OF

THE SAINTS

The Litany of the saints is one of the oldest Catholic prayers still in use. It was prayed in

earlier forms in the procession of St. Mamertus, the Bishop of Vienna, in the fifth century,

and in St. Gregory the Greats Litania Septiformis !"se#enfold procession"$ of the clergy and

the faithful, which followed a terri%le spate of floods and disease in &ome in '(). Its stature

is such that it is one of only si* litanies authori+ed for use in pu%lic ser#ices %y the oly

See.

The Litany of the Saints is often recited or sung in a shorter form than the one gi#en %elow

!which is itself an a%ridged #ersion-$ on ll Saints /ay !naturally enough-$. It is a mo#ing

appeal for help from many of our greatest saints, as well as for di#ine protection.

The Litany of the Saints is also often a special part of %oth the 0aster Vigil !the mass in

which those who ha#e recei#ed instruction in our faith are %apti+ed$ and 1rdination Masses

for priests, deacons, and %ishops, as well.

It can %e prayed alone or in a group setting. !s in a church ser#ice, the group responds to

a leader with the italici+ed words %elow. 0ach response in the Litany of the Saints is

repeated after each line until a change appears.$

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Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father o heaven, have mercy on us. !re"eat ater each #ine$

God the Son, %edeemer o the &or#d,God the Ho#y Ghost,

Ho#y Trinity, one God,

Ho#y 'ary, pray for us !re"eat ater each #ine$

Ho#y 'other o God,

Ho#y (ir)in o vir)ins,

St. 'ichae#,

St. Ga*rie#,

St. %a"hae#,

A## you ho#y an)e#s and archan)e#s,

A## you ho#y orders o *#essed s"irits,

St. +ohn the a"tist,

St. +ose"h,A## you ho#y "atriarchs and "ro"hets,

St. -eter,

St. -au#,

St. Andre&,

St. +ames,

St. +ohn,

St. Thomas,

St. +ames,

St. -hi#i",

St. artho#ome&,

St. 'atthe&,

St. Simon,St. Thaddeus,

St. 'atthias,

St. arna*as,

St. Lue,

St. 'ar,

A## you ho#y a"ost#es and evan)e#ists,

A## you ho#y disci"#es o our Lord,

A## you ho#y innocents,

St. Ste"hen,

St. La&rence,

St. (incent,

SS. Fa*ian and Se*astian,SS. +ohn and -au#,

SS. Cosmas and /amian,

SS. Gervase and -rotase,

A## you ho#y 'artyrs,

St. Sy#vester,

St. Gre)ory,

St. Am*rose,

St. Au)ustine,

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St. +erome,

St. 'artin,

St. Nicho#as,

A## you ho#y *isho"s and conessors,

A## you ho#y doctors,

St. Anthony,

St. enedict,St. ernard,

St. /ominic,

St. Francis,

A## you ho#y "riests and #evites,

A## you ho#y mons and hermits,

St. 'ary 'a)da#en,

St. A)atha,

St. Lucy,

St. A)nes,

St. Ceci#ia,

St. Catherine,

St. Anastasia,A## you ho#y vir)ins and &ido&s,

A## you ho#y men and &omen, saints o God, intercede for us.

e merciu#, spare us, O Lord.

e merciu#, graciously hear us, O Lord.

From a## evi#, deliver us, O Lord. !re"eat ater each #ine$

From a## sin,

From Thy &rath,

From a sudden and un"rovided death,

From the deciets o the devi#,

From an)er, and hatred, and a## i##0&i##,

From the s"irit o ornication,

From #i)htnin) and tem"est,From the scour)e o earth1uaes,

From "#a)ue, amine and &ar,

From ever#astin) death,

y the mystery o Thy ho#y incarnation,

y Thy comin),

y Thy nativity,

y Thy *a"tism and ho#y astin),

y Thy Cross and -assion,

y Thy /eath and *uria#,

y Thy ho#y %esurrection,

y Thine admira*#e Ascension,

y the comin) o the Ho#y Ghost, the -arac#ete.On the day o 2ud)ment.

3e sinners, we beseech Thee, hear us !re"eat ater each #ine$

That Thou &ou#dst s"are us,

That Thou &ou#dst "ardon us,

That Thou &ou#dst *rin) us to true "enance,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to )overn and "reserve Thy Ho#y Church,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to "reserve our A"osto#ic -re#ate, and a##

ecc#esiastica# orders in ho#y re#i)ion,

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That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to hum*#e the enemies o ho#y Church,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to )ive "eace and true concord to Christian in)s

and "rinces,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to )rant "eace and unity to a## Christian "eo"#es,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to rin) *ac to the unity o the Church a## &ho have

strayed a&ay, and #ead to the #i)ht o the Gos"e# a## un*e#ievers,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to conirm and "reserve us in Thy ho#y service,That Thou &ou#dst #it u" our minds to heaven#y desires,

That Thou &ou#dst render eterna# *#essin)s to a## our *eneactors,

That Thou &ou#dst de#iver our sou#s, and the sou#s o our *rethren, re#atives, and

*eneactors rom eterna# damnation,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to )ive and "reserve the ruits o the earth,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae to )rant eterna# rest to a## the aithu# de"arted,

That Thou &ou#dst vouchsae )racious#y to hear us, Son o God,

Lam* o God, &ho taest a&ay the sins o the &or#d, spare us, O Lord.

Lam* o God, &ho taest a&ay the sins o the &or#d, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lam* o God, &ho taest a&ay the sins o the &or#d, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Our Father, etc. !inaudi*#y$

(. And #ead us not into tem"tation

%. ut de#iver us rom evi#.

The Litany of the Saints reminds us of a mo#ing line a%out them from one of the 0ucharistic

prayers to God the 2ather said at Mass3 4May their merits and prayers gain us 5our constant

help and protection.6