Litany of the Saints

Litaniae Sanctorum
Litany | Intercessory | Liturgical 📜 Earliest form: 8th Century ✍️ unknown, no single authoer. 🕯️ Used liturgically
Latina

Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

Opening Kyries and Trinity KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, OW-dee nohs. KREE-steh, ex-OW-dee nohs. PAH-ter deh CHEH-lees, DEH-oos, mee-ZEH-reh-reh NOH-bees. FEE-lee, reh-demp-TOR MOON-dee, DEH-oos, mee-ZEH-reh-reh NOH-bees. SPEE-ree-toos SANK-teh, DEH-oos, mee-ZEH-reh-reh NOH-bees. SANK-tah TREE-nee-tahs, OO-noos DEH-oos, mee-ZEH-reh-reh NOH-bees. Our Lady and Angels SANK-tah MAH-ree-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah DEH-ee jeh-NEE-triks, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah VIR-goh VIR-jih-noom, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh mee-KAH-el, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh gah-bree-EL, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh rah-fah-EL, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee AN-jeh-lee et ark-AN-jeh-lee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee beh-ah-TOH-room spee-REE-too-oom OR-dee-nays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles SANK-teh ee-oh-AH-nays bahp-TIS-tah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ee-OH-zef, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee pah-tree-AR-keh et proh-FEH-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh PEH-treh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh POW-leh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh AN-dreh-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh YAH-koh-beh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ee-oh-AH-nays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh TOH-mah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh FEE-lee-peh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh bar-toh-loh-MAY-eh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh maht-TAY-eh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh SEE-mon, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh thahd-DAY-eh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh LEE-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh KLEH-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh KLEH-mens, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh SIK-steh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh kor-NEH-lee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh kip-ree-AH-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh low-REN-tsee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh kree-SOH-goh-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tee ee-oh-AH-nays et POW-leh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tee KOZ-mah et dah-mee-AH-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee ah-pos-TOH-lee et eh-van-jeh-LIS-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee dis-CHEE-poo-lee DOH-mee-nee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee in-noh-CHEN-tays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. Martyrs SANK-teh STEH-fah-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh maht-TEE-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh bar-NAH-bah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ig-NAH-tsee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ah-lek-SAN-der, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh mar-cheh-LEE-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh PEH-treh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah feh-lee-CHEE-tahs, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah per-PEH-too-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah ah-GAH-tah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah LOO-chee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah AHN-yays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah cheh-CHEE-lee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah ah-nah-STAH-zee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee MAR-tee-rays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. Confessors, Doctors, and Religious SANK-teh sil-VES-ter, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh GREH-goh-ree, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh AM-broh-zee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ow-goos-TEE-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh hee-eh-ROH-nee-meh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh MAR-tee-neh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh nee-koh-LAH-eh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee pon-TEE-fee-chays et kon-fes-SOH-rays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee dok-TOH-rays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh AN-toh-nee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh beh-neh-DIK-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh ber-NAR-deh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh doh-MEE-nee-cheh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-teh fran-CHIS-cheh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee sah-cher-DOH-tays et leh-VEE-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee moh-NAH-kee et eh-reh-MEE-teh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. Holy Women SANK-tah MAH-ree-ah mahg-dah-LEH-nah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah ah-GAH-tah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah LOO-chee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah AHN-yays, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah cheh-CHEE-lee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah kah-tah-REE-nah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. SANK-tah ah-nah-STAH-zee-ah, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-teh VIR-jih-nays et VEE-doo-eh, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. OM-nays SANK-tee et SANK-teh DEH-ee, OH-rah proh NOH-bees. Deprecations — libera nos, Domine Ab OM-nee MAH-loh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ab OM-nee peh-KAH-toh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ab EE-rah TOO-ah, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah soo-bee-TAH-neh-ah et im-proh-VEE-zah MOR-teh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ab in-SEE-dee-ees dee-AH-boh-lee, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ab EE-rah, et OH-dee-oh, et OM-nee MAH-lah voh-loon-TAH-teh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah SPEE-ree-too for-nee-kah-tsee-OH-nis, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah FOOL-goo-reh et tem-PES-tah-teh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah FLAH-jeh-loh teh-reh-MOH-toos, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah PES-teh, FAH-meh et BEL-loh, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Ah MOR-teh per-PEH-too-ah, LEE-beh-rah nohs, DOH-mee-neh. Obsecrations and Supplications — te rogamus, audi nos Per mis-TEH-ree-oom SANK-teh in-kar-nah-tsee-OH-nis TOO-eh, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per ad-VEN-toom TOO-oom, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per nah-tee-vee-TAH-tem TOO-ahm, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per bahp-TIS-moom et SANK-toom ee-yoo-NEE-oom TOO-oom, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per KROO-chem et pas-see-OH-nem TOO-ahm, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per MOR-tem et seh-pool-TOO-rahm TOO-ahm, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per SANK-tahm reh-zoo-rek-tsee-OH-nem TOO-ahm, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per ahd-mee-RAH-bee-lem as-SEN-see-OH-nem TOO-ahm, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Per ad-VEN-toom SPEE-ree-toos SANK-tee pah-rah-KLEE-tee, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. In DEE-eh ee-OO-dee-chee-ee, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Oot NOH-bees PAR-chahs, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Oot NOH-bees in-DOOL-jeh-ahs, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Oot ehk-KLEH-zee-ahm TOO-ahm SANK-tahm REH-jeh-reh et kon-ser-VAH-reh dig-NEH-ris, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Oot nohs ex-OW-dee-reh dig-NEH-ris, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. FEE-lee DEH-ee, teh roh-GAH-moos, OW-dee nohs. Agnus Dei and Closing AHN-yoos DEH-ee, kwee TOL-lees peh-KAH-tah MOON-dee, PAR-cheh NOH-bees, DOH-mee-neh. AHN-yoos DEH-ee, kwee TOL-lees peh-KAH-tah MOON-dee, ex-OW-dee nohs, DOH-mee-neh. AHN-yoos DEH-ee, kwee TOL-lees peh-KAH-tah MOON-dee, mee-ZEH-reh-reh NOH-bees. KREE-steh, OW-dee nohs. KREE-steh, ex-OW-dee nohs. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son.

Christe, audi nos. Christe, exaudi nos. Pater de caelis, Deus, miserere nobis. Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, miserere nobis. Spiritus Sancte, Deus, miserere nobis. Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere nobis.

Responsum: ora pro nobis

Sancta Maria, Sancta Dei Genitrix, Sancta Virgo virginum, Sancte Michael, Sancte Gabriel, Sancte Raphael, Omnes sancti Angeli et Archangeli, Omnes sancti beatorum Spirituum ordines, Sancte Ioannes Baptista, Sancte Ioseph, Omnes sancti Patriarchae et Prophetae, Sancte Petre, Sancte Paule, Sancte Andrea, Sancte Iacobe, Sancte Ioannes, Sancte Thoma, Sancte Iacobe, Sancte Philippe, Sancte Bartholomaee, Sancte Matthaee, Sancte Simon, Sancte Thaddaee, Sancte Line, Sancte Clete, Sancte Clemens, Sancte Sixte, Sancte Corneli, Sancte Cypriane, Sancte Laurenti, Sancte Chrysogone, Sancti Ioannes et Paule, Sancti Cosma et Damiane, Omnes sancti Apostoli et Evangelistae, Omnes sancti Discipuli Domini, Omnes sancti Innocentes, Sancte Stephane, Sancte Matthia, Sancte Barnaba, Sancte Ignati, Sancte Alexander, Sancte Marccelline, Sancte Petre, Sancta Felicitas, Sancta Perpetua, Sancta Agatha, Sancta Lucia, Sancta Agnes, Sancta Caecilia, Sancta Anastasia, Omnes sancti Martyres, Sancte Silvester, Sancte Gregori, Sancte Ambrosi, Sancte Augustine, Sancte Hieronyme, Sancte Martine, Sancte Nicolae, Omnes sancti Pontifices et Confessores, Omnes sancti Doctores, Sancte Antoni, Sancte Benedicte, Sancte Bernarde, Sancte Dominice, Sancte Francisce, Omnes sancti Sacerdotes et Levitae, Omnes sancti Monachi et Eremitae, Sancta Maria Magdalena, Sancta Agatha, Sancta Lucia, Sancta Agnes, Sancta Caecilia, Sancta Catharina, Sancta Anastasia, Omnes sanctae Virgines et Viduae, Omnes Sancti et Sanctae Dei,

Responsum: libera nos, Domine

Ab omni malo, Ab omni peccato, Ab ira tua, A subitanea et improvisa morte, Ab insidiis diaboli, Ab ira, et odio, et omni mala voluntate, A spiritu fornicationis, A fulgure et tempestate, A flagello terraemotus, A peste, fame et bello, A morte perpetua,

Responsum: te rogamus, audi nos

Per mysterium sanctae incarnationis tuae, Per adventum tuum, Per nativitatem tuam, Per baptismum et sanctum ieiunium tuum, Per crucem et passionem tuam, Per mortem et sepulturam tuam, Per sanctam resurrectionem tuam, Per admirabilem ascensionem tuam, Per adventum Spiritus Sancti Paracliti, In die iudicii, Ut nobis parcas, Ut nobis indulgeas, Ut ad veram paenitentiam nos perducere digneris, Ut Ecclesiam tuam sanctam regere et conservare digneris, Ut Apostolicum Praesulum et omnes ecclesiasticos ordines in sancta religione conservare digneris, Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris, Ut regibus et principibus christianis pacem et veram concordiam donare digneris, Ut cuncto populo christiano pacem et unitatem largiri digneris, Ut omnes errantes ad unitatem Ecclesiae revocare digneris, Ut nosmetipsos in tuo sancto servitio confortare et conservare digneris, Ut mentes nostras ad caelestia desideria erigas, Ut omnibus benefactoribus nostris sempiterna bona retribuas, Ut animas nostras, fratrum, propinquorum et benefactorum nostrorum ab aeterna damnatione eripias, Ut fructus terrae dare et conservare digneris, Ut omnibus fidelibus defunctis requiem aeternam donare digneris, Ut nos exaudire digneris, Fili Dei,

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, parce nobis, Domine. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, exaudi nos, Domine. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Christe, audi nos. Christe, exaudi nos. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

Vernacular

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us

Holy Mary, Holy Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, All ye holy Angels and Archangels, All ye holy orders of blessed Spirits, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Joseph, All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,

Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Andrew, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Thomas, Saint James, Saint Philip, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Matthew, Saint Simon, Saint Thaddeus, Saint Linus, Saint Cletus, Saint Clement, Saint Sixtus, Saint Cornelius, Saint Cyprian, Saint Lawrence, Saint Chrysogonus, Saint John and Paul, Saint Cosmas and Damian, All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, All ye holy Disciples of the Lord, All ye holy Innocents,

Saint Stephen, Saint Matthias, Saint Barnabas, Saint Ignatius, Saint Alexander, Saint Marcellinus, Saint Peter, Saint Felicitas, Saint Perpetua, Saint Agatha, Saint Lucy, Saint Agnes, Saint Cecilia, Saint Anastasia, All ye holy Martyrs,

Saint Sylvester, Saint Gregory, Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, Saint Martin, Saint Nicholas, All ye holy Bishops and Confessors, All ye holy Doctors,

Saint Anthony, Saint Benedict, Saint Bernard, Saint Dominic, Saint Francis, All ye holy Priests and Levites, All ye holy Monks and Hermits,

Saint Mary Magdalen, Saint Agatha, Saint Lucy, Saint Agnes, Saint Cecilia, Saint Catherine, Saint Anastasia, All ye holy Virgins and Widows, All ye Saints of God,

Response: deliver us, O Lord

From all evil, From all sin, From Thy wrath, From sudden and unprovided death, From the snares of the devil, From anger, hatred, and all ill-will, From the spirit of fornication, From lightning and tempest, From the scourge of earthquake, From plague, famine, and war, From everlasting death,

Response: we beseech Thee, hear us

By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation, By Thy Coming, By Thy Nativity, By Thy Baptism and holy fasting, By Thy Cross and Passion, By Thy Death and Burial, By Thy holy Resurrection, By Thine admirable Ascension, By the coming of the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, In the day of judgment,

That Thou wouldst spare us, That Thou wouldst pardon us, That Thou wouldst bring us to true penance, That Thou wouldst govern and preserve Thy holy Church, That Thou wouldst preserve our Apostolic Prelate and all orders of the Church in holy religion, That Thou wouldst humble the enemies of holy Church, That Thou wouldst give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes, That Thou wouldst grant peace and unity to all Christian people, That Thou wouldst restore to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth, That Thou wouldst confirm and preserve us in Thy holy service, That Thou wouldst lift up our minds to heavenly desires, That Thou wouldst render eternal blessings to all our benefactors, That Thou wouldst deliver our souls, and the souls of our brethren, relations, and benefactors, from eternal damnation, That Thou wouldst give and preserve the fruits of the earth, That Thou wouldst grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed, That Thou wouldst graciously hear us, Son of God,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

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

Prayer History

Listen to Prayer History

The Litany of the Saints is not a prayer about the saints. It is a prayer to them — or more precisely, through them. When the Church on earth sings Sancte Petre, ora pro nobis — Saint Peter, pray for us — it is doing something with a precise theological logic: it is calling upon a member of the Church who has already arrived at the destination toward which the rest of us are still traveling, and asking him to add his voice to ours. The theology is simple and ancient. The saints are not dead. They are alive in God, more alive than we are, and their charity does not stop at the boundary of death. They pray for us. We ask them to. The Litany of the Saints makes this communion of the Church — stretched across the boundary between time and eternity — audible and tangible. When it is sung at the Easter Vigil, with candidates lying prostrate on the floor, it is one of the most viscerally powerful moments in the Catholic liturgical year.

A Brief Theology of Asking the Saints to Pray
The most common objection to praying to the saints is that it is unnecessary — God can be approached directly, so why the intermediaries? The Catholic answer is that this objection, taken seriously, would also eliminate asking any living person to pray for you. When you ask a friend to pray for your sick child, you are not implying that God is inaccessible without a human go-between. You are recognizing that prayer is communal, that the Church prays together, and that the prayers of the holy have a particular efficacy — as James 5:16 states plainly: the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. The saints are the most righteous of the righteous, refined by a lifetime of holiness and now perfected in the presence of God. To ask them to intercede is not to diminish God. It is to take seriously both the communion of the Church and the power of intercession. The deeper question is not whether we can approach God directly — we can, and we do — but whether we also travel in company.

Origins: From House Church to Solemn Procession
The litany form itself predates Christianity. Responsorial petitions appear in ancient Near Eastern religious texts, in Greek religious practice, and throughout the Psalter. But the Christian litany as a formal liturgical structure developed rapidly in the 4th and 5th centuries as Christianity moved from house churches into the public square. Pope Gregory the Great (590–604) is particularly associated with organizing solemn litany processions through the streets of Rome — the people singing Kyrie eleison while walking barefoot in penance, imploring God and the saints during plagues and disasters. The Litany of the Saints in something like its recognizable form appears in documents from at least the 8th century, though its roots are clearly earlier. It was adopted into the Roman Rite's most solemn occasions — baptism, ordination, religious profession, the blessing of abbots — because these moments of threshold-crossing called for the whole Church, visible and invisible, to be assembled and invoked.

The Structure of the Litany
The Litany of the Saints has a more complex structure than the Litany of Loreto. It begins with the triple Kyrie and the Trinity invocations, then moves through the saints in roughly hierarchical order: Our Lady first, then angels, then the great figures of the Old Testament (John the Baptist, Joseph), then the apostles and their immediate successors, then martyrs, then confessors (bishops, doctors, priests, monks), then holy women. After the saints comes a section of deprecations — petitions for deliverance from evil — where the response shifts from ora pro nobis to libera nos, Domine (deliver us, O Lord). Then the obsecrations, which invoke the saving mysteries of Christ's life (Incarnation, Nativity, Passion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension) as the grounds of our petition. Then the supplications, which make specific requests for the Church, for rulers, for the faithful departed. The Agnus Dei closes the petitionary section, and the Kyrie returns to frame the whole. It is an architectural prayer, moving from praise through intercession through petition to hope.

The Easter Vigil and Ordinations
The Litany of the Saints is sung at two moments in the traditional Roman Rite that carry particular weight. The first is the Easter Vigil, where it accompanies the blessing of the baptismal water and, when there are candidates, their prostration before the font. The candidates lie face-down on the floor — the posture of total surrender — while the Church sings the litany over them, invoking the whole company of heaven to be present at this act of death and rebirth. It is one of the most ancient and theologically charged gestures in the liturgy. The second is ordination to the priesthood, where the candidates lie prostrate on the sanctuary floor while the litany is chanted. The gesture says something that no ordination homily can fully articulate: the man being ordained is not becoming a priest by his own merit or effort. He is being lifted into an office that exceeds him, and the whole Church — in heaven and on earth — is being called to witness and support it.

The Saint List: Fixed and Flexible
The traditional Roman form of the litany has a core list of saints that has remained relatively stable for over a millennium — the apostles, the early popes and martyrs named in the Roman Canon (Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian), the great Latin Fathers (Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome), the martyrs whose names were known to every Roman Catholic (Stephen, Lawrence, Cecilia, Agnes, Lucy, Anastasia), and the founders of the great religious orders (Anthony, Benedict, Bernard, Dominic, Francis). This core reflects the Church of Rome's specific sanctoral memory — the martyrs buried in the Roman catacombs, the popes who governed the early Church, the theologians who defined its doctrine. Dioceses, religious orders, and national churches have always added their own patrons to the standard list, extending the invocation to their own local portion of the communion of saints.

The Dying and the Dead
The Litany of the Saints belongs not only to the great liturgical occasions but also to the moment of death. The traditional Roman Rite's Ordo Commendationis Animae — the Commendation of the Departing Soul — includes the litany as the dying person's final prayer, or as the prayer of those gathered around the deathbed. The saints are invoked one last time as the soul prepares to cross into the company it has spent a lifetime invoking. Go forth, Christian soul, the prayer begins, and then the litany calls upon everyone already on the other side to accompany the newly arriving soul. It is, in this context, less a petition for help with the difficulties of this life than an introduction — a presentation of the soul to the community it is about to join. The Litany of the Saints is the Church's way of saying: you are not going alone, and you will not arrive as a stranger.

📋 Quick Facts

Latin Name Litaniae Sanctorum
Structure Kyries → Trinity → Saints (Our Lady, Angels, Patriarchs, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Holy Women) → Deprecations → Obsecrations → Supplications → Agnus Dei
Three Responses Ora pro nobis (saints) | Libera nos, Domine (deprecations) | Te rogamus, audi nos (supplications)
Primary Liturgical Use Easter Vigil, Ordinations, Religious Profession, Blessing of an Abbot, Commendation of the Dying
Prostration At the Easter Vigil and ordinations, candidates lie prostrate on the floor while the litany is sung over them
Age In recognizable form from at least the 8th century; roots in 4th-5th century Roman litany processions
Core Saints Includes the martyrs of the Roman Canon — Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian
Also Used Privately in times of crisis, urgency, or as a solemn act of supplication on behalf of the living and the dead

💡 Did You Know?

The prostration during the Litany of the Saints at ordinations is one of the most ancient gestures in the Roman Rite. The candidate lies face-down, arms extended, in the posture of total self-offering — mirroring the posture of the cross. No gesture in Catholic liturgy communicates the weight of what is happening more directly.
Several of the saints named in the Litany — Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian — also appear in the Roman Canon of the Mass. When the priest prays the Canon at a solemn Mass and then leads the litany at the Easter Vigil, the same names are invoked in both the most intimate prayer of the Mass and the most communal prayer of the liturgical year.
Pope Gregory the Great organized a famous litany procession through Rome in 590 AD in response to a plague devastating the city. According to tradition, as the procession reached the Castel Sant'Angelo, Gregory saw a vision of the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword above the fortress — interpreted as a sign that the plague was ending. The Castel Sant'Angelo takes its name from this event.
The traditional Ordo Commendationis Animae — the Rite for the Commendation of a Departing Soul — includes the Litany of the Saints prayed at the deathbed. The dying person, if conscious, responds along with those gathered. It may be the last prayer a Catholic ever prays on earth.
Felicitas and Perpetua — named together in the litany — were martyred in Carthage in 203 AD. Perpetua was a 22-year-old noblewoman nursing her infant son; Felicitas was her pregnant slave, who gave birth in prison two days before their execution. Their Acts, written partly in Perpetua's own hand, are among the most remarkable documents of the early Church.
The deprecation 'A subitanea et improvisa morte' — From sudden and unprovided death — reflects a specific Catholic fear: not death itself, but death without the sacraments. To die suddenly, without Last Rites, without Confession, without Viaticum, was considered a catastrophe of a different order from ordinary death. The litany asks to be spared this.
At the Easter Vigil in the traditional Roman Rite, the Litany of the Saints is sung twice: once before the blessing of the baptismal water, and once (in the solemn form with candidates) during the prostration. In some cathedral and monastic traditions, the two-fold singing of the full litany can last well over twenty minutes — a sustained invocation of the entire Church before the central sacramental act of the year.
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Litany of the Saints
Litaniae Sanctorum

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Response: pray for us

Holy Mary,
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Saint Michael,
Saint Gabriel,
Saint Raphael,
All ye holy Angels and Archangels,
All ye holy orders of blessed Spirits,
Saint John the Baptist,
Saint Joseph,
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,

Saint Peter,
Saint Paul,
Saint Andrew,
Saint James,
Saint John,
Saint Thomas,
Saint James,
Saint Philip,
Saint Bartholomew,
Saint Matthew,
Saint Simon,
Saint Thaddeus,
Saint Linus,
Saint Cletus,
Saint Clement,
Saint Sixtus,
Saint Cornelius,
Saint Cyprian,
Saint Lawrence,
Saint Chrysogonus,
Saint John and Paul,
Saint Cosmas and Damian,
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists,
All ye holy Disciples of the Lord,
All ye holy Innocents,

Saint Stephen,
Saint Matthias,
Saint Barnabas,
Saint Ignatius,
Saint Alexander,
Saint Marcellinus,
Saint Peter,
Saint Felicitas,
Saint Perpetua,
Saint Agatha,
Saint Lucy,
Saint Agnes,
Saint Cecilia,
Saint Anastasia,
All ye holy Martyrs,

Saint Sylvester,
Saint Gregory,
Saint Ambrose,
Saint Augustine,
Saint Jerome,
Saint Martin,
Saint Nicholas,
All ye holy Bishops and Confessors,
All ye holy Doctors,

Saint Anthony,
Saint Benedict,
Saint Bernard,
Saint Dominic,
Saint Francis,
All ye holy Priests and Levites,
All ye holy Monks and Hermits,

Saint Mary Magdalen,
Saint Agatha,
Saint Lucy,
Saint Agnes,
Saint Cecilia,
Saint Catherine,
Saint Anastasia,
All ye holy Virgins and Widows,
All ye Saints of God,

Response: deliver us, O Lord

From all evil,
From all sin,
From Thy wrath,
From sudden and unprovided death,
From the snares of the devil,
From anger, hatred, and all ill-will,
From the spirit of fornication,
From lightning and tempest,
From the scourge of earthquake,
From plague, famine, and war,
From everlasting death,

Response: we beseech Thee, hear us

By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation,
By Thy Coming,
By Thy Nativity,
By Thy Baptism and holy fasting,
By Thy Cross and Passion,
By Thy Death and Burial,
By Thy holy Resurrection,
By Thine admirable Ascension,
By the coming of the Holy Ghost the Paraclete,
In the day of judgment,

That Thou wouldst spare us,
That Thou wouldst pardon us,
That Thou wouldst bring us to true penance,
That Thou wouldst govern and preserve Thy holy Church,
That Thou wouldst preserve our Apostolic Prelate and all orders of the Church in holy religion,
That Thou wouldst humble the enemies of holy Church,
That Thou wouldst give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes,
That Thou wouldst grant peace and unity to all Christian people,
That Thou wouldst restore to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from the truth,
That Thou wouldst confirm and preserve us in Thy holy service,
That Thou wouldst lift up our minds to heavenly desires,
That Thou wouldst render eternal blessings to all our benefactors,
That Thou wouldst deliver our souls, and the souls of our brethren, relations, and benefactors, from eternal damnation,
That Thou wouldst give and preserve the fruits of the earth,
That Thou wouldst grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,
That Thou wouldst graciously hear us,
Son of God,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

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

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Litany of the Saints
Litaniae Sanctorum

Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

Christe, audi nos. Christe, exaudi nos.
Pater de caelis, Deus, miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus, miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere nobis.

Responsum: ora pro nobis

Sancta Maria,
Sancta Dei Genitrix,
Sancta Virgo virginum,
Sancte Michael,
Sancte Gabriel,
Sancte Raphael,
Omnes sancti Angeli et Archangeli,
Omnes sancti beatorum Spirituum ordines,
Sancte Ioannes Baptista,
Sancte Ioseph,
Omnes sancti Patriarchae et Prophetae,
Sancte Petre,
Sancte Paule,
Sancte Andrea,
Sancte Iacobe,
Sancte Ioannes,
Sancte Thoma,
Sancte Iacobe,
Sancte Philippe,
Sancte Bartholomaee,
Sancte Matthaee,
Sancte Simon,
Sancte Thaddaee,
Sancte Line,
Sancte Clete,
Sancte Clemens,
Sancte Sixte,
Sancte Corneli,
Sancte Cypriane,
Sancte Laurenti,
Sancte Chrysogone,
Sancti Ioannes et Paule,
Sancti Cosma et Damiane,
Omnes sancti Apostoli et Evangelistae,
Omnes sancti Discipuli Domini,
Omnes sancti Innocentes,
Sancte Stephane,
Sancte Matthia,
Sancte Barnaba,
Sancte Ignati,
Sancte Alexander,
Sancte Marccelline,
Sancte Petre,
Sancta Felicitas,
Sancta Perpetua,
Sancta Agatha,
Sancta Lucia,
Sancta Agnes,
Sancta Caecilia,
Sancta Anastasia,
Omnes sancti Martyres,
Sancte Silvester,
Sancte Gregori,
Sancte Ambrosi,
Sancte Augustine,
Sancte Hieronyme,
Sancte Martine,
Sancte Nicolae,
Omnes sancti Pontifices et Confessores,
Omnes sancti Doctores,
Sancte Antoni,
Sancte Benedicte,
Sancte Bernarde,
Sancte Dominice,
Sancte Francisce,
Omnes sancti Sacerdotes et Levitae,
Omnes sancti Monachi et Eremitae,
Sancta Maria Magdalena,
Sancta Agatha,
Sancta Lucia,
Sancta Agnes,
Sancta Caecilia,
Sancta Catharina,
Sancta Anastasia,
Omnes sanctae Virgines et Viduae,
Omnes Sancti et Sanctae Dei,

Responsum: libera nos, Domine

Ab omni malo,
Ab omni peccato,
Ab ira tua,
A subitanea et improvisa morte,
Ab insidiis diaboli,
Ab ira, et odio, et omni mala voluntate,
A spiritu fornicationis,
A fulgure et tempestate,
A flagello terraemotus,
A peste, fame et bello,
A morte perpetua,

Responsum: te rogamus, audi nos

Per mysterium sanctae incarnationis tuae,
Per adventum tuum,
Per nativitatem tuam,
Per baptismum et sanctum ieiunium tuum,
Per crucem et passionem tuam,
Per mortem et sepulturam tuam,
Per sanctam resurrectionem tuam,
Per admirabilem ascensionem tuam,
Per adventum Spiritus Sancti Paracliti,
In die iudicii,
Ut nobis parcas,
Ut nobis indulgeas,
Ut ad veram paenitentiam nos perducere digneris,
Ut Ecclesiam tuam sanctam regere et conservare digneris,
Ut Apostolicum Praesulum et omnes ecclesiasticos ordines in sancta religione conservare digneris,
Ut inimicos sanctae Ecclesiae humiliare digneris,
Ut regibus et principibus christianis pacem et veram concordiam donare digneris,
Ut cuncto populo christiano pacem et unitatem largiri digneris,
Ut omnes errantes ad unitatem Ecclesiae revocare digneris,
Ut nosmetipsos in tuo sancto servitio confortare et conservare digneris,
Ut mentes nostras ad caelestia desideria erigas,
Ut omnibus benefactoribus nostris sempiterna bona retribuas,
Ut animas nostras, fratrum, propinquorum et benefactorum nostrorum ab aeterna damnatione eripias,
Ut fructus terrae dare et conservare digneris,
Ut omnibus fidelibus defunctis requiem aeternam donare digneris,
Ut nos exaudire digneris,
Fili Dei,

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis.

Christe, audi nos. Christe, exaudi nos.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

✠ Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ✠