Prayers To Jesus Prayers Litany of the Sacred Heart

Litany of the Sacred Heart

Litaniae Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu
To Jesus 📜 Earliest form: Approved for the universal Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899 ✍️ The Church (approved 1899) 🕯️ Used liturgically
Latina

Kýrie, eléison. Christe, eléison. Kýrie, eléison.
Christe, audi nos.
Christe, exáudi nos.
Pater de cælis, Deus, miserére nobis.

KEE-ree-eh, eh-LEH-ee-son. KREE-steh, eh-LEH-ee-son. Kor YEH-zoo, FEE-lee-ee PAH-trees eh-TAIR-nee, mee-zeh-REH-reh NOH-bees. Kor YEH-zoo, FOR-nahks AR-dens kah-ree-TAH-tees, mee-zeh-REH-reh NOH-bees.

Cor Iesu, Fílii Patris ætérni, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, Verbo Dei substantiáliter unítum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, maiestátis infinítæ, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, fornax ardens caritátis, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, iustítiæ et amóris receptáculum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, bonitáte et amóre plenum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, virtútum ómnium abýssus, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, pátiens et multæ misericórdiæ, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, propitiátio pro peccátis nostris, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, salus in te sperántium, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, spes in te moriéntium, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, delíciæ Sanctórum ómnium, miserére nobis.

(Ecclesiastical Latin guide; "Cor Iesu… miserere nobis" = "Heart of Jesus… have mercy on us.")

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, parce nobis, Dómine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, exáudi nos, Dómine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis.

Vernacular

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, have mercy on us.

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.

Prayer History

Listen to Prayer History

The Litany of the Sacred Heart is the Church’s great prayer of love to the Heart of Jesus — that Heart, pierced by the soldier’s lance (John 19:34), which is the burning furnace of His love for men. In a long series of titles drawn from Scripture and the Fathers, it adores the Heart of the God-Man under every aspect: Son of the Eternal Father, united to the Word, infinite in majesty, a "furnace of charity," "patient and most merciful," the "propitiation for our sins," and the "salvation of those who hope in Him."

The litany contains thirty-three invocations of the Sacred Heart — one, by tradition, for each year of Our Lord’s earthly life. It gathers up centuries of devotion, above all the revelations granted to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque at Paray-le-Monial (1673–1675), where Our Lord showed her His Heart crowned with thorns and aflame, saying, "Behold this Heart which has so loved men." From those apparitions came the First Friday devotion, the Holy Hour, and the Feast of the Sacred Heart, kept on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.

Pope Leo XIII approved this litany for the universal Church in 1899 — the same year in which, by the encyclical Annum Sacrum, he consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an act he called the greatest of his pontificate. The whole month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and the litany is prayed then with special devotion. (The full litany has thirty-three Sacred-Heart invocations; its principal titles are given here.)

📋 Quick Facts

Type An approved litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Number of Invocations Thirty-three — one for each year of Christ’s life
Approved By Pope Leo XIII, 1899, for the universal Church
Same Year As The consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart (Annum Sacrum)
Rooted In St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s visions at Paray-le-Monial (1673–75)
Central Image The Heart, "a burning furnace of charity" (fornax ardens caritatis)
Feast The Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi
Month June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart

💡 Did You Know?

The litany has exactly thirty-three invocations of the Sacred Heart — traditionally one for each of the thirty-three years of Our Lord’s life on earth.
Pope Leo XIII approved it for the whole Church in 1899, the same year he consecrated all mankind to the Sacred Heart in the encyclical Annum Sacrum — an act he called the greatest of his reign.
The devotion was spread above all through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom Our Lord revealed His Heart at Paray-le-Monial (1673–75), saying, "Behold this Heart which has so loved men."
From those revelations come the First Fridays devotion and the twelve promises of the Sacred Heart to those who honor it.
The invocations are drawn from Scripture — "propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:2), "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom" (Colossians 2:3), and the pierced Heart of John 19:34.
The image of the Heart as a "burning furnace of charity" (fornax ardens caritatis) is among the most beloved of the litany — the fire of God’s love made visible in Christ’s Heart.
The entire month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, when this litany and the Act of Reparation are prayed with special solemnity.
✦ ✦ ✦
Litany of the Sacred Heart
Litaniae Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, have mercy on us.

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.

✦ ✦ ✦
Litany of the Sacred Heart
Litaniae Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu

Kýrie, eléison. Christe, eléison. Kýrie, eléison.
Christe, audi nos.
Christe, exáudi nos.
Pater de cælis, Deus, miserére nobis.

Cor Iesu, Fílii Patris ætérni, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, Verbo Dei substantiáliter unítum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, maiestátis infinítæ, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, fornax ardens caritátis, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, iustítiæ et amóris receptáculum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, bonitáte et amóre plenum, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, virtútum ómnium abýssus, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, pátiens et multæ misericórdiæ, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, propitiátio pro peccátis nostris, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, salus in te sperántium, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, spes in te moriéntium, miserére nobis.
Cor Iesu, delíciæ Sanctórum ómnium, miserére nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, parce nobis, Dómine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, exáudi nos, Dómine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis.

✠ Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ✠