Prayers

Traditional Catholic prayers.

Essential prayers

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The Sign of the CrossThe simplest and oldest Christian prayer, made with the hand from forehead to breast and shoulder to shoulder.
Our FatherThe Lord’s Prayer, taught by Jesus to his disciples (Matthew 6:9–13).
Hail MaryThe Angelic Salutation, from the words of the Angel Gabriel and of Saint Elizabeth.
Glory BeThe lesser doxology, said at the end of psalms and decades of the Rosary.
The Apostles’ CreedThe ancient baptismal creed of the Church of Rome, summing up the faith of the Apostles.
The Nicene CreedThe profession of faith of the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, said at Mass on Sundays and solemnities.
Act of ContritionA prayer of sorrow for sin, said in the sacrament of Penance and at the end of the day.
Act of FaithA profession of belief in God and in all that the Church teaches.
Act of HopeA prayer of trust in God’s goodness and promises.
Act of LoveA prayer of love for God above all things, and for our neighbour.

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Morning OfferingOffering the whole day to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Grace Before MealsThe traditional blessing said before eating.
Grace After MealsThanksgiving after eating, with a prayer for the faithful departed.
Night PrayerA prayer for protection through the night, from the Church’s Night Prayer (Compline).
The Jesus PrayerA short prayer of the heart, repeated slowly and often, from the tradition of the Eastern Church.

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Hail, Holy QueenThe Salve Regina, sung at the end of Compline and said at the end of the Rosary.
The MemorareA prayer of confidence in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The AngelusThe prayer of the Incarnation, said morning, noon and evening at the ringing of the bell.
Regina CaeliThe Easter anthem to Our Lady, said instead of the Angelus from Easter to Pentecost.
The MagnificatThe Canticle of Mary, her song of praise at the Visitation, sung every evening at Vespers.
We Fly to Thy PatronageThe Sub tuum praesidium, the oldest known prayer to the Virgin Mary.
The Holy RosaryHow to pray the Rosary, with its twenty mysteries of the life of Christ and his Mother.
The Fatima PrayerThe decade prayer taught by Our Lady to the children of Fatima in 1917.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin MaryThe Litany of Loreto, a chain of the titles of Our Lady, each answered with ‘pray for us.’

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Anima ChristiSoul of Christ, sanctify me: a medieval prayer after Holy Communion, loved by Saint Ignatius.
Act of Spiritual CommunionA prayer of Saint Alphonsus Liguori for those who cannot receive Holy Communion.
Tantum ErgoThe last two verses of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s Pange Lingua, sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The Divine PraisesPraises said at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, in reparation for blasphemy.

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Come, Holy SpiritThe prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking him to fill our hearts with the fire of his love.
Te DeumThe Church’s great hymn of praise and thanksgiving, sung since the fourth century.
Prayer of Saint FrancisLord, make me an instrument of thy peace: a prayer in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi.
SuscipeTake, Lord, receive: the prayer of self-offering from the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.
Prayer Before a CrucifixBehold, O good and most sweet Jesus: a prayer on the five wounds of Christ, traditionally said after Communion.
Chaplet of Divine MercyThe prayer given to Saint Faustina, said on rosary beads, especially at three in the afternoon.

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Prayer to Saint MichaelPope Leo XIII’s prayer for the protection of the Archangel against the powers of evil.
Prayer to the Guardian AngelAngel of God, my guardian dear: the first prayer many Catholic children learn.
Prayer to Saint JosephTo thee, O blessed Joseph: Pope Leo XIII’s prayer for the protection of the Church.

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Eternal RestThe prayer for the dead: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
De ProfundisPsalm 129 (130), Out of the depths: the Church’s great psalm of prayer for the dead.