We Fly to Thy Patronage

We fly to thy patronage,O holy Mother of God;despise not our petitions in our necessities,but deliver us always from all dangers,O glorious and blessed Virgin.Amen.

This prayer, the Sub tuum praesidium, survives on an Egyptian papyrus from around the third century, and is the oldest prayer to Our Lady that we know.

In Latin

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus,sancta Dei Genetrix;nostras deprecationes ne despiciasin necessitatibus;sed a periculis cunctislibera nos semper,Virgo gloriosa et benedicta.

Latin text: Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Appendix.