Hail Mary

The ‘Hail Mary’ prayer is the most famous prayer to the Virgin Mary. For more than a thousand years, Christians worldwide have continued to pray it daily. ‘Hail Mary’ (in Latin Ave Maria) is said both in praise of, and in supplication to the Mother of the Church.

The Hail Mary Prayer

“Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.”

Learn the German, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and Latin versions of ‘Hail Mary’. 

Hail Mary (Eastern Orthodox / Catholic)

“Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice,

 Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. 

Blessed art thou amongst women, 

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,

for thou hast given birth to the Savior of our souls.”

Why Pray The Hail Mary?

Thousands of Christians pray daily to Mary, the Mother of God. For a lot of believers, invoking Her name is second nature. But why do we pray to her? As a Saint, Mary holds a very special position: She is the Immaculate Mother of Christ, therefore, she is way above the other Saints.
Mary is considered as a model of the Church in the matter of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. She is an example of humility, virtue and tenderness. She accompanied Jesus Christ from His birth (She accepted God’s plan for her by birthing Jesus) until His death, which she witnessed standing by the Cross.
As a woman, She also accompanies us. Jesus is the way, and Mary helps us find the way, follow it and be faithful to it. 

‘Hail Mary’ (Ave Maria in Latin) is the most famous prayer to the Mother of the Church. When saying the prayer, we are both praising Her, and supplicating Her. 

When to Pray The Hail Mary and The Ave Maria? 

We say the ‘Hail Mary’ often when praying the rosary: whether we are praying a decade, a Chaplet or reciting The Rosary, every ‘Hail Mary’ prayer is like a rose thrown to Her feet when we express our gratitude to Her. 

The Angelus prayer is said in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. This prayer is composed of verses with responses, and three ‘Hail Marys’ in between each verse. For hundreds of years, ‘The Angelus’ has been a celebration of the beautiful prayer that is the ‘Hail Mary’.

Finally, we can say the ‘Hail Mary’ at any occasion: there isn’t really a specific reason to pray it. In the morning, the evening; at any time of the day, we can pray to the Virgin Mary and entrust our day to Her, ask for Her support, or for Her intercession before Jesus Christ in a moment of need. When saying ‘Hail Mary’, we ask that the Virgin Mary may pray for us at two important times in our lives: now, and at the hour of our death. 

(Discover the meaning of each verse of the ‘Hail Mary’)

Pray to The Virgin Mary with Hozana

Hozana is a social network that allows you to discover hundreds of spiritual programs to make prayer a bigger part of your life with the intervention of other Christians. You can join communities dedicated to praying to the Virgin Mary: pray a novena to Our Lady of Fatima whenever you want, or consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for thirty days!