The Angelus

The Angelus is the daily Marian prayer of the Catholic Church, traditionally prayed three times each day: at six in the morning, at noon, and at six in the evening. It commemorates the Incarnation of the Eternal Word in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, contemplated through three Gospel scenes from the Annunciation: the angel's greeting, Mary's fiat, and the Word becoming flesh.

Origin and historical development

The Angelus developed gradually in the Middle Ages. The evening recitation came first, attached to the medieval custom of ringing the church bell at sunset to call the faithful to a brief Marian prayer. Pope Gregory IX, around 1239, encouraged the evening Angelus to be prayed for peace at the time of the Crusades. The morning Angelus was added in the fourteenth century, and the noon Angelus in the fifteenth century, often connected with the memorial of the Crucifixion (the sixth hour by ancient reckoning, when the Lord Jesus was crucified).

The current verbal form of the Angelus, with three versicles, three Hail Marys, and the closing oration, was crystallized in the seventeenth century. The traditional ringing of the Angelus bell (three strokes, pause, three strokes, pause, three strokes, pause, then a continuous peal) is still observed in many Catholic parishes and monasteries today.

Theological structure

The Angelus is a brief Catholic catechesis on the Incarnation. The three versicles follow the order of the Annunciation narrative in Luke 1:26-38:

1. "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived of the Holy Spirit." The first versicle names the moment of the angelic message and the immediate work of the Holy Spirit in the conception of Christ.

2. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word." The second versicle names Mary's fiat, her free consent that opened the way of the Incarnation. Catholic theology has always held this consent as essential, not merely passive: the Eternal Word was conceived in Mary's womb because she said yes.

3. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The third versicle is John 1:14, the Johannine summary of the Incarnation. The Catholic faithful traditionally bow during this versicle, in honor of the mystery being named.

The closing oration is one of the most theologically dense prayers in the Catholic liturgy. It asks the Father to pour forth grace into our hearts, that the same path the Lord Jesus walked (Incarnation, Passion, Cross, Resurrection) may be the path along which we are brought to the glory of heaven.

When the Angelus is prayed

Traditionally, the Angelus is prayed at six in the morning, at noon, and at six in the evening. In a Catholic family, the noon Angelus is sometimes prayed at the start of the family's midday meal. In Catholic monasteries, the three Angelus times are observed by the entire community, often gathered in the chapel or at the bell.

In modern Catholic life, when the strict three-times-a-day discipline is difficult to maintain, the Angelus may also be prayed once a day (often at noon, or at the close of the workday) as a brief Marian punctuation of the day. Pope Francis prays the Angelus publicly each Sunday at noon in Saint Peter's Square (replaced by the Regina Caeli during the Easter season).

The Regina Caeli replacement during Easter

During the Easter season (from Easter Sunday through Pentecost), the Angelus is replaced by the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia), the Easter Marian antiphon. This is a deliberate liturgical choice: in the season of the Resurrection, the Catholic faithful greet the Mother of God not in the contemplation of the Incarnation but in the joy of the Risen Lord.

Pairing the Angelus with other prayers

The Angelus is paired with:

• The Hail Mary, which is the principal repeated prayer within the Angelus.
• The Holy Rosary, particularly the Joyful Mysteries (the Annunciation and the Visitation), which meditate on the same Gospel scenes.
• The grace before meals, when the noon Angelus is incorporated into the family's midday prayer.
• The Hail Holy Queen, in the daily Marian rhythm of the Catholic life.

For the Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 456 to 478.