Hail Mary or in Latin Ave Maria is a traditional Catholic prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The first part of the prayer is the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel as reported in the Gospel of Luke 1:28 "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee". The second is from the greeting given to Mary by her cousin Elisabeth in Luke 1:42 "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb", and a reinforcement of basic Christian belief in the real divinity and real humanity of Jesus. The closing petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." is stated by the official "Catechism of the Council of Trent" to have been "framed by the Church itself" [1].

As a separate formula for Roman Catholic devotion, the "Hail Mary"— though a pious tale has it miraculously recited to Ildephonsus of Toledo —dates to the 11th century (Catholic Encyclopedia).

The Ave Maria is the essential element of the Rosary, a prayer recited by Catholics, comprised of 4 sets of 5 Mysteries meditating upon the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (literally ten), consisting of

• One Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord's Prayer)
• Ten Hail Marys
• One Doxology ('Glory be to the Father')

The Words of the Hail Mary

English

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.

Aquarian Age Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee,

blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us sons and daughters of God now, and in

the hour of our victory over sin disease and death.

Amen.

Ecclesiastical Latin

Ave Maria, gratia plena,

Dominus tecum,

benedicta tu in mulieribus,

et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus.

Sancta Maria mater Dei,

ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen

Chinese

Old version

萬福瑪利亞，滿被聖寵者，主與爾偕焉。

女中爾為讚美，爾胎子耶穌，並為讚美。

天主聖母瑪利亞，為我等罪人，

今祈天主，及我等死候。

亞孟。

New version

萬福瑪利亞，您充滿聖寵，主與您同在。

您在婦女中受讚頌，

您的親生子耶穌同受讚頌。

天主聖母瑪利亞，

求您現在和我們臨終時，

為我們罪人祈求天主。

亞孟。

Japanese/日本語

恵みを溢れる聖マリア、

主はあなたと共に居られます。

主はあなたを選び、祝福し、

あなたの子、イエスも祝福されました。

神の母、聖マリア、

罪深い私たちのために

今も死を迎えるときも

祈ってください。

アメン。

Tagalog(Filipino)

Aba Ginoong Maria, napupuno ka ng grasya.

Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo.

Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat.

At pinagpala naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.

Santa Maria, Ina ng Diyos,

ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan

ngayon at kung kami'y mamamatay.

Amen.

German

Gegrüßet seist Du, Maria,

voll der Gnade,

der Herr ist mit Dir.

Du bist gebenedeit unter den Frauen,

und gebenedeit ist die Frucht Deines Leibes, Jesus.

Heilige Maria, Mutter Gottes,

bitte für uns Sünder jetzt und in der Stunde unseres Todes.

Amen.

Irish Gaelic

Sé do Bheatha Mhuire,
Tá lán do ghrásta, Tá an Tiarna leat.
Is beannaithe thú idir mhná
Agus is beannaithe toradh do bhironne Íosa.

A Naomh Mhuire, mháthair Dé
Ghúi orainn na bpeacaí
Anois agus uair mbáis.
Amen.

Spanish

Dios te salve María, llena eres de gracia,

el señor es contigo,

bendita (tú) eres entre todas las mujeres,

(y) bendito es el fruto de tu vientre (, Jesús).

Santa María, madre de Dios,

ruega por nosotros pecadores,

ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.

Musical settings

The Ave Maria has been set to music numerous times. Among them is the version by Charles Gounod (1859), adding melody and words to Johann Sebastian Bach's first prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Franz Schubert's Ellens dritter Gesang (D839, Op 52 no 6, 1825) is often misidentified as "Schubert's Ave Maria" because it opens with the words "Ave Maria", even though it is not a setting of the Ave Maria. The original text is from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake and was translated into German by Adam Storck . Adding to the confusion, the Ave Maria is often sung to the melody of Ellens dritter Gesang. Another setting of Ave Maria was written by Giuseppe Verdi for his 1887 opera Otello.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia 1910: Hail Mary

Other meanings

A "Hail Mary" or a Hail Mary pass, in American football, is a play in which the quarterback throws the ball as far downfield as possible, hoping one of his receivers can catch the ball or that a defensive player commits a penalty which allows the offense to gain possession of the ball at the point of the foul. This play usually occurs at the very end of a half, and especially when the team on offense is trailing in the score.

The phrase is often used outside of the sports context to refer to a desperate measure or a final effort in a project or business setting.