Origin of Ave Maria

The Ave Maria, also known by the same name in Latin, is the prayer of reference to the Virgin Mary. Along with the Our Father, it is one of the few prayers known to all Catholics and prayed in all languages. We recite it several times a week, and it is the first that comes to mind when we want to thank or invoke the Virgin. But where does it come from?

Who wrote the Ave Maria?

The Ave Mariawhich today is prayed in all corners of the world in different languages, receives the same name Ave Maria from Latin translation. This iconic prayer of the Catholic religion has a peculiarity: it is made up of a praise and a plea. These parts have two origins quite different.

the praise

“God save you Mary full of grace

The Lord is with you

You are blessed between all womans,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

These four famous lines are taken from the first chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Luke. The first part comes from Annunciation of the angel Gabriel to Mary: “The Angel entered her house and greeted her, saying: «Rejoice!, full of grace, the Lord is with you»”, (Luke 1: 28). It is the way in which the angel greets the Virgin, showing respect and trust. He announces the birth of Jesus, and Mary responds with her famous “Yes”which has changed the face of the world.

And the praise concludes with the text that comes from the episode of the visitationalso reported in the gospel according to Saint Luke. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit: exclaimed: “You are blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42).

the plea

“Holy Mary, mother of God
Pray for us sinners.
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

The second part of the Hail Mary is a supplication, a request made to God through the Virgin Mary, to intercede for our salvation. It does not originate in the Scriptures and appears later than the first part in the christian prayers.

A little history

The part dedicated to the praise of Mary appears very early in the Christian tradition. Beginning in the fourth century, we find the following prayers in the liturgy of St. James: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you, you are blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, because you have begotten the Savior of our souls” . The liturgical form of praise as we know it today was formulated in the 7th century; it is also found in the writings of John Damascene.
In Western countries, the praise part of the Hail Mary is officially introduced into the Latin liturgy by Pope Saint Gregory I in the sixth century. However, it did not become popular until the 11th century, with the Latin name Ave Maria, when it became the prayer of the people.
The second part of the Ave Maria appears between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The golden age of Protestantism did not allow the cult of Mary to develop. Protestants rejected prayers to the Virgin Mary. However, the Counter-Reformation in the fifteenth century, a Catholic movement in reaction to the Protestant Reformation, allowed the Ave Maria and the worship of Mary were a resounding success. This prayer becomes the prayer most addressed to the Mother of God.

Pray to the Virgin Mary with

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