Glory Be — Gloria Patri

The history of this prayer

The Glory Be is the “lesser doxology”, a short hymn of praise to the Holy Trinity. Similar formulas go back to the first centuries; the form “to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”, which sets the three Persons side by side, took hold in the fourth century in the defence of the Son's divinity against Arianism. The second half, “Sicut erat in principio”, was already prescribed in the West by the Council of Vaison in 529.

In the Divine Office every psalm ends with the Glory Be, so priests, religious and lay people pray it many times each day. In the Rosary it closes every decade. It is customary to bow the head during the first line, in reverence to the Trinity. At the traditional Mass the Glory Be follows the psalm of the Introit; in the Office it also opens every Hour, after “O God, come to my assistance”. It is a short prayer that can be said at any moment of the day as an act of pure praise: it asks for nothing, it simply gives glory to God.

Pronunciation: “Spirítui” is “spee-REE-too-ee”, and “sǽcula sæculórum” sounds “SAY-koo-lah say-koo-LOH-room”.