Attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Memorare

Bernardine in spirit; the form we pray is documented in the 15th century

LatinEnglish

Memoráre, o piíssima Virgo María, non esse audítum a sǽculo, quemquam ad tua curréntem præsídia, tua implorántem auxília, tua peténtem suffrágia, esse derelíctum. Ego tali animátus confidéntia, ad te, Virgo Vírginum, Mater, curro, ad te vénio, coram te gemens peccátor assísto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despícere; sed áudi propítia et exáudi.

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

SourceAttributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux · Bernardine in spirit; the form we pray is documented in the 15th century

The history of this prayer

The Memorare bears the name of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), the Mellifluous Doctor, because it has the tone of his homilies on Our Lady. But the form we pray is documented only in the fifteenth century, as part of a longer prayer.

It was spread by a seventeenth-century French priest, Claude Bernard, the “poor priest”, who taught it to the prisoners and sick of Paris and had thousands of copies printed — perhaps the source of the confusion of names. Pius IX attached indulgences to it in 1846.

Frequently asked questions

Did St Bernard write the Memorare?

It is attributed to him but is not found in his works. The text is from the fifteenth century and was popularized by Fr Claude Bernard in the seventeenth.

When should the Memorare be prayed?

In any need, especially the most urgent. Many pray nine Memorares in a row, the so-called “emergency novena”.

What does “Memorare” mean?

It is Latin for “Remember”, the first word of the prayer.

More prayers: Our Lady

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