Eastertide antiphon

Queen of Heaven — Regina Caeli

From Easter to Pentecost, in place of the Angelus

LatinEnglish

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,
resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia,
has risen, as He said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

℣. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
℟. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

℣. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
℟. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es, praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

SourceEastertide antiphon · From Easter to Pentecost, in place of the Angelus

The history of this prayer

The Regina Caeli is one of the four great Marian antiphons, sung in Eastertide since at least the twelfth century; the Franciscans spread it in the thirteenth. A legend says that St Gregory the Great, in a procession in Rome during a plague, heard angels sing the first three lines and answered: “Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.”

In 1742 Pope Benedict XIV ordered that from Easter to Pentecost it be prayed in place of the Angelus, standing, as a sign of Christ's victory. It is the joy of the Mother who has seen her Son risen.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Regina Caeli prayed?

From Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, at the Angelus times and as the closing antiphon of Compline.

Is it prayed standing or kneeling?

Traditionally standing, for the joy of the Resurrection.

What are the four Marian antiphons?

Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Caelorum, Regina Caeli and Salve Regina, each for a season of the liturgical year.

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