Attributed to Jacopone da Todi, 13th century

Stabat Mater

The sequence of Our Lady of Sorrows — first stanza

LatinEnglish

Stabat Mater dolorósa iuxta crucem lacrimósa, dum pendébat Fílius. Cuius ánimam geméntem, contristátam et doléntem, pertransívit gládius.

At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, while her Son was hanging there. Through her soul, in anguish groaning, sorrowful and deeply moaning, went the sharp and piercing sword.

Amen.

SourceAttributed to Jacopone da Todi, 13th century · The sequence of Our Lady of Sorrows — first stanza

Read the piece it comes from →

The history of this prayer

The Stabat Mater is a thirteenth-century poem on Mary at the foot of the Cross. It is attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi (c. 1230–1306); some link it to Pope Innocent III. In the Middle Ages it was already sung in penitential processions.

In 1727 it entered the Missal as the sequence of the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, now kept on 15 September, and its stanzas accompany the Stations of the Cross. Palestrina, Pergolesi, Rossini and Dvořák set it to music. This page gives the first stanza.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote the Stabat Mater?

It is attributed to the thirteenth-century friar Jacopone da Todi, but the authorship is not certain.

When is the Stabat Mater prayed?

On the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (15 September), at the Stations of the Cross, one stanza between each station, and in Lent.

How many stanzas does the Stabat Mater have?

Twenty three-line stanzas (ten in the six-line division). This page gives the first.

More prayers: Our Lady

← All the traditional prayers · Prayers and novenas