“And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”
Marian prayer
The Hail Mary
The Church's great Marian prayer, woven from two Gospel greetings — the angel Gabriel's and Elizabeth's — with the petition 'Holy Mary, Mother of God' added by the Church and fixed in the Roman Breviary of 1568.
The prayer
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Where it comes from
The dated sources the library holds, oldest first — in their own words.
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30
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31
“And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”
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1,150
The two greetings joined
By the twelfth century the two Gospel greetings — the angel Gabriel's and Elizabeth's — are joined and prayed together as the "Ave," the salutation of Our Lady; the holy name "Jesus" is added at the close of the first part.
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1,566
The Catholic Encyclopedia Catholic1907–1914
“Finally, the petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen." is stated by the official "Catechism of the Council of Trent" to have been framed by the Church itself.”
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1,568
Fixed in the Roman Breviary
Down to 1568 the "Ave" commonly ended at the name of Jesus; the full second part — "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death" — was fixed for the whole Church in the Roman Breviary of St. Pius V in 1568.