
Salve Regina (Hail Queen )
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
Poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs,
Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
Thine eyes of mercy toward us;
And after this our exile,
Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O, sweet Virgin Mary.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Almighty, everlasting God, who by the co-operation of the Holy Spirit didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious Virgin-Mother Mary to become a dwelling-place meet for thy Son: grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration; so by her fervent intercession we may be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
- The Salve Regina was one of the Leonine Prayers, in which context the collect at the end was replaced by different text:
Let us pray:
O God, our refuge and our strength look down with mercy upon the people who cry to Thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of our Holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a more modern translation:
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
Hail our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to you we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this, our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
L Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
- A 1969 translation by James Quinn, S.J., beginning “Hail, our Queen and Mother blest,” is offered as an alternative to the Latin in the Divine Office