"Immaculate Mary" or "Immaculate Mother" (French: ''Ô Vierge Marie'') is a popular
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
Marian hymn. It is also known as the
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châte ...
Hymn, a term which also refers to the hymn tune itself. It is often sung in honour of the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...
of the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
The earliest version of the hymn was written in 1873 by French priest and
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
director Jean Gaignet, for pilgrims to the site of the apparitions of
Our Lady of Lourdes. It was set to a traditional French tune and contained eight verses; he later expanded it to 120 verses.
Versions
Several versions of the hymn are in use in different parts of the world. Many of them are original sets of lyrics in various languages, set to the same tune, theme, and refrain.
A popular version dating to 1952 is as follows:
:Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing,
:Thou reignst now in Heaven with Jesus our King.
:''Ave, Ave,
Ave Maria
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Ann ...
! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!''
:In Heaven
the Blessed thy glory proclaim,
:On earth we thy children invoke
thy fair name.
:''Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!''
:We pray for our mother, the
Church upon earth
:And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.
:''Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!''
Another popular version which appeared in hymnals between 1900 and 1975 has, as its first line, "Immaculate Mary, our hearts are on fire."
It extends to around 12 verses in order to facilitate its use in processions.
In the Philippines
A different text is sung at
novena services and Masses honouring
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, as well as Marian processions in general. This version is commonly associated with
Baclaran Church, the Philippine's
national shrine for the icon and its devotion.
Notes
References
* Immaculate Prayer
Immaculate Conception Prayers* Catholic Door
* Catholic Cultur
Liturgical Year : Activities : Enthronement of Our Lady of Guadalupe
{{Our Lady of Lourdes
Marian devotions
Marian hymns