"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 lette ...

Marian hymn Marian hymns are Christian songs focused on Mary, mother of Jesus. They are used in both devotional and liturgical services, particularly by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. They are often used in the mont ...

. 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 Château ...

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 w ...

of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. 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 Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, o ...

. 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, 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 Annunciation) and Mary's s ...

! 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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

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 A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

services and Masses honouring

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Our Lady of Perpetual Help (also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon with an alleged Marian apparition. The icon is believed to have o ...

, as well as Marian processions in general. This version is commonly associated with

Baclaran Church The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help ( fil, Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo), also known as the Redemptorist Church and colloquially as Baclaran Church, is a prominent national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpet ...

, 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