The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother;
to thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful;
O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions;
but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.
Text: The Raccolta, translated by Ambrose St John (1910 edition), public domain.
In Latin
Memorare, O piissima Virgo Maria,
non esse auditum a saeculo,
quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia,
tua implorantem auxilia,
tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum.
Ego tali animatus confidentia,
ad te, Virgo virginum, Mater, curro,
ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto.
Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere,
sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.
About this prayer
The Memorare grew out of a longer fifteenth-century prayer. It is often credited to St Bernard of Clairvaux, but its spread is owed to Fr Claude Bernard, a seventeenth-century priest in Paris who taught it to prisoners and the dying. It is prayed at any time, especially in need.