LITANIES. - I. GENERALITIES.
The term (from λιτανεία, "prayer") has the general sense of prayer and even more specifically that of supplication or intercessory prayer. Stylistically, it appears as a concise formula through which the Christian assembly unites itself to the prayer of the sacred minister, intimately sharing in his holy intentions.
This practice quickly spread in both East and West, immediately becoming the prayer of the faithful. Some trace of it has been seen in the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy (2:1-3) and in the Letter of St. Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (cf. G. Morin, in *Analecta Maredsoliana*, 2 [1914], pp. 54-57); Justin also mentions it (*First Apology*, chaps. 65-67). Many other sources testify from the 4th century onward to its existence everywhere and to its precise place in the Mass, immediately before the Offertory. The prayer concluded with the kiss of peace exchanged among all present.
In the formulas preserved in liturgical monuments, one notes that despite the variety of formulas, a common, simple, and precise initial schema persists, alongside a common stylistic form consisting of an exhortation or invitation with stylized phrases ("Let us pray to God for... so that..."), to which the assembly responded with the Greek formula *Kyrie eleison* or the Latin *Domine miserere*. The schema was regularly composed of two groups: a) prayer for the Church, for persons in ecclesiastical office (bishop, priests, deacons), virgins, and widows; b) prayer for the emperor or king and for the peace of the world; for persons in affliction and danger: the sick, travelers, sailors, exiles, prisoners, those condemned "to the mines," etc. Moreover, the uniformity of style and schema was already affirmed by St. Prosper of Aquitaine around 440 (*PL* 51, 245). Proof that they were truly said daily is found in the *Orationes solemnes* of Good Friday, even though they have no connection with that day. Pope Gelasius (492-496) gave a new formula (*Deprecatio Gelasiana*) and a new place to the old *Oratio fidelium*, probably motivated by a desire for greater conformity to the structure of the Church at the end of the 5th century. The formula was transmitted by Alcuin; the new place was at the beginning of the Mass, before the readings.
St. Gregory the Great introduced other innovations: he retained the *Deprecatio Gelasiana* only for solemn days, perhaps because it was lengthy, omitting it in daily Masses in the supplicatory part (the first), allowing the *Kyrie eleison* to be said instead; he also introduced, or perhaps better, established the custom of alternating it with *Christe eleison*. However, the strong development in these centuries (6th-9th) of offertory rites, the recollection of the offerings introduced into them, and the mention in the Canon of the names of persons belonging to the ecclesiastical and political hierarchy and of those most worthy of remembrance in the celebration of individual Masses, led to the disappearance (documents from the 6th to the 9th century no longer mention it) of the return to the *Orationes fidelium*. Only the memory of it remained in the *Kyrie* sung before the *Gloria in excelsis* in the form introduced by Gelasius, and in the *Oremus* recited without a following prayer before the Offertory in its primitive form: at least this is the view of Duchesne (*Origines du culte chrétien*, 5th ed., Paris 1925, p. 175), not shared by Bishop and Wilmart (*Le génie du rit romain*, ibid. 1920, pp. 88-90), who consider such an *Oremus* a remnant of a prayer after the Gospel still preserved in the Ambrosian rite. The Ambrosian rite, in fact, has allowed for two alternating formulas of the *Oratio fidelium* on Lenten Sundays immediately after the entrance (*Iustitia*), characterized by archaic features, as shown by the analysis of the melody, and the presence of a prayer for those condemned "to the mines," a penalty abolished in 230. The place it occupies today contrasts with the testimonies of the 4th century, which place it before the Offertory, and must be the result of the reform carried out in Rome by Gelasius I.
In both the Roman and Ambrosian rites, the *Oratio fidelium* underwent a version influenced by Gallican customs, which can be described as psalmodic, because the ancient brief and concise petitions, though of ecclesiastical origin, were replaced by others with the same characteristics but predominantly of biblical and psalmodic origin, and in this new form were introduced into the office during the "little hours."
II. MAJOR LITANIES.
This was a procession that took place in Rome from St. Lawrence in Lucina to St. Peter’s. Since the pope and the entire papal court participated, it acquired such a solemn character above other processions that even in the time of Gregory the Great (*PL* 77, 1329) it was called the Major Litany. It was held on April 25 (for which reason it was also called the Litany or Procession of St. Mark), and it was the Christian version of the pagan processions held in the countryside in spring to beg the gods—and later God through the intercession of the saints—for a good harvest. The pagan procession traveled the Via Flaminia and, upon reaching a grove near the Milvian Bridge, the famous Quirinalis sacrificed to Robigus the entrails of a dog and a sheep. According to G. Beleth (*Rationale div. off.*, chap. 123), Pope Liberius (352-366), converting it into a Christian rite, preserved the itinerary and replaced the sacrifice with a station at St. Peter’s. The procession had a festive tone, which was changed to a penitential one in the Middle Ages; by the end of the 12th century, it still had a character of great solemnity and took place from the Lateran to the Vatican.
Due to the usual Roman influences, the Major Litany was copied in other cities. For Milan, a diploma from 957 and Beroldus in the 12th century (ed. Magistretti, p. 122) speak of a procession of the archbishop and clergy from the Duomo to St. Victor and then to the nearby chapel of St. Gregory, for which it was called the Major Litany, a title already held by the *tribù*. While in Rome and Milan the procession disappeared (in Milan it is now held in the Duomo as a simple rite), it remained in the countryside.
III. MINOR LITANIES.
Their institution is attributed to St. Mamertus, bishop of Vienne in the Dauphiné, who, according to Gregory of Tours (*Hist. Franc.*, II, 34), around 470, following an earthquake and other calamities, "properly on Ascension Day, proclaimed a three-day fast among the people with groaning and supplication," accompanied by a procession that stopped in various churches of the city. This was a form of penance and propitiation already practiced, and over the centuries others would be organized. But perhaps due to the gravity of the disasters, which would also explain the introduction of penitential days in the joyful Easter season, or due to the careful organization, this three-day observance became customary to the point that a few decades later Caesarius of Arles (d. 543) could say: "the Church celebrates these three days regularly throughout the world" (*Sermo* 173), even though, in fact, by the end of the 7th century they were still unknown in England, Germany, and Rome, where they were introduced by Leo III (795-816). By the 8th century, they were already part of the liturgical Ordinary of all major churches (cathedrals and only pleban churches; urban and rural parishes had to go respectively to the cathedral and the pieve).
In individual Churches, particular ceremonies were added to the general rite. M. Righetti (*Storia liturgica*, II, Milan 1947, p. 205) recalls the custom in Liguria of carrying a banner with a dragon depicted in three successive stages during the three processions, illustrating its defeat (1. with tail erect; 2. with tail somewhat lowered; 3. with tail completely flattened). A similar practice existed in Padua, but on the third day the banner was thrown into a canal. In Milan, however, the penitential character was emphasized on the first day by the distribution of ashes on the heads of the clergy and the faithful, followed by processions barefoot and wearing hairshirts. During the long processions, which in some places lasted until late afternoon, psalms were sung; later (7th century), these were replaced by antiphons, some of which honored the mysteries and saints to whom the churches where the processions stopped were dedicated, also to allow for rest and some readings. At Rouen, Milan, Vercelli, and Genoa, a Mass was added, though only for the catechumens; the final church then celebrated the Mass for the faithful.
In some Churches, the three days were assigned to a different period. The Council of Gerona in 517 had decreed that Spain celebrated the Rogations on the last three days of Pentecost week; in Milan, they were observed on the first three days of the week after Ascension, still within Eastertide, a time when, according to the teaching of St. Ambrose, no fasting was to be practiced. For this reason, St. Ariald opposed the practice as a novelty, though it may not have been one and may have appeared so to him only because it had long fallen into disuse. Since the legendary introduction of the Rogations in Milan by St. Lazarus during Attila’s invasions is doubtful, some attribute their origin to St. Eusebius, based on a 16th-century testimony and a much vaguer 13th-century one; in any case, they cannot be dated earlier than the 5th–7th centuries. The processional routes were later adapted to urban changes, the most notable being those of Archbishop Odelpert in the 9th century, Archbishop Otto in 1284, and St. Charles in the 16th century.
At times, these processions gave rise to disorders condemned by many synods, which nonetheless strongly recommended the pious practice. It disappeared as a procession almost everywhere in the last century, surviving only as a prayer in the Divine Office.
IV. LITANIES OF THE SAINTS. — These consist of a very ancient formulary (some elements date to the 3rd century) of the *Oratio Fidelium*, which in the Middle Ages was preceded by a list of saints arranged according to the same criteria as the Canon of the Mass, their selection inspired by local memories of the great Roman martyrs. Initially very brief, as preserved in the *Ordo* of St-Amand, it later developed significantly, as seen in the Gregorian Sacramentary contained in codex Ottobonianus 313 (9th century). Other Churches and famous monasteries of antiquity each had their own litany, sometimes composed almost entirely of the names of saints whose relics or memories were preserved there. However, the Roman form ultimately prevailed and was definitively imposed on all Western Churches, including Milan, whose litanies consist solely of the names of saints and are sung during the rites of Baptism and funerals to invoke their aid at the two most important stages of life.
V. LAURETAN LITANIES. — It is only in an improper sense that one can claim they date back to the early centuries of Christianity. Especially among Eastern writers, frequent lists of gracious titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary appear, providing rich material for inspiration. A 12th-century manuscript from Mainz contains: *Letania de domina nostra Dei Genitrice Virgine Maria. Oratio valde bona cotidie pro quacumque tribulatione dicenda est*. This is the oldest known recension, followed by others from the 15th century, all modeled on the litanies of the saints. Toward the end of the 15th century, they took on new forms: after suppressing the deprecations and specific prayer intentions, they assumed the form and name they have retained due to their prominent place in the sanctuary of Loreto. The author and date of composition are unknown; the text is inspired by Sacred Scripture and the Fathers. The earliest documents mentioning them at Loreto date to 1531, 1547, and 1554; they were officially approved by Sixtus V in 1587. To better ensure their stability and unaltered preservation, the Sacred Congregation of Rites issued three decrees (1631, 1821, 1839) prohibiting any additions without the permission of the Holy See. During World War I, Benedict XV added the invocation *Regina pacis, ora pro nobis*, and Pius XII, on the occasion of the dogmatic definition of the Assumption of the Virgin, added *Maria in caelum assumpta* (AAS, 42 [1950], p. 795). The introduction and conclusion, identical to those of the litanies of the saints, recall their original form. From the 16th century onward, other litanies of the Madonna were composed, some even after the prohibition by Clement VIII in 1601; however, they had a short-lived existence and little resonance, except for the new litanies of 1575 at Loreto, which began their decline when an attempt was made to disseminate them everywhere, a request denied by Gregory XIII.
VI. LITANIES OF THE SACRED HEART. — Some references to them are found in the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. She knew two forms: one composed by Sister Joly of the Visitation in Dijon around 1686, translated and published in Latin in 1689; another by Mother de Soudeilles, superior of the Visitation in Moulins, printed in 1687. A third was composed by Fr. Croiset and included in the second edition of his *La devozione al Cuore di Gesù*. Others followed, but all were indistinctly of a private devotional character. Cardinal Perraud, Bishop of Autun, seems to have taken the initiative for official approval by presenting a final version of 33 invocations largely drawn from previous litanies and arranged in a desired order. They were approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites with a decree of June 27, 1898.
VII. OTHER LITANIES. — The litanies for the dying from the *Ordo commendationis animae* (v. ANIMA, RACCOMANDAZIONE dell’); the litanies of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, approved by Leo XIII on January 16, 1886 (Acta Sanctae Sedis, 18 [1885–86], pp. 509–11); the litanies of St. Joseph, approved by Pius XI on March 18, 1909 (AAS, 1 [1909], pp. 290–92).
id., The Universal Prayer, ibid., pp. 60-74; E. Campana, Maria nel culto, I. Torino 1946, pp. 610-36; G. Roschini, Mariologia, I. Roma 1948, pp. 102-104; J. Gajard, La prière litanique Divinée pacis, in Rev. grégorienne, 27 (1948), pp. 4-16; M. Ruhetti, Storia liturgica, III, Milano 1949, pp. 76-79, 170-74, 242-47, 527, 542.