«TE MATER ALMA NUMINIS». — Hymn of Lauds for the feast of the Maternity of Mary Most Holy, inserted into the office of the feast of the Maternity, approved by Benedict XIV for Venice and its diocese on 16 August 1751 (Decreta SS. Ritum Congr. ab an. 1751 usque ad an. 1753, fol. 242).
It was introduced into the Breviary in 1931, when Pius XI extended the feast to the universal Church in commemoration of the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus, at which, against Nestorius, the Most Holy Virgin was acclaimed Mother of God. In it, the Madonna is implored to protect us from the snares of Satan and to obtain for us divine clemency.
BIBL.: G. G. Belli, Gli inni del Breviario tradotti, Roma 1856, p. 512; C. Albin, La poésie du Bréviaire, Lione s. a., p. 516; A. Mirra, Gli inni del Breviario romano, Napoli 1947, p. 185. Silverio Mattei