The Catholic Defender: The History of the Hail Mary

590 AD: Believe it or not, the Hail Mary used to only be one line from Luke’s Gospel: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” In 590 AD, Pope Gregory the Great invited Catholics to pray the Hail Mary during the Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This was the beginning of the prayer’s popularity.

1050 AD: Later, the words of Elizabeth to Mary were added to the Hail Mary prayer: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”( Luke 1:39-44) At this point, more people started praying the Hail Mary repetitively, using beads to keep track.

1261 AD: Pope Urban IV added the name of Jesus to the end of Elizabeth’s words: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

1555 AD: St. Peter Canisius published the Hail Mary in his catechism with almost the entire final petition. His version read: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.”

1566 AD: Eleven years later, the Catechism of the Council of Trent included, for the first time, the entire petition, concluding with the words “now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”

1568 AD: The Hail Mary was officially approved as the current version we say today: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, prayer for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”