Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina): Full Text & Rosary Closing Prayer
After the last decade of the Rosary, Catholics turn to Mary as Mother of Mercy with the Hail Holy Queen — one of the Church's most sung and prayed Marian antiphons.
Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina) closes the Rosary — "Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy..." — prayed from Pentecost until Advent when replaced by Alma Redemptoris Mater. One of the four great Marian antiphons of the Church.
Hail Holy Queen (English)
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
Salve Regina (Latin)
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi. Amen.
The Hail Holy Queen names Mary as advocate and mother in exile — we are pilgrims longing for heaven, and she leads us to Jesus, the blessed fruit of her womb. That is why it closes the Rosary so naturally.
When the Church Prays Salve Regina
- At the end of the Rosary (with the optional concluding prayer).
- As the seasonal Marian antiphon from Pentecost until Advent (in the Divine Office tradition).
- At Compline (Night Prayer) in many monasteries and parishes.
- After Benediction in some Eucharistic devotions.