The Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina) is one of the oldest and most beloved prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Attributed to Hermann of Reichenau, an 11th-century Benedictine monk, this prayer names our human condition plainly: we are exiles, mourning in a valley of tears. If you feel far from home today, spiritually or otherwise, this is your prayer.
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.
Hermann of Reichenau, 11th century
How this prayer works
The prayer asks Mary to turn her merciful gaze toward us, her exiled children, and to show us Christ after this life is over. It does not ask for earthly comfort or immediate relief. It asks for her intercession as we endure the valley of tears, and for the grace to reach Jesus at the end.
Hermann of Reichenau composed this prayer during a life of severe physical disability, confined to a monastery cloister. The ache of exile was not theoretical for him. The prayer became a staple of Compline, the Church’s night prayer, where monks have sung it for nearly a thousand years before sleep.
Pray it at the end of your day, when the weight of things feels heaviest. Pray it when you feel distant from God or home. Pray it slowly, letting each title for Mary settle: Queen, Mother, Advocate, sweetness, hope. Then ask her to turn her eyes toward you.
Carry it through this evening.
