Regina Caeli

Devotions

The Easter-season Marian antiphon that replaces the Angelus, celebrating Christ’s Resurrection.

The Regina Caeli (‘Queen of Heaven’) is a short Latin Marian antiphon prayed standing, celebrating Christ’s Resurrection, said in place of the Angelus every day from Easter Sunday through Pentecost. It is one of the four seasonal Marian antiphons used in the Church’s official Liturgy of the Hours, so it sits closer to the liturgy than most popular devotions, even as its use at noon and by families is devotional rather than strictly liturgical.

Quick Facts

Category: Marian Devotions — Traditional Marian Prayers and Practices
Origin: a medieval Marian antiphon used in the Easter season
When prayed: daily from Easter Sunday through Pentecost, replacing the Angelus
Also used in: Night Prayer (Compline) of the Liturgy of the Hours during the Easter season
Church status: a traditional Marian antiphon recommended in the Easter season
Private revelation: not dependent on private revelation

What Is This Devotion?

The Regina Caeli is a brief Latin antiphon — four short lines plus a versicle, response, and closing prayer — addressed to Mary, announcing that the Son she was worthy to bear has risen as he said. Unlike the Angelus, which is prayed kneeling outside of Easter, the Regina Caeli is always prayed standing, in keeping with the Easter season’s character of unbroken joy. It functions as the Eastertide replacement for the Angelus at the traditional 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. hours, and is also one of the four seasonal antiphons sung or recited at the end of Night Prayer in the Church’s official Liturgy of the Hours.

Origin and History

The documented history traces the Regina Caeli to medieval Latin liturgical sources, where it appears as one of four seasonal antiphons of Our Lady sung at the close of Compline: the Alma Redemptoris Mater in Advent and early in the year, the Ave Regina Caelorum from Candlemas through Holy Week, the Regina Caeli through Eastertide, and the Salve Regina from Trinity Sunday through Advent. Its author is not securely known. A pious legend, not treated as documented history, credits Pope St. Gregory the Great with first hearing the opening lines sung by angels over Rome during a procession seeking relief from plague around the end of the sixth century, with the final line — asking Mary’s prayers — added afterward by the Church. This story is a cherished piece of Marian tradition attached to the antiphon, not a claim about its actual authorship that scholars treat as established.

Catholic Theology

The Regina Caeli’s content is thoroughly focused on the Resurrection: Mary is addressed only because the risen Christ is her Son, and the antiphon’s whole logic is to invite her rejoicing — and the rejoicing of whoever prays it — in what he has done. Its liturgical use within the Divine Office, which the Catechism treats as the pattern popular piety should follow (CCC §1674–1676), is part of what keeps it firmly Christ-centered even in its more devotional, non-liturgical uses, such as at the Pope’s Sunday noon appearance or in family prayer.

How to Practice It

Pray it standing, in place of the Angelus, at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. daily from Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday.
The full text and responses are on our Regina Caeli prayer page; a Latin version is also available for those who prefer the traditional wording.
Where the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed, it appears as the closing Marian antiphon of Night Prayer throughout the Easter season.
Many parishes that ring an Angelus bell the rest of the year continue ringing it at the same hours through Eastertide, now signaling the Regina Caeli instead.

Associated Prayers

When It’s Observed

The Regina Caeli is prayed daily throughout the Easter season, from Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday, after which the Angelus resumes. It is not tied to a single feast day of its own.

Church Status

As both a devotional prayer and one of the four antiphons used within the Church’s official Liturgy of the Hours, the Regina Caeli sits closer to the liturgy than most popular Marian devotions, without itself being the Mass or a sacrament. Its use at noon in place of the Angelus, and by families and individuals, remains a devotional practice — warmly recommended, especially during Eastertide, but not obligatory.

Private Revelation

The Regina Caeli does not rest on any private revelation. The Gregory-and-the-angels story is a pious legend about how the antiphon came to be sung, not a claim that Mary appeared to anyone or delivered a message — and even as a legend, it is not treated as documented history.

Common Misconceptions

“The Regina Caeli and the Angelus are unrelated prayers.”

They are closely linked in practice: the Regina Caeli functions as the direct Eastertide replacement for the Angelus, prayed at the same three daily hours, though its content celebrates the Resurrection rather than the Annunciation.

“The story about Pope Gregory and the angels is documented history.”

It is a pious legend explaining the antiphon’s origin, cherished in Marian devotion but not something historians treat as an established fact about who actually composed the text.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Catholics stop praying the Angelus and start the Regina Caeli?

On Easter Sunday, continuing daily through Pentecost Sunday, after which the Angelus resumes.

Why is it prayed standing instead of kneeling?

Standing reflects the unbroken joy of the Easter season — the same reason Catholics do not kneel for the rest of the liturgy during this period either.

Is the Regina Caeli part of the Mass?

No — it is a devotional antiphon, though it is also used liturgically within Night Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours; it is not part of the Mass itself.