What is the Magnificat?

The Magnificat is the Blessed Virgin Mary's hymn of praise, spoken at the Visitation and recorded in Luke 1:46–55. Also called the Canticle of Mary, it begins, "My soul doth magnify the Lord."

Why is it called the Magnificat?

It is named from its first word in the Latin Vulgate, "Magnificat anima mea Dominum" — "My soul doth magnify the Lord." The Latin verb magnificat means "magnifies" or "glorifies."

Where is the Magnificat in the Bible?

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 46–55. Mary prays it in response to Elizabeth's greeting during the Visitation (Luke 1:39–56).

When do Catholics pray the Magnificat?

It is prayed every evening at Vespers in the Liturgy of the Hours, and many pray it as an evening thanksgiving, after good news, or with the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary — the Visitation.

Is the Latin or the English version the official text?

Both are used. The Church's Latin text (the Vulgate) begins "Magnificat anima mea Dominum"; the traditional English shown here is the Douay-Rheims, "My soul doth magnify the Lord." Modern liturgical books render it "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord."

The Magnificat — The Canticle of Mary

"My soul doth magnify the Lord." Our Lady's own hymn of praise — Luke 1:46–55, in Latin and English.

When Mary crossed the hill country to her cousin Elizabeth and was called blessed among women, she did not speak of herself — she magnified God. The Magnificat is her answer: the longest passage Our Lady speaks in all of Scripture, and the hymn the Church has sung at Vespers every evening since her earliest centuries. It is a song of praise with a blade in it — a God who casts down the mighty and lifts up the lowly.

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The Magnificat

The Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46–55)

My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo, quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae. Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes, quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen eius, et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. Fecit potentiam in brachio suo, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui; deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles; esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes. Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae, sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula.

What the Magnificat is

The Magnificat is the canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary — her hymn of praise recorded in the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55). It takes its name from its first word in Latin, Magnificat ("[my soul] magnifies"), and it is the longest passage the Mother of God speaks anywhere in Scripture.

Together with the Benedictus of Zechariah and the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon, it is one of the three great Gospel canticles the Church has prayed since her earliest centuries. Every evening at Vespers, the Magnificat is the summit of the Church's prayer.

Where it comes from — the Visitation

After the Angel Gabriel announced that she would bear the Son of God, Mary went with haste into the hill country to her kinswoman Elizabeth, who was carrying John the Baptist. When Elizabeth greeted her — "Blessed art thou among women" — Mary answered not with a word about herself, but with the Magnificat (Luke 1:39–56).

It is a song woven from the Old Testament, echoing the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10) and the Psalms — the prayer of a Jewish girl steeped in Scripture. In it Our Lady calls herself the Lord's handmaid and turns every ounce of Elizabeth's praise straight back toward God.

How and when to pray it

The Magnificat belongs to the evening. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is the Gospel canticle of Vespers, prayed daily by priests, religious, and laypeople the world over; when it is prayed as part of the Divine Office, it closes with the Glory be to the Father. You need not be praying the full Office to make it your own:

As evening thanksgiving — the Church's own way of closing the day in praise.
When God has done something great — good news, an answered prayer, a birth, a deliverance. It is the prayer for the moment you want to give the glory back.
With the Rosary — the Magnificat is the fruit of the second Joyful Mystery, the Visitation; pray it there and the mystery comes alive.
On the Feast of the Visitation (May 31), when the whole Church sings the words Mary first spoke.

Why it matters

The Magnificat is gentle in the mouth and thunderous in its meaning. It proclaims a God who "hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble," who fills the hungry and sends the rich away empty. It is the anthem of the lowly and a warning to the proud — praise that doubles as a reordering of the world.

For the Catholic man it is a lesson in the first act of the soul: to magnify God rather than the self. Mary, given the highest honor any creature can receive, answers by making herself small and God great. That is allegiance — and it is where every battle worth fighting begins.