SUB TÚUM PRÆSÍDIUM | WE FLY TO THY PATRONAGE
EXPRESS COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN THE POWERFUL INTERCESSION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
About This Prayer
The Sub Tuum Praesidium (We Fly to Thy Patronage) is the oldest known prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, dating to approximately the 3rd century. A fragment was discovered on an Egyptian papyrus. It is a brief but powerful prayer of confidence in Mary's intercession and protection.
Pray Daily
SUB TÚUM PRÆSÍDIUM [TTS: "Sub túum præsídium confúgimus, sáncta Déi Génitrix: nóstras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus: sed a perÍculis cúnctis lÍbera nos sémper, Virgo gloriósa et benedícta."]
Sub túum præsídium confúgimus, sáncta Déi Génitrix: nóstras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus: sed a perÍculis cúnctis lÍbera nos sémper, Virgo gloriósa et benedícta. V. Dignare me, laudáre te, virgo sacrata. [TTS: "Dignare me, laudáre te, virgo sacrata. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos."] R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos. V. Venedictus Déus in sánctis suis. [TTS: "Venedictus Déus in sánctis suis. Amen."] R. Amen.
WE FLY TO THY PATRONAGE
We fly to thy protection, O Holy Mother of God; Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin. V. Make me worthy to praise thee, Holy Virgin. R. Give me strength against thine enemies. V. Blessed be God in His saints. R. Amen.
Related Prayers
Common Questions
What is the Sub Tuum Praesidium?
The Sub Tuum Praesidium ('We Fly to Thy Patronage') is a short, ancient prayer asking the Blessed Virgin Mary for her protection. In just a few lines it confesses that the faithful flee under Mary's mantle in time of need, asks her to deliver them from danger, and addresses her as Theotokos, 'Mother of God,' which the Church would later defend at the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431. It is the oldest extant prayer addressed to Mary that we possess.
How old is this prayer?
A Greek fragment of the Sub Tuum Praesidium was discovered in Egypt on a papyrus identified as Rylands Papyrus 470, generally dated to around A.D. 250 or perhaps slightly earlier. This makes the prayer at least seventeen centuries old and shows that the early Christians were already turning to the Mother of God for protection in the third century. The text passed through Coptic, Greek, and Latin liturgical traditions and is still prayed today in essentially the same form.
When and how is the Sub Tuum Praesidium prayed?
The Sub Tuum Praesidium may be prayed at any time, especially in moments of fear, danger, or temptation, when its short and confident text becomes a kind of spiritual breath. It is sung in the Liturgy of the Hours and in many religious communities at the close of evening prayer or at the end of the day. Pope Francis frequently asked the Church to pray it together with the Memorare and an additional invocation during the COVID pandemic of A.D. 2020 and at later moments of crisis.
What does the text of the Sub Tuum Praesidium say?
The prayer is brief: 'We fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.' Each phrase weaves together a deep theological claim: that Mary truly is the Mother of God, that she hears prayer, that she protects those who turn to her, and that she does so always. The compactness of the text is one reason it has survived so long; an entire theology of Marian intercession is held within a few sentences.