The Regina Caeli (“Queen of Heaven, rejoice”) is the joyful Easter prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. During Easter Time it takes the place of the Angelus at morning, noon and evening, and it is sung as the Marian antiphon at the end of Night Prayer. In 2027 Easter Time runs from Easter Sunday, March 28, to Pentecost, May 16.
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom thou didst deserve to bear, alleluia.
Hath risen as He said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.
V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. Because Our Lord is truly risen, alleluia.
Let us pray.
O God, Who by the resurrection of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, hast vouchsafed to make glad the whole world, grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His mother, we may attain the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Regina Caeli in Latin
Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia.
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.
Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
The older spelling Regina Coeli is also common.
What the Regina Caeli means
The prayer congratulates Mary on her Son’s Resurrection. The Mother who stood at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday is invited to rejoice, because the Son she “didst deserve to bear” has “risen as He said” (Matthew 28:6). Every line ends with alleluia, the Church’s Easter cry of joy, which is not said during Lent.
Where the Angelus remembers the Incarnation, the Regina Caeli celebrates the Resurrection: the whole mystery of Christ, from his conception to his rising, is honored with Mary in the course of the year.
When to pray the Regina Caeli
- In place of the Angelus at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Popes pray it publicly with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square every Sunday of Easter Time.
- At the end of Night Prayer (Compline) during Easter Time, as the Marian antiphon. See Compline and Catholic night prayers.
- After the Rosary in Easter Time, especially with the Glorious Mysteries.
Lasance’s prayer book (1911) notes the old custom that it is “recited standing.”
The legend of the Regina Caeli
A pious legend says that Pope St. Gregory the Great (died 604), walking barefoot in a great procession in Rome one Easter morning, heard angels sing the first three lines and added the fourth, “Pray for us to God, alleluia.” Its author is in fact unknown. The original Catholic Encyclopedia traces the antiphon to the twelfth century and notes that the Franciscans were singing it after Compline in the first half of the thirteenth.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Regina Caeli replace the Angelus?
From Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday. In 2027 that is March 28 to May 16.
Do you kneel for the Regina Caeli?
The traditional custom is to stand, in honor of the Resurrection, while the Angelus is often prayed kneeling.
Is there a Regina Caeli prayer for Easter?
The Regina Caeli is itself the Easter prayer to Mary. You can also pray the Hail Mary and the Hail, Holy Queen, which belongs to Ordinary Time.
More prayers to Mary
- The Queenship of Mary
- The Exsultet (Easter Proclamation)
- The four Marian antiphons
- Catholic hymns: lyrics and meaning
- Victimae Paschali Laudes
- Ave Maris Stella
- Catholic Easter prayers
- Easter 2027
- The Angelus
- Hail, Holy Queen
- The Memorare
- The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Catholic liturgical calendar 2026–2027
Texts and sources
- English text and prayer: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), Day Prayers, public domain; wrapped lines regrouped.
- Latin text: Breviarium Romanum and Liturgia Horarum, Marian antiphon for Easter Time.
- “Regina Coeli,” Catholic Encyclopedia (1911).
- Matthew 28:6, Douay-Rheims Bible.