Benedictus: Canticle of Zechariah in English and Latin

The Benedictus is the song of Zechariah, father of St. John the Baptist, at his son’s birth: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people.” The Church sings it every morning at Morning Prayer, greeting Christ as “the Orient from on high,” the rising Sun who comes “to enlighten them that sit in darkness.” Below are the English and Latin texts, the story behind them, what the canticle means, and how to pray it.

The Benedictus in English

From St. Luke’s Gospel, Douay-Rheims Bible:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.

In Latin

Benedíctus Dóminus, Deus Ísrael, quia visitávit et fecit redemptiónem plebi suæ, et eréxit cornu salútis nobis in domo David púeri sui, sicut locútus est per os sanctórum, qui a sǽculo sunt, prophetárum eius, salútem ex inimícis nostris et de manu ómnium, qui odérunt nos; ad faciéndam misericórdiam cum pátribus nostris et memorári testaménti sui sancti, iusiurándum, quod iurávit ad Ábraham patrem nostrum, datúrum se nobis, ut sine timóre, de manu inimicórum liberáti, serviámus illi in sanctitáte et iustítia coram ipso omnibus diébus nostris.
Et tu, puer, prophéta Altíssimi vocáberis: præíbis enim ante fáciem Dómini paráre vias eius, ad dandam sciéntiam salútis plebi eius in remissiónem peccatórum eórum, per víscera misericórdiæ Dei nostri, in quibus visitábit nos óriens ex alto, illumináre his, qui in ténebris et in umbra mortis sedent, ad dirigéndos pedes nostros in viam pacis.

The story of Zechariah

Zechariah (Zachary in the Douay-Rheims) was a priest of the Temple. When the angel Gabriel announced that his elderly wife Elizabeth would bear a son, he doubted and was struck dumb. At the child’s circumcision, when he wrote “John is his name,” his tongue was loosed, and “filled with the Holy Ghost” he sang this canticle (Luke 1:5–25, 57–79). See the St. John the Baptist prayer.

What the canticle means

God has visited his people: the long-awaited redemption has begun in Jesus, of “the house of David.”
Promises kept: God remembers his covenant and his oath to Abraham.
Freedom to worship: “that being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear, in holiness and justice.”
John’s mission: “thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest,” to prepare the way of the Lord.
The dawn from on high: Christ is the rising Sun who brings light and peace, which is why the Church sings it at sunrise. See the O Antiphons, where Christ is greeted as O Oriens, “O Dayspring.”

Where the Church sings it

At Morning Prayer (Lauds) every day, as the Gospel canticle. See Lauds.
On the Birth of St. John the Baptist (June 24) and in Advent.
In the traditional rite of burial, it was sung at the grave with the antiphon “I am the resurrection and the life.”

How to pray the Benedictus

Begin the day by thanking God for his faithfulness.
Pray the canticle slowly, asking to “serve him without fear, in holiness and justice” today.
Ask Christ, the Dayspring, to “direct our feet into the way of peace.”
End with the Glory Be. See the Morning Offering.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Benedictus?

The Canticle of Zechariah (Luke 1:68–79), named from its first word in Latin, Benedictus, “Blessed.”

When is the Benedictus prayed?

Every morning at Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Is the Benedictus the same as the Benedictus in the Sanctus?

No. The “Benedictus qui venit,” “Blessed is he who comes,” at the end of the Sanctus at Mass comes from Psalm 118; the Canticle of Zechariah is a different text. See Holy, Holy, Holy.

More Gospel canticles and morning prayers

Texts and sources

English: Luke 1:68–79, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
Latin: Latin Wikisource, “Benedictus.”