The Glory Be is a one-sentence prayer of praise to the Holy Trinity. Catholics pray it at the end of every decade of the Rosary, after every psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours, and at the close of many other prayers. Here are the traditional words:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
It is also called the Doxology (from the Greek doxa, “glory”) or the Gloria Patri. Below you will find the Latin and Spanish versions, what each phrase means, the prayer’s ancient history, and when to pray it.
The Glory Be in Latin (Gloria Patri)
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
The Latin in saecula saeculorum literally means “unto the ages of ages,” which English renders as “world without end.”
The Glory Be in Spanish (Gloria al Padre)
Gloria al Padre, y al Hijo, y al Espíritu Santo.
Como era en el principio, ahora y siempre, por los siglos de los siglos.
Amén.
What the Glory Be means
- “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.” We give equal glory to the three divine Persons, naming them in the order Jesus used when he sent the apostles to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19, Douay-Rheims). Unlike most prayers, it asks for nothing. It is pure praise.
- “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.” God’s glory has no beginning and no end. These words also profess that the Son and the Spirit did not come into being later: the Trinity has always been one God.
- “World without end. Amen.” Forever. Amen means “so be it.”
The Catechism calls praise “the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God”; it “lauds God for his own sake” (CCC 2639).
A short history of the Glory Be
Short hymns of praise to the Trinity go back to the earliest Christians. In the fourth century, when the Arian heresy denied that the Son is equal to the Father, the form “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” naming all three Persons side by side, became universal among Catholics as a profession of orthodox faith.
The second half, Sicut erat in principio, is a Western addition. In 529 the Synod of Vaison in Gaul ordered it to be said there as it was in Rome, describing it as a protest against Arianism. The original Catholic Encyclopedia article on the doxology, by Adrian Fortescue, notes that the Eastern rites never adopted this second half.
The Glory Be and the “Glory to God”
The Church has two doxologies:
| Lesser doxology | Greater doxology | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Gloria Patri, the Glory Be | Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Gloria |
| Length | One sentence | A long hymn |
| Begins | “Glory be to the Father…” | “Glory to God in the highest…” (Luke 2:14) |
| Where | Rosary, psalms, many devotions | Sunday Mass (outside Advent and Lent) and feasts |
Different wordings
You may hear two English versions:
- The traditional version above (“as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end”), used in the Rosary and most devotional prayer.
- A modern version used in the Liturgy of the Hours, which ends “as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.”
Both translate the same Latin. When praying with a group, use the version the leader uses.
When Catholics pray the Glory Be
- In the Rosary: after the ten Hail Marys of each decade, followed in many places by the Fatima prayer. See today’s Rosary mysteries.
- In the Liturgy of the Hours: at the end of every psalm and canticle.
- After the Our Father and Hail Mary in morning and night prayers. See Catholic morning prayers and night prayers.
- As a short prayer of thanks at any moment: after good news, after a task, or when you notice something beautiful.
It is a widespread custom to bow the head at the words “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,” as a sign of reverence for the Trinity.
Teaching the Glory Be to children
The Glory Be is often the first prayer children learn after the Sign of the Cross, because it is short and has the same three names. Teach it by pointing out that the first half names God, and the second half says “forever.” Pray it together after giving thanks for something.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Glory Be in the Bible?
Not word for word, but it is built on Scripture: the three divine names from Matthew 28:19 and the many biblical doxologies, such as “To him be glory both now and unto the day of eternity” (2 Peter 3:18, Douay-Rheims).
Is it “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit”?
Both are correct. Traditional texts say “Holy Ghost”; most modern texts say “Holy Spirit.”
Why is it called the minor doxology?
To distinguish it from the major doxology, the Gloria in excelsis sung at Mass.
More Catholic prayers
- Latin Rosary prayers
- Rosary prayers in Spanish
- The Gloria (Glory to God in the highest)
- Catholic prayers in Latin
- The Our Father
- The Hail Mary
- The Apostles’ Creed
- The Sign of the Cross
- The mysteries of the Rosary
- Catholic prayers: the basic prayers every Catholic should know
Texts and sources
- English text: A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. 3 (Baltimore Catechism, ed. Kinkead, 1891), question 204, public domain (Project Gutenberg).
- Adrian Fortescue, “Doxology,” Catholic Encyclopedia (1909).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2639.
- Matthew 28:19; Luke 2:14; 2 Peter 3:18, Douay-Rheims Bible.