The Our Father in Latin is the Pater Noster: “Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum…” It is the Lord’s Prayer in the words of the Latin Bible and liturgy, sung at every Latin Mass and prayed by Catholics around the world for more than fifteen centuries. Below is the full Latin text, a simple pronunciation guide in Church Latin, a word-by-word translation, the traditional English, and a note on its history.
The Pater Noster in Latin
From the Latin Wikisource text:
Pater noster, qui es in cælis:
sanctificétur nomen tuum;
advéniat regnum tuum;
fiat volúntas tua,
sicut in cælo et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hódie;
et dimítte nobis débita nostra,
sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris;
et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;
sed líbera nos a malo. Amen.
How to pronounce the Pater Noster
In Church (Ecclesiastical) Latin (stressed syllables in capitals):
PAH-tehr NOH-stehr, kwee ehs een CHEH-lees,
sahnk-tee-fee-CHEH-toor NOH-mehn TOO-oom.
ahd-VEH-nee-aht REH-nyoom TOO-oom.
FEE-aht voh-LOON-tahs TOO-ah, SEE-koot een CHEH-loh eht een TEHR-rah.
PAH-nehm NOH-stroom koh-tee-dee-AH-noom dah NOH-bees OH-dee-eh,
eht dee-MEET-teh NOH-bees DEH-bee-tah NOH-strah,
SEE-koot eht nohs dee-MEET-tee-moos deh-bee-TOH-ree-boos NOH-strees.
eht neh nohs een-DOO-kahs een ten-tah-tsee-OH-nehm,
sehd LEE-beh-rah nohs ah MAH-loh. AH-men.
Tips: “ae” and “æ” sound like “eh” (caelis); “c” before e, i or ae sounds like “ch” (caelis, sanctificetur); “gn” sounds like “ny” (regnum); “ti” before a vowel sounds like “tsee” (tentationem).
Word-by-word translation
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| Pater noster, qui es in caelis | Our Father, who art in heaven |
| sanctificetur nomen tuum | hallowed be thy name |
| adveniat regnum tuum | thy kingdom come |
| fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra | thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven |
| panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie | give us this day our daily bread |
| et dimitte nobis debita nostra | and forgive us our trespasses (literally “debts”) |
| sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris | as we forgive those who trespass against us (“our debtors”) |
| et ne nos inducas in tentationem | and lead us not into temptation |
| sed libera nos a malo | but deliver us from evil |
| Amen | Amen |
The Our Father in English
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
History
Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples (Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4). The Latin text used in the liturgy follows St. Jerome’s Vulgate, with one difference: in St. Matthew the Vulgate reads panem nostrum supersubstantialem (“our supersubstantial bread”), while the liturgy uses cotidianum (“daily”), as in St. Luke. In the traditional Latin Mass, the priest sings or says the Pater Noster alone and the people answer the last line, Sed libera nos a malo. The Catholic Our Father ends with “Amen,” without the doxology “For thine is the kingdom…,” which at Mass follows a separate prayer of the priest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Our Father in Latin?
The Pater Noster, which begins “Pater noster, qui es in caelis.” The full text is at the top of this page.
Is it “cotidianum” or “quotidianum”?
Both spellings are found; cotidianum is the older classical form used in modern liturgical books, quotidianum a later variant. They are pronounced the same.
Why “debita” (debts) instead of “trespasses”?
The Latin follows the Greek of St. Matthew, which speaks of “debts”; English Catholics traditionally say “trespasses.”
More Latin prayers
- Our Father in Aramaic
- Our Father in French
- Our Father in Italian
- Apostles’ Creed in Latin
- Catholic prayers in Latin
- Hail Mary in Latin
- St. Michael prayer in Latin
- Latin Rosary prayers
- Our Father prayer
- Glory Be prayer
Texts and sources
- Pater Noster, Latin Wikisource (la.wikisource.org), public domain.
- Our Father, Baltimore Catechism No. 3 (Kinkead, 1891), public domain (Project Gutenberg #14553).
- Pronunciation guide and word-by-word translation written for this page.