The Chaplet of Our Sorrowful Mother is a powerful seven-decade Marian devotion honoring the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each decade of the Chaplet of Our Sorrowful Mother contains one Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and a short closing prayer. Pray with reverence and let Our Lady draw you near to her Son.

Prayers Used in This Chaplet

The Our Father
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.

The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Opening Prayers

Our Mother’s Cross, Path of Sorrows:
“May we never let the memory grow dim of our Mother’s agonies!”

Act of Contrition
Dearest Mother, I am filled with remorse at having offended thy beloved Son, my Lord and my God. The sins by which I bruised His Body have been the swords which pierce thy Heart. I repent and am resolved never to cause thee sorrow again. Help me with thy great strength, fill me with a ray of thy beauty.

Pray 3 Hail Marys.

First Sorrow — Mary Hears the Prophecy of Simeon

O Virgin most sorrowful, by the bitter pain thy soul suffered when, presenting thy Son Jesus in the Temple, thou didst hear the prophetic words of Simeon:

“Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted, and thine own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.”

I ask of thee this mercy, that the infinite merits of Jesus may not be in vain nor unfruitful for me through my negligence.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

O Heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart. Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!

Second Sorrow — Mary Flees with Her Son into Egypt

O Virgin most sorrowful, Mary, Mother of God, when thou didst learn from Saint Joseph the Angel’s warning, thou hadst to rise at night and flee into Egypt to save thy Divine Infant Son from the murderous plot of Herod. I pray thee by the fears and anxieties of that dangerous journey and by the hardships of thy years of exile in pagan Egypt, to keep me in thy motherly care, that, like thee, I may always bow to God’s holy Will.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

My Queen, my Mother, I consecrate to thee my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, and my entire self. O loving Mother, as I am thine own, keep me, defend me as thy property and possession.

Third Sorrow — The Three Days Loss of Jesus

O Virgin most Sorrowful, thy Heart was entombed in appalling darkness during the three days loss of Jesus; by the weariness and anxiety of thy three full day’s search for thy Son, may I never lose Jesus by driving Him by sin from my immortal soul.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

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 Mary.

Fourth Sorrow — Mary Meets Jesus Carrying His Cross

O Virgin most Sorrowful, only the Angels could fathom the depth of thy sorrow as thou didst meet thy Son on the way to Calvary; thou didst see agony in His Eyes, His Thorn Crowned Head, His Scourged Body streaming with Blood and staggering under the Cross on which He Willed to be Crucified for my salvation. Obtain for me strength and courage to follow my Redeemer with thee on the Way of the Cross, and to submit myself willingly, confidently, to whatsoever task He may give me, seeking no other reward than to know I am doing His Divine Will.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

Holy Mother, pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew of my Savior Crucified!

Fifth Sorrow — Mary Witnesses the Death Agony of Jesus

O Virgin most Sorrowful, my sweet Mother, at the Cross thou wert left to me to be my Mother as the last gift of thy dying Son. By the unspeakable pangs thou didst suffer at the foot of the Cross, when, after three hours agony, thou didst hear thy reviled and abandoned Son commend His Spirit into the Hands of His Heavenly Father, obtain for me the privilege to value suffering and to know and serve thee as my own dear Mother.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give Thee my heart and my soul!
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony!
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with Thee!

Sixth Sorrow — Mary Receives the Crucified Body of Jesus from the Cross

O Virgin most Sorrowful, by the bitter grief which afflicted thee when the outraged Body of thy Son was taken from the Cross and laid in thine arms, thou didst note in all its detail, the terrible torment my sins caused Him. Soften my ungrateful heart; may I piercingly, overwhelmingly hate sin and grieve with thee in thy sorrows.

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Seventh Sorrow — Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher

O Virgin most Sorrowful, whose Heart was charged with bitter desolation when the lifeless Body of thy Son was laid in the Sepulcher, grant that the memory of His Passion and Death be deeply engraved upon my mind, and my heart be fired with love for Him, and for thee. May I use the knowledge that His Crucifixion and thy sword-pierced Heart are the price of entrance into heaven of the poor souls in Purgatory!

Pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.

O Mother most Sorrowful, pray for us!

Deign that I may praise thee, O Sacred Virgin! Give me strength against thy enemies!

Closing Prayers

To Mary In Her Desolation
I compassionate thee, my holy Mother, with all my heart plunged in thy Son’s infinite tenderness. He, Who was all thy delight, the center and life of thy affections, lies dead in the darkness of the tomb and thou art tossed by a surge of sorrow immense as the sea. O Mother of Sorrows, relying on the grace of Jesus and thy care, I promise no more to renew thy sorrows by my sins, but to serve my God faithfully that I may come to share with thee the eternal joys of Paradise.

In Honor of the Tears Our Lady Shed — Pray 3 Hail Marys.

Supplication to Jesus
O Lord Jesus Crucified, so that we should consider ourselves the children of the sorrows and the fruit of the tears of Thy sweet Mother, with Thy dying breath Thou didst place us under her mediation by making her truly our Mother, also. Offering our grateful remembrance of her sorrows we implore Thy mercy in her name. By her tender intercession, may we obtain the happy fruits of Thy Passion and Death. Amen.

With all our heart and voice we acknowledge, we praise, and we bless Thee, God the Father unbegotten, Thee, the only-begotten Son, Thee, the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, O holy and undivided Trinity. Amen.

O Sorrowful Virgin Mary, bless us with thy Holy Child! Amen.