* Angelus

*The Angelus (1857–59) by Jean-François

Millet The Angelus (Latin for "angel") is a
Catholic devotion commemorating the
Incarnation. As with many Catholic
prayers, the name Angelus is derived
from its incipit—the first few words of
the text: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ
("The Angel of the Lord declared unto
Mary"). The devotion is practised by
reciting as versicle and response three
Biblical verses narrating the mystery,
alternating with the prayer "Hail Mary".
The Angelus exemplifies a species of
prayers called the "prayer of the
devotee“.
*The Angelus is recited at three
particular times during the day; 6
am, 12 noon, and 6 pm.
Traditionally it is recited kneeling
while a bell is rung. During the
Easter Season, the Angelus is
replaced by the Regina Caeli, a
practice first instituted in 1743. The
devotion is also observed by some
Anglican and Lutheran Protestants.
*History
*According to Herbert Thurston, "The
history of the Angelus is by no means
easy to trace with confidence, and it is
well to distinguish in this matter
between what is certain and what is in
some measure conjectural."[3] This is an
old devotion that was already well
established 700 years ago. The first
written documentation stems from the
Italian Franciscan friar Sinigardi di
Arezzo (died 1282).
*Franciscan friaries in Italy document the use
in 1263 and 1295. The current form of the
Angelus prayer is included in a Venetian
Catechism from 1560.
* The older usages seem to have
commemorated the resurrection of Christ in
the morning, his suffering at noon, and the
annunciation in the evening.[4]
*In 1269, St Bonaventure urged the faithful to
adopt the custom of the Franciscans of saying
three Hail Marys as the Compline bell was
rung.[5]
*The Angelus is not identical to the "Noon
Bell" ordered by Pope Calixtus III (1455–58)
in 1456, who asked for a long midday bell-
ringing and prayer for protection against
the Turkish invasions of his time.
*In his 1956 Apostolic Letter Dum Maerenti
Animo about the persecution of the Catholic
church in Eastern Europe and China, Pope
Pius XII recalls the 500th anniversary of the
"Noon Bell", a prayer crusade ordered by his
predecessors against what they considered
to be dangers from the East.
*The institution of the Angelus is
by some ascribed to Pope Urban
II, by some to Pope John XXII in
the year 1317.[5] The triple
recitation is ascribed to Louis XI
of France, who in 1472 ordered it
to be recited three times daily.
[6] The form of the prayer was
standardised by the 17th century.
[5]
 * In his Apostolic Letter Marialis
Cultus (1974), Pope Paul VI
encouraged the praying of the
Angelus considering it important
and a reminder to faithful
Catholics of the Paschal Mystery,
in which by recalling the
incarnation of the son of God they
pray that they may be led
"through his passion and cross to
the glory of his resurrection."
*It is common practice that during the
recital of the Angelus prayer, for the
lines "And the Word was made flesh/And
dwelt among us", those reciting the
prayer bow or genuflect. Either of these
actions draws attention to the moment
of the Incarnation of Christ into human
flesh. During Paschaltide, the Marian
antiphon Regina Cœli with versicle and
prayer, is used in place of the Angelus.
*Papal custom
*Pope Francis during the Angelus Address in
Vatican City, 2018.
*In Vatican City since Pope John XXIII, the
Pope delivers an address every Sunday at
noon. Pope John spoke of the Angelus "as a
summary of 'the christian epic' in three
books: the divine invitation and initiative;
the human response of obedience, fiat; and
the result of this obedience, the Word made
flesh."
*Anglican practice
*The Angelus is found in two popular twentieth-
century Anglo-Catholic manuals of devotion. The
Practice of Religion: A Short Manual of
Instructions and Devotions by Archibald Campbell
Knowles, first published in 1908, refers to the
Angelus as "the memorial of the Incarnation" and
notes that "In the Mystery of the Incarnation we
worship and adore Our Lord as God of God, we
honour and reverence Saint Mary as 'Blessed
among women.' In honouring Mary, the Instrument
of the Incarnation, we really honour Christ, Who
became Incarnate."
*The Angelus is also found
in Saint Augustine's Prayer
Book: A Book of Devotion
for members of the
Episcopal Church, first
published in 1947
(Revised Edition, 1967).
*In poetry
*The poem "The Irish Unionist's Farewell" by Sir
John Betjeman has this line "and the Angelus is
calling".
*Francis Bret Harte wrote "The Angelus"
referencing the twilight tolling of the Angelus bell
at a Californian mission.
*Denis Florence MacCarthy's poem "The Bell-
Founder" describes the fashioning of Angelus
bells.
*Francis Jammes' most famous collection of poems
is the 1897 De l'angélus de l'aube à l'angélus du
soir ("From morning Angelus to evening Angelus").
* In "The Angelus", Donegal poet Elizabeth Shane
portrays an elderly couple cutting peat
reminiscent of the scene in Millet's painting.
* In a poem set to music circa 1919, "The Foggy
Dew", Canon Charles O'Neill (1887–1963)
memorialized the Easter Rising also known as
the Easter Rebellion of 1916. One of the lines
reads: "But the Angelus Bell o'er the Liffey's
swell rang out in the foggy dew".
* A poem by E A Poe "A Catholic Hymn" and
various similar names in 1835 as part of a short
story and again in 1845. Apparently written
after hearing the Angelus bells whilst passing a
church.
*Angelus bell
*The Angelus, in all its stages of
development, was closely associated
with the ringing of a church bell. The
bell is still rung in some English
country churches and has often been
mistaken for, and alleged to be a
remnant of, the curfew bell. The
Angelus is replaced by Regina Coeli
during Eastertide, and is not recited
on Good Friday or Holy Saturday.