Along with the Our Father and Hail Mary, the Glory Be is one of the most frequently recited prayers of the Catholic Church. And like these other prayers, we can join ourselves more fully to the generations of saints by studying the Glory Be in Latin and English.
In fact, the Glory Be (also known as the minor doxology) is said to trace all the way back to the fourth century. The prayer was introduced to fight the Arian heresy and reinforce the doctrine of the Trinity. Just imagine the generations of saints who prayed with these words as they said the Holy Rosary or the Liturgy of the Hours!
The Glory Be in Latin and English
| Latin | English (Literal translation) |
| Gloria Patri | Glory to the Father, |
| et Filio, | And to the Son, |
| et Spiritui Sancto, | And to the Holy Spirit |
| sicut erat in principio, | Just as it was in the beginning |
| et nunc, | And is now |
| et semper, | And always |
| et in saecula saeculorum. | And into ages of ages |
| Amen. | Amen. |
Traditional English Version
Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Pronouncing the Glory Be in Latin
Latin pronunciations can often throw off native English speakers. Here are a few pointers to help you with pronunciation of the Glory Be in Latin.
- The a sounds more like aw sound in English, so Patri is pronounced "paw-tree."
- The i is pronounced like a long e. That makes Filius would sound like "fee-lee-oh" with the emphasis on the first syllable.
- The u in Spiritui and sicut is pronounced with an oo sound like in booth. So Spiritui sounds like "spee-ree-too-ee" and sicut sounds like "see-coot" with emphasis on the first syllable.
- The e in erat will sound like a long a in English and the r will almost have a trill like in Spanish. So erat would be something like "ai-rawt." Again place emphasis on the first part of the word.
- In the last phrase, "saecula saeculorum", the ae make a single sounnd like ay. So saecula sounds like "say-coo-la" and saeculorum is "say-coo-lor-oom."
You can learn more about proper Latin pronunciations here.
Translation Notes
While the western Church has long used the Latin translation, the Glory Be was likely first said in Greek with Hebrew influences. These influences bring out rich details that we may miss in modern times.
Gloria Patria et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Like in the English version, the Latin version of the prayer begins by honoring the Blessed Trinity. In a time when information was hard to access and literacy was limited, the oral tradition took on even greater importance. This prayer made it clear from the start that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God in three Divine Persons.
Sicut erat in principio,
This phrase has some ambiguity because the word “erat.” Erat is a past tense form of the word meaning to be in a way that implies a continuous existence. So it is saying something has existed since the beginning, but it is not totally clear what the “it” actually is.
Most of us tend to think of the subject as the glory of God. So you could interpret the phrase as meaning, “Just as God’s glory was from the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.” This meaning is perfectly valid, but there may be an even better way to understand this phrase.
It could also be referring to Jesus. We know that the the early Christians were fighting the Arian heresy which rejected Christ’s divinity, and the prayer could be a way of affirming that Jesus is God, eternally begotten of the Father.
Saecula saeculorum.
Translated literally, in saecula saeculorum may come off as a strange way to say forever. After all, we would not typically say, into the ages of ages, and this phrase would have been unusual in latin as well. The prayer could have just as easily ended with “ad aeternus” which means into eternity. So why “saecula saeculorum?”
It seems that this may have been ancient Hebrew influence. We often hear this poetic phrasing in the Old Testament. Think of Holy of Holies or King of Kings. In each of these cases, you see how the phrases emphasizes something as the pinnacle of its category. The entire Temple was the holy mountain, but the Holy of Holies was so holy that only the high priest could enter. Likewise, the King of Kings is the one King that rules all others.
So when we say “saecula saeculorum” (ages of ages), we recognize how God reigns not only over this age, but His reign extends beyond time as we can perceive it. Knowing this hidden meaning, we can have new appreciation for the greatness of God. “World without end” not only encompasses this Earth in this time in history. It speaks to a God who surpasses the limits of our understanding and rules ever inch of this great Universe for every single second of its existence and beyond. God is truly great!
