Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

18 August, 2026

“Salve Regina” (Hail, Holy Queen). Add This Beautiful Marian Hymn To Your Daily Devotions During The Octave Of The Assumption.



“Salve Regina”
(Hail, Holy Queen).
Traditional Gregorian Chant.
Available On YouTube


SALVE REGINA
(Hail, Holy Queen).

Salve Regina,
Mater misericordiæ.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ.
Ad te Suspiramus,
gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.


Immerse yourself in the timeless beauty of “Salve Regina”, one of the most beloved Marian Hymns of the Catholic Tradition.

This ancient Gregorian Chant, Traditionally sung in
Latin, is a Prayer of devotion to The Virgin Mary, 
seeking her intercession and comfort. 

“Salve Regina, mater misericordiæ . . .” — 
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy.

Originating in the 11th-Century, this Sacred Piece has echoed through Centuries of Liturgy and Contemplation, offering solace and inspiration to the Faithful around the World.

Cathedral And Metropolitan Church Of Saint Stephen And All Saints, Vienna, Austria. (Part Four).



English: 
Cathedral and Metropolitan Church of 
Saint Stephen and All Saints, Vienna, Austria.
Deutsch: 
Dom-und-Metropolitankirche zu 
Sankt Stephan und allen Heiligen, 
Wien, Österreich.
Photo: 8 October 2017.
Source: Own work.
This File is licensed under the 
(Wikimedia Commons)


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia, unless stated otherwise.

On 12 April 1945, civilian looters lit fires in nearby shops as Soviet Army troops entered the City. The winds carried the fire to the Cathedral, where it severely damaged the roof, causing it to collapse. 

Fortunately, protective brick walls built around the Pulpit, Frederick III’s tomb, and other treasures, minimised damage to the most valuable artworks. 


However, the Rollinger Choir Stalls, carved in 1487, couldn’t be saved. Reconstruction began after World War II, with a limited re-opening 12 December 1948 and a full re-opening on 23 April 1952.

The Church was dedicated to Saint Stephen, also the Patron of the Bishop’s Cathedral, in Passau.


Built of Limestone, the Cathedral is 107 metres (351 ft) long, forty metres (130 ft) wide, and 136 metres (446 ft) tall at its highest point. 

Over the Centuries, soot and other forms of air pollution accumulating on the Church have given it a Black colour, but recent restoration projects have again returned some portions of the building to their original White.


Standing at 136 meters (446 ft) tall and affectionately referred to by the City’s inhabitants as “Steffl” (a diminutive form of “Stephen”), Saint Stephen’s Cathedral’s massive South Tower is its highest point and a dominant feature of the Vienna skyline. 

Its construction lasted 65 years, from 1368 to 1433. During the Siege of Vienna in 1529 and again during the Battle of Vienna in 1683, it served as the main observation and command post for the defence of the walled City, and it even contains an apartment for the watchmen who, until 1955, manned the Tower at night and rang the Bells if a fire was spotted in the City. 


English:
The Nave, Saint Stephen’s Cathedral,
Vienna, Austria.
Deutsch:
Blick von der Empore über das Mittelschiff zum Hochaltar im Stephansdom in der österreichischen Bundeshauptstadt Wien.
Photo: 8 October 2017.
Source: Own work.
Accreditation:
© C.Stadler/Bwag; CC-BY-SA-4.0
(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

Act Of Reparation To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus.



Catholic Holy Card
depicting The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Auguste Martin Collection,
University of Dayton Libraries,
Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.
Date: Circa 1880.
Source: Own work.
This File: 18 December 2015.
User: Jslater1
Author: Turgis and Fils, Paris, France.
(Wikimedia Commons)


This Act of Reparation could be recited for
the hundreds of thousands of irreligious
Holy Communions carried out over the last decades.

In addition, it could be recited for the millions
of Aborted Children, who have been denied existence
over the last sixty years.

Indulgence of 300 days each time recited.
On The Feast of The Sacred Heart
[Editor: The Friday after The Octave of Corpus Christi],
it is to be Solemnly recited with The Litany of The Sacred Heart before The Blessed Sacrament Exposed:
Then, Seven Years and Seven Quarantines.

And a Plenary Indulgence,
supposing Confession and Communion.


Oh, Sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence, and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy Altar, eager to repair, by a special Act of Homage, the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy Loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful, alas !, that we ourselves have had
a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offences, but, also, for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their Baptism,
have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy Law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offences against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behaviour, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare  the feet of the innocent, for the frequent
violation of Sundays and Holy Days, and the shocking Blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints.



We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on Earth and Thy Priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of Sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and, lastly, for the public crimes of Nations who resist The Rights and The Teaching Authority of The Church which Thou hast Founded.

Would, O, Divine Jesus, we were able to
wash away such abominations with our blood.
We now offer, in Reparation for these violations of 
Thy Divine Honour, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy Eternal Father on The Cross and which Thou dost continue to renew daily on our Altars.

We offer it in union with The Acts of Atonement
of Thy Virgin Mother and all The Saints and of the pious Faithful on Earth; and we sincerely promise to make Reparation, as far as we can, with the help of Thy Grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we, and others, have committed in the past.


Henceforth, we will live a life of unwavering Faith,
of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of The Gospel, and especially that of Charity. We promise, to the best of our power, to prevent others from offending Thee
and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.

Oh, Loving Jesus, through the intercession of The Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in Reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering that we make of this Act of Expiation; and, by the crowning gift of perseverance, keep us Faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may all, one day, come to that happy home, where Thou, with The Father and The Holy Ghost, livest and reignest 
God, World without end.

Amen.

Due to the untold evils being perpetrated these days all over the World, and also the devilish attacks on, and within, 
The Church, Zephyrinus respectfully offers this Act of Reparation for consideration by the Faithful.

Saint Agapitus. Martyr. Feast Day 18 August. Red Vestments.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Agapitus.
   Martyr.
   Feast Day 18 August.

Simple.

Red Vestments.


English: Statue of Saint Agapitus of Palestrina
in Museo del Duomo - Milan.
Sculptor: Marco Antonio Prestinari (circa 1605-1607).
Български: Статуя на Свети Агапит
в музея Museo del Duomo,
Милано. Автор: Марко Антонио Престинари 
(около 1605-1607), мрамор от Кандолия.
Photo: 7 July 2015,
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“At Palestrina (the old Praeneste, near Rome, Italy), the birth into Heaven of Saint Agapitus, who, when only fifteen years old, was put to death, in 275 A.D., after several torments, by the stroke of the sword, thus winning The Crown of Immortality” (Roman Martyrology).

Mass: Lætábitur.


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Saint Agapitus (Italian: Agapito) is Venerated as a Martyr Saint, who died on 18 August, perhaps in 274 A.D., a date that the latest editions of The Roman Martyrology say is uncertain.

According to his legend, 15-year-old Agapitus, who may have been a member of the noble Anicia Family, of Palestrina, was condemned to death, under the Prefect Antiochus and the Emperor, Aurelian, for being a Christian.

He was thrown to the wild animals in the local arena at Palestrina. The beasts refused to harm him, and he was beheaded.

Within The Octave Of The Assumption. 18 August. White Vestments.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Within The Octave of The Assumption.

18 August.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.


English: The Assumption of The Virgin Mary.
Deutsch: Maria Himmelfahrt.
Hochaltar für St. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venedig.
Français: L’Assomption de la Vierge.
Artist: Titian (1490–1576).
Date: 1516-1518.
Current location:
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project:
10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
(Wikimedia Commons)


“The Immaculate Body of Mary remained without corruption and was borne up to Heaven, before the General Resurrection.” [Fifth Lesson at Matins.]

The Council of the Vatican (The First Vatican Council), which had to be adjourned in 1870, was not able to carry out the desire which had been expressed for the definition of this Dogma [Editor: The Dogma of the Assumption was promulgated by Pope Pius XII, eighty years later, in 1950.]


But the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception of Mary [Editor: On 8 December 1854.] justifies all hopes, for the final triumph of the Assumption corresponds with this initial privilege.


As the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin affirmed in certain Liturgies how appropriately God Almighty had made Mary a creature apart from her very birth, so the Feast of the Assumption each year proclaims the same appropriateness when she leaves this Earth.

The harmony which reigns in the works of God required an earlier Resurrection of the Mother of God, who, Holy among all, and Ever Virgin, deserved on the part of her Son an adequate reward worthy of her position as Queen of Heaven, Mother of God, and Mediatrix of All Mankind and Mediatrix of All Graces.


Although not defined as a Dogma of our Faith [Editor: The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, from which this Post is taken, is dated 1945. The Dogma of the Assumption was later promulgated by Pope Pius XII in 1950.], this truth is of those no one is permitted to doubt, as Pope Benedict XIV declares [De Canone S.S. 1, 1, 42, 15.]

Mass: As on the Day of the Feast.
Commemoration: Saint Agapitus.

17 August, 2026

Blessings On All Readers During The Octave Of Our Blessed Lady’s Assumption.


Saint Hyacinth (1185 - 1257). “The Apostle Of The North”. Confessor. Feast Day 17 August. White Vestments.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Hyacinth.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 17 August.

Double.

White Vestments.


The Virgin and Child appear to Saint Hyacinth.
La Vierge et l’Enfant
apparaissant à saint Hyacinthe.
Artist: Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619).
Date: 1594.
Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
Source/Photographer: www.heiligenlexikon.de
(Wikimedia Commons)



Saint Hyacinth.

Saint Hyacinth, called “The Apostle of The North”, was born in 1185 at the Castle of Kamin, near Breslau, (now Wroclaw, Poland).

Having gone to Rome, he was received there into The Order of Friar Preachers, by its Founder, Saint Dominic, in the Church of Saint Sabina. At the age of thirty-three, he was made Superior of The Mission which this Saint sent to Poland.

Saint Hyacinth then went over to Austria, Poland, Denmark, Scotland, and Livonia, everywhere Preaching The Word of God, which his numerous Miracles confirmed.

He died on The Feast of The Assumption (15 August) in 1257.

Mass: Os justi.
Commemoration: The Octave of The Assumption.
Commemoration: The Octave of Saint Laurence by The Collects of The Mass: Probásti, Domine (The Octave Day of Saint Laurence).
Creed. Is said.
Preface: Of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Web-Site of the Basilica of Saint Hyacinth, 
Chicago, Illinois, can be found

The Octave Day Of Saint Laurence. 17 August.




From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

The Octave Day Of Saint Laurence.

17 August.

Double.

Red Vestments.

Mass: Probásti.

Creed. Is said.


Saint Laurence before Emperor Valerianus.
Artist: Fra Angelico
Date: Circa 1447.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 
10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The following Text is taken from Wikipedia.

“Octave” has two senses in Christian Liturgical usage.

In the first sense, it is the eighth day after a Feast, reckoning inclusively, and so always falls on the same day of the week as the Feast, itself. The word is derived from Latin “Octava” (eighth), with “Dies” (day) understood.

In the second sense, the term is applied to the whole period of these eight days, during which certain major Feasts came to be observed.

Octaves, not being successive, are quite distinct from eight-day weeks and simply refer to the return of the same day of a seven-day week in the inclusive counting system used in Latin (just as the ninth day was a return to the same day of a nundinal cycle, the eight-day week of the pre-Christian Roman calendar).


The “eighth day”, or “Octava Dies”, was associated with the weekly Christian Celebration of The Resurrection of Christ every “eighth day”, which became a name for Sunday.

As Circumcision was performed on the “eighth day” after birth, the number eight became associated also with Baptism, and Baptismal Fonts have, from an early date, often been octagonal.

The practice of Octaves was first introduced under Emperor Constantine I, when the Dedication Festivities of the Basilicas at Jerusalem and Tyre, Lebanon, were observed for eight days. 

After these one-off occasions, annual Liturgical Feasts began to be dignified with an Octave.

The first such Feasts were Easter, Pentecost, and, in the East, Epiphany. This occurred in the 4th-Century A.D. and served as a period of time for the newly-Baptised to take a joyful Retreat.


The development of Octaves occurred slowly. 

From the 4th-Century A.D. to the 7th-Century A.D., Christians observed Octaves with a Celebration on the eighth day, with little development of the Liturgies of the intervening days. 

Christmas was the next Feast to receive an Octave. By the 8th-Century A.D., Rome had developed Liturgical Octaves, not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, but also for the Epiphany and the Feast of the Dedication of a Church.

From the 7th-Century A.D., Saints’ Feasts also began to have Octaves (an eighth-day Feast, not eight days of Feasts), among the oldest being the Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, Saint Lawrence and Saint Agnes

From the 12th-Century, the custom developed of Liturgical observance of the days between the first and the eighth day, as well as the eighth day. 

During the Middle Ages, Octaves for various other Feasts and Saints were Celebrated depending upon the Diocese or Religious Order.

Modern History.

From Pope Saint Pius V to Pope Pius XII.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of Octaves, they were still numerous. Not only on the eighth day from the Feast, but on all the intervening days, the Liturgy was the same as on the Feast, itself, with exactly the same Prayers and Scripture Readings.


Octaves were classified into several types:

Easter and Pentecost had “Specially Privileged” Octaves, during which no other Feast whatsoever could be Celebrated;

Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had “Privileged” Octaves, during which certain highly-ranked Feasts might be Celebrated. 

The Octaves of other Feasts allowed even more Feasts to be Celebrated.


To reduce the repetition of the same Liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope Saint Pius X made further distinctions, classifying Octaves into three primary types:

Privileged Octaves;

Common Octaves;

Simple Octaves.

Privileged Octaves were further arranged in a hierarchy of:

First Order;

Second Order;

Third Order.

For the first half of the 20th-Century, Octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other Celebrations within their time-frames:


Privileged Octaves:

Privileged Octaves of the First Order:


Octave of Pentecost.

Privileged Octaves of The Second Order:

Octave of Epiphany;

Octave of Corpus Christi.

Privileged Octaves of The Third Order:

Octave of Christmas;

Octave of the Ascension;

Octave of the Sacred Heart.


Common Octaves:





Octave of the Assumption BVM;

Octave of All Saints.


Simple Octaves:

Octave of Saint Stephen;


Octave of the Holy Innocents;

Octave of Saint Laurence;

Octave of the Nativity BVM.


In addition to these, the Patron Saint of a particular Nation, Diocese, or Church, was Celebrated with an Octave, on each day of which the Mass and Office of the Feast was repeated, unless impeded by another Celebration.

Although the Feasts of Saint Laurence and The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary officially still had Simple Octaves, by the 20th-Century they had all but vanished as higher-ranking Feasts were added to the Calendar. 

The Octave Day, alone, of Saint Laurence was still Commemorated during the Mass of Saint Hyacinth

The entire Octave of the Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary was impeded, but The Most Holy Name of Mary was Celebrated during the Octave and The Seven Sorrows of The Blessed Virgin Mary was Celebrated on the former Octave Day.


Reduction by Pius XII and Paul VI.

Pope Pius XII simplified the Calendar with a Decree, dated 23 March 1955: Only the Octaves of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were kept; these Octaves differed from the others in not repeating the same Liturgy daily. 

All other Octaves in The Roman Rite were suppressed, including those in Local Calendars. (See General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII#Octaves.) 

In 1969, The Roman Catholic Church further revised the Roman Calendar by removing the Octave of Pentecost.

The first eight days of the Easter Season make up the Octave of Easter and are Celebrated as Solemnities of The Lord, with Proper Readings and Prayers. 

Since 30 April 2000, The “Second Sunday of Easter”, which concludes the Easter Octave, has also been called Divine Mercy Sunday.

The Christmas Octave is arranged as follows:

Sunday within the Octave: Feast of The Holy Family; Celebrated on Friday, 30 December, when Christmas is a Sunday;

26 December: Feast of Saint Stephen;

27 December: Feast of John the Apostle;

28 December: Feast of The Holy Innocents;

29 - 31 December: Days within the Octave, with assigned Readings and Prayers, on which the Celebration of Optional Memorials is permitted according to special rubrics (but, as noted above, when Christmas is a Sunday, the Feast of The Holy Family is Celebrated on 30 December);

1 January: Octave Day of the Nativity; Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.


Eastern Christian usage:


Among the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, what in the West would be called an Octave is referred to as an Afterfeast. 

The Celebration of the Great Feasts of the Church Year are extended for a number days, depending upon the particular Feast. 

Each day of an Afterfeast will have particular Hymns assigned to it, continuing the theme of the Feast being Celebrated.

Most of these Great Feasts also have a day or more of preparation called a Forefeast (those Feasts that are on the moveable Paschal Cycle do not have Forefeasts). 

Forefeasts and Afterfeasts will affect the structure of the Services during the Canonical Hours.

The last day of an Afterfeast is called the Apodosis (literally “giving-back”) of the Feast. On the Apodosis, most of the Hymns that were Chanted on the first day of the Feast are repeated. 

On the Apodosis of Feasts of the Theotokos, the Epistle and Gospel of the Feast are repeated again at The Divine Liturgy.


Non-Liturgical usage.

The term “Octave” is applied to some Church Observances that are not strictly Liturgical. For example, many Churches observe an annual “Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity”, which runs from 18 January to 25 January.

This Octave was established in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII for the period between Ascension and Pentecost

In 1909, Pope Saint Pius X approved the Transfer of this Octave to the period between the former Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter and the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

In 1968, the World Council of Churches and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity agreed to jointly publish Prayer materials for the occasion under the title “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”, but it is still often referred to as an Octave, especially within the Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic Traditions. 

The Week of Prayer is observed at various times around the World, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is commonly observed from Ascension to Pentecost.

Each year, Luxembourg holds what is called The Octave Celebration from the Third Sunday after Easter to the Fifth Sunday after Easter, fifteen days, instead of eight days, in honour of Our Lady of Luxembourg, Patroness of the City.

Saint Hyacinth Basilica, Chicago, Illinois.



Saint Hyacinth Basilica,
Chicago, Illinois.


Saint Hyacinth was a 13th-Century Dominican Priest and Missionary.

In 1220, he accompanied his uncle, Ivo Konski, the Bishop of Cracow, to Rome. Here, they met with Saint Dominic.

At this time, Saint Hyacinth was one of the first to receive the Habit, from Saint Dominic, of the newly-established Order of Friars Preachers.


Because of his spirit for Prayer and his zeal for the salvation of Souls, he was sent to Preach and establish The Dominican Order in his native land, Poland.

Saint Hyacinth Founded communities at Sandomir, Cracow, and Plocko, on The River Vistula, in Moravia.

He extended his Missionary work through Prussia, Pomerania, and Lithuania; then, crossing the Baltic Sea, he Preached in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.


It was these Apostolic travels that earned Hyacinth the title “The Apostle of The North”.

Saint Hyacinth Basilica, Chicago, Illinois, was built by architects Worthman and Steinbach. The Church Cornerstone was Blessed on 21 October 1917.

The Church Walls, Towers, and the completed edifice, were roofed in 1918. The Interior of the Church proceeded being built through 1920 – 1921.



The Church Interior was restored in 2000 by Conrad Schmitt Studios Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

The Basilica of Saint Hyacinth (Polish: Bazylika Świętego Jacka) is a historic Church of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, located at 3636 West Wolfram Street, in the Avondale neighbourhood of Chicago, Illinois.


It is a prime example of the so-called “Polish Cathedral Style” of Churches, in both its opulence and grand scale.

Along with other such monumental Chicago Religious edifices, such as Saint Mary of The Angels, Saint Hedwig’s, and Saint Wenceslaus, it is one of the many monumental Polish Churches visible from The Kennedy Expressway.


Other monumental Chicago Religious edifices.


Saint Mary of The Angels Church,
Chicago, Illinois.
Photo: 30 August 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Goldnpuppy
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Hedwig Church,
Chicago, Illinois.
Photo: 4 January 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Histentchi
(Wikimedia Commons)


English: Saint Wenceslaus Church,
Chicago, Illinois.
Polski: Kościół Świętego Wacława w Chicago.
Photo: 26 December 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Orestek
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint John Cantius Church,
Chicago, Illinois.
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