Dictionary
A modern dictionary of Catholic terms, both common and obscure. Find accurate definitions of words and phrases.
LITANY OF THE HOLY NAME
Invocations expressing various attributes of the Savior, with a petition for mercy repeated after each invocation. Of unknown origin, it has been commonly ascribed to St. Bernardino of Siena and St. John Capistran, zealous preachers of devotion to the Holy Name in their day. In 1588, Pope Sixtus V granted an indulgence for its private recitation. In 1862, Pope pius IX approved it for any diocese whose bishop requested the litany, and in 1886, Pope Leo XIII extended its use to the universal Church, because of the growing devotion to the Holy Name throughout the world.
All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
