Learn Latin Prayers
Chapter 2 - Essential Daily Catholic Prayers

4. Glory Be (Gloria Patri)

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A Short and Powerful Doxology of Praise to the Holy Trinity

The Gloria Patri ("Glory Be to the Father") is one of the oldest and most beloved doxologies in the Catholic tradition. In just a few words, it proclaims the eternal glory of the Most Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—co-equal and co-eternal. This short prayer was recited frequently by the saints, inserted into the Divine Office, the Rosary, and countless traditional devotions.

For faithful Catholics who reject the heresies of the Second Vatican Council and the false, man-centered religion it spawned, the Gloria Patri remains a concise yet profound act of traditional Catholic faith. In a world increasingly dominated by confusion, relativism, and indifferentism—promoted even within the structures of what now falsely claims to be the Catholic Church—this prayer stands as a powerful affirmation of the timeless truth of the Triune God.

It is through such simple yet sacred prayers that true Catholics preserve the Faith in its purity, giving glory not to man, nor to modernist ideologies, but to the eternal God alone, as our forefathers have done since apostolic times.

1. Gloria Patri

Latin:

Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

English Translation:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

📌 Key notes:

The Gloria Patri is a Trinitarian doxology, glorifying the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It affirms the eternal nature of God—past, present, and future.

  1. It is recited:

    • At the end of every Psalm in the Divine Office

    • After each decade of the Rosary

    • In numerous traditional prayers and devotions

  2. In the traditional Roman Rite, it is always recited standing unless otherwise prescribed (e.g. bowed at the waist during solemn liturgies).

  3. The phrase "sicut erat in principio" (as it was in the beginning) reflects the immutability of God—He does not change.

2. Pronunciation Guide

To pray correctly, it’s important to speak Latin with confidence and clarity. Below is a step-by-step breakdown of each word:

Gloria Patri Pronunciation Guide

Gloria Patri Pronunciation Guide

Latin Word Phonetic Pronunciation Meaning
GlóriaGLOH-ree-ahGlory
PatriPAH-treeFather
EtEtAnd
FílioFEE-lee-ohSon
EtEtAnd
SpirítuiSpee-REE-too-eeSpirit
SanctoSAHNK-tohHoly
SicutSEE-kootAs
EratEH-rahtWas
InEenIn
PrincípioPreen-CHEE-pee-ohBeginning
EtEtAnd
NuncNoonkNow
EtEtAnd
SemperSEHM-pehrAlways
EtEtAnd
InEenIn
SǽculaSAI-koo-lahAges
SæculórumSai-koo-LOH-roomAges (World without end)
AmenAH-menAmen

📌 Key Pronunciation Notes:

  1. "Glória" – The "o" is pronounced like aw, and the accent is on the first syllable.

  2. "Fílio" – The "i" is a long ee, and the stress is on the first syllable (FEE-lee-oh).

  3. "Spirítui" – A bit tricky: break it into Spee-ree-too-ee. It has four syllables.

  4. "Sancto" – "c" before "t" is a hard k sound: SANK-toh.

  5. "Sicut" – Pronounced SEE-koot, not “sigh-cut”.

  6. "Principio" – The "c" before "i" is pronounced "ch": preen-CHEE-pee-oh.

  7. "Sǽcula sæculórum" – "æ" is pronounced like "eh" (not “eye”); sæculórum is stressed on "ló".

  8. "Amen" – In Latin, always pronounced AH-men, never “ey-men”.

3. Videos

LATIN: Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

PHONETIC: GLOH-ree-ah PAH-tree, et FEE-lee-oh, et Spee-REE-too-ee SAHNK-toh. SEE-koot EH-raht een Preen-CHEE-pee-oh, et noonk, et SEHM-pehr, et een SAI-koo-lah sai-koo-LOH-room. AH-men.

LATIN: Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen. PHONETIC: GLOH-ree-ah PAH-tree, et FEE-lee-oh, et Spee-REE-too-ee SAHNK-toh. SEE-koot EH-raht een Preen-CHEE-pee-oh, et noonk, et SEHM-pehr, et een SAI-koo-lah sai-koo-LOH-room. AH-men.

4. How to Use the Gloria Patri in Prayer

The Gloria Patri is used:
✔ At the end of each decade of the Rosary
✔ In the Divine Office (Breviary)
✔ In Traditional Latin Mass as part of Psalms and prayers
✔ For private devotions and acts of praise to God

📌 Prayer Gesture:
When reciting the Gloria Patri, it is traditional to bow your head at the mention of the Holy Name of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

5. Lesson Summary

The Gloria Patri is a timeless profession of belief in the Holy Trinity, central to the true Catholic Faith. Repeated throughout traditional devotions, it affirms God's eternal glory—unchanged and unchangeable. In the face of Vatican II's errors and innovations, this doxology remains a clear and unambiguous proclamation of the divinity, unity, and eternity of the One True God.

6. Final Thought – Why Does This Prayer Matter?

The Gloria Patri is more than a routine conclusion to a prayer—it is a defiant declaration of orthodox Catholic belief in the Most Holy Trinity. In an era when the Vatican II sect obscures doctrine with ambiguous ecumenical language, diminishes the divinity of Christ through interfaith compromises, and elevates man in place of God, this short prayer reorients the soul to eternal truths.

The enemies of the Faith seek to relativize doctrine and reinvent worship. The Gloria Patri refutes such modernism by firmly asserting: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost—as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Not a changing God. Not a shifting theology. But the same unchangeable, triune God adored by the saints and martyrs of every age.

To faithfully and devoutly recite the Gloria Patri is to stand against modernist heresy, to confess the doctrine of the Trinity in its purest form, and to unite oneself with the unbroken line of true Catholics who glorify the God who never changes. In this one short prayer is contained the antidote to every doctrinal novelty and every attempt to diminish God’s rightful glory.

“Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.”

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