The Litany of the Most Precious Blood is one of the five Litanies approved by the Holy See for general use in the Church. The earliest forms of the Litany go back to the thirteenth century, and it gained new vigor from the 1820s on, owing to the zeal of Saint Gaspar del Bufalo (1788-1837). Its approval for general use in 1960 was part of an effort on the part of Pope John XXIII to prune liturgical and other prayers from redundant and quaint expressions. The Litany consists of twenty-four invocations, each of which is commented on by the author, who has also published similar commentaries on the four other approved litanies, the Litany of the Holy Name, of the Sacred Heart, of Loreto, and of St. Joseph. Here too the invocations are put in a broad cultural and theological light in order to enhance their spiritual usefulness.

By Fr. Stanley L. Jaki

ISBN 978-1-892539-15-1  •  viii + 110 pages  •  softcover