Where did we get the Angelus?

Originally, during the first crusade, Pope Urban II had ordered to pray the Virgin at noon for those who had gone to defend the tomb of Christ. In 1472, King Louis XI of France ordered to ring the Angelus throughout the kingdom in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Since then, this practice spread everywhere in France and to other countries.

But some attribute the creation of the Angelus to Saint Francis of Assisi, who during his trip to the Middle East had the idea of ​​starting a call to prayer for Catholics, like the Muslims’ call to prayer.

Today, monks and nuns still interrupt their activities for a few moments of prayer three times a day, remembering the message of God transmitted to the Virgin by the Archangel Gabriel. Even though this practice has gradually declined among the laity, particularly in urban areas, in Rome, every Sunday at noon, the crowd meets under the pope's windows to pray the Angelus with him. The pope introduces the prayer with a short meditation and, sometimes, a quick comment on a current world event – whether happy or tragic.

La Croix