The Prayer for the Pope: Oremus pro Pontifice

The short prayer the Church prays for the Pope, in Latin and English, with where it comes from, the longer traditional form, and how a Catholic man can pray it for Pope Leo XIV every day.

By 1765 Sanctum Co. · Updated October 2026

The Church's prayer for the Pope is the Oremus pro Pontifice: "Let us pray for our Pontiff, N. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies." The response is Psalm 40:3 in the Douay-Rheims. Today N. is Leo XIV. Praying it devoutly carries a partial indulgence.

The prayer

LatinEnglish
V. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro N.V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, N.
R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.R. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

N. = Leo XIV. In Latin: Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Leone. In English: Let us pray for our Pontiff, Leo.

The Latin is the text printed in the Church's current handbook of indulgences, the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. The English response is Psalm 40:3, word for word from the Douay-Rheims. In most modern Bibles the same verse is in Psalm 41 (verse 2 in the RSV, verse 3 in the NABRE), because they number the Psalms from the Hebrew.

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Pray it for Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV is Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago on September 14, 1955, and elected Pope on May 8, 2025. On October 13, 2026, he had surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, and he left Rome's Gemelli hospital on October 17 (Catholic News Service, October 17, 2026).

You don't need a reason in the news to pray for him. The Church prays for the man in Peter's chair in every season. The prayer asks God for three things: keep him, give him life, and make him blessed. Then it asks that he not be handed over to his enemies. Those are the Psalm's words, and the Church prays them for every Pope.

Where the prayer comes from

The response is Scripture. In Psalm 40 the man the Lord preserves is "he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor" (Psalm 40:2). The Church takes the next verse and applies it to the Pope. It's a prayer drawn from the Psalm, not a claim that the Psalm was written about him.

The traditional Breviary words the versicle a little differently. In the traditional Roman Breviary the ferial prayers at Lauds and Vespers (the preces feriales) carry it with slightly different wording: "V. Oremus pro beatissimo Papa nostro N. R. Dominus conservet eum…" The response is the same. If you pray the old office you will meet it there. For how the Hours work, see How to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Church has prayed for Peter from the start. When Herod threw Peter in prison, "Peter therefore was kept in prison. But prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him" (Acts 12:5). Every Catholic who prays for the Pope is still doing what that first church did. This page is the prayer, not the argument. For the argument, read why the Church has a Pope at all.

The traditional longer form

The longer traditional form adds an Our Father and a Hail Mary after the response, then a collect (a short priestly prayer) from the traditional Roman Missal. The collect is the one said at Mass for the Pope on the anniversary of his election.

  1. V. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro N. R. Dominus conservet eum…
  2. Our Father. Hail Mary.
  3. The collect:
LatinEnglish
Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum N., quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, look graciously upon Thy servant N., whom Thou hast willed to preside over Thy Church as shepherd. Grant him, we beseech Thee, to profit by word and example those over whom he is set, that with the flock committed to him he may attain to life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our translation of the Latin. For Leo XIV, say "Thy servant Leo" (Latin: famulum tuum Leonem).

The short versicle and response are the core. The Our Father, Hail Mary and collect are the traditional way to fill it out. None of the three is required for the indulgence below.

Is there an indulgence for praying for the Pope?

Yes, a partial one. The current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (4th edition, 1999), grant 25, 1°, gives a partial indulgence to the faithful who, "spiritu filialis devotionis" (in a spirit of filial devotion), devoutly recite any legitimately approved prayer for the Pope. It gives the Oremus pro Pontifice as an example. (In the 1986 edition the same grant was number 39.) It is a partial indulgence, not a plenary one.

The older grant is history. On November 26, 1876, Pope Pius IX attached an indulgence of 300 days to saying this prayer once a day, and a plenary indulgence once a month for those who said it daily under the usual conditions (Raccolta, 1910, no. 449). "300 days" was the old way of measuring a partial indulgence. In 1967 Pope St. Paul VI ended that system: a partial indulgence is now called simply a "partial indulgence," "without any determination of days or years" (Indulgentiarum Doctrina, norm 4). The 1876 monthly plenary no longer applies.

For what an indulgence is and how the plenary conditions work, see What Is a Plenary Indulgence?

How to pray for the Pope's intentions

A plenary indulgence normally asks you to pray "for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff." You don't have to know what his intentions are. The Church says that condition "is fully satisfied by reciting one 'Our Father' and one 'Hail Mary'," and that you're free to pray any other prayer instead (Indulgentiarum Doctrina, norm 10, repeated in the current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, norm 20 §5). The Oremus pro Pontifice is a good one to add to those two.

The full list of conditions lives on the Pope's intentions and the indulgence conditions. The November indulgence for the dead needs this same prayer for the Pope's intentions; see All Souls Day.

When to pray it

Nothing binds you to a time. Here are a few ways men fit it in:

Pray it with your family

A father leads his house in prayer by doing it out loud, at the same time every day, until nobody needs reminding. This prayer is short enough to start tonight.

If you want a daily rhythm like that, our free 30-day program, The Priest of Your Home, gives you one three-minute letter each morning, one order for that night, and one prayer.

Keep praying with us (free):

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the prayer for the Pope?

The Church's short prayer for the Pope is the Oremus pro Pontifice: "V. Let us pray for our Pontiff, N. R. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies." The response is Psalm 40:3 in the Douay-Rheims (Psalm 41 in most modern Bibles: verse 2 in the RSV, verse 3 in the NABRE). For Pope Leo XIV, say "our Pontiff, Leo."

What is the prayer for the Pope in Latin?

"V. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro N. R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius." For Leo XIV: "Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Leone." The traditional Roman Breviary words the versicle a little differently, "Oremus pro beatissimo Papa nostro N.," with the same response.

How do you pray for the Pope's intentions?

Pray one Our Father and one Hail Mary. The Church says that "fully" satisfies the condition of praying for the Pope's intentions, and that you may pray any other prayer instead (Indulgentiarum Doctrina, norm 10, repeated in the current Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, norm 20 §5). You don't need to know what the intentions are. The other indulgence conditions are on our plenary indulgence guide.

Is there an indulgence for praying for the Pope?

Yes, a partial indulgence. The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (1999), grant 25, 1°, grants it for devoutly praying any approved prayer for the Pope and gives the Oremus pro Pontifice as an example. In 1876 Pius IX attached 300 days and a monthly plenary to it, but since 1967 partial indulgences are no longer counted in days, and that monthly plenary no longer applies.

Where does the prayer for the Pope come from?

The response is Psalm 40:3 in the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate numbering (Psalm 41 in most modern Bibles: verse 2 in the RSV, verse 3 in the NABRE). The same response, with a slightly different versicle, appears in the ferial prayers (preces feriales) of the traditional Roman Breviary, and the Church's current handbook of indulgences gives the prayer as an example of an approved prayer for the Pope.

Why do Catholics pray for the Pope?

Because he holds Peter's office, and the Church has prayed for Peter since the beginning: "Peter therefore was kept in prison. But prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him" (Acts 12:5). For why the Church has a Pope at all, see On the Papacy.

Who is the current Pope?

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago on September 14, 1955. He was elected on May 8, 2025. See all 267 popes in order.

Is there a longer prayer for the Pope?

Yes. The traditional form adds an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a collect from the traditional Roman Missal: "O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, look graciously upon Thy servant N., whom Thou hast willed to preside over Thy Church as shepherd. Grant him, we beseech Thee, to profit by word and example those over whom he is set, that with the flock committed to him he may attain to life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Primary Sources

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