Below is the Catholic Church’s first litany for lawyers and government officials. It has been ecclesiastically approved for private devotion. (Seven approved litanies exist for public devotion and dozens for private devotion.) I composed it for those who work, as I did, in the field of law as lawyers, legislators, government officials, and judges. There are more than one million such individuals in the United States alone. I hope that the distribution of this litany will encourage the composition of additional litanies focused on specific vocations.

As a private devotion, this litany could be used before or after the funeral Mass of, or during the wake of, a lawyer, legislator, government official, or judge. In fact, notwithstanding its status as a private devotion, portions of it could be incorporated into a Mass, for example, as part of the Prayer of the Faithful of a funeral Mass, or of the annual “Red Mass” (votive Mass of the Holy Spirit) that opens the term of court in some cities, or of a law school’s commencement Mass.[1]

This is a long litany. There are some 60 named saints many of whom include their “companions.” The litany can be abbreviated, of course, and tailored to the occasion.

Many of the saints are not well known. Two aids help to acquaint you with them. The first aid is that they are grouped into the following seven categories:

• martyrs condemned to death by civil or military authorities on account of Christ,
• holy orators and writers,
• patrons of lawyers, diplomats, civil servants, police officers, queens and kings,
• holy men and women who left law or government service to devote themselves to God in another manner,
• holy men and women who protected the rights and lives of others,
• holy men and women who advised rulers, and
• holy kings, queens, and rulers.

The second aid is that each saint has a footnote providing dates of birth and of death; nationality; status as priest, religious, or lay; and occupation.

A saint’s name may whet one’s appetite to learn more about him or her. Thus, you would learn that, among the fellow students of St. Ives of Brittany at the University of Paris were Duns Scotus and Roger Bacon,[2] and that St. Cajetan is one of 140 saints depicted in sculptures in the colonnade of St. Peter’s Basilica.[3] St. Raymond of Peñafort is known for a unique miracle whereby he sailed on his cloak 160 miles in six hours. St. Raymond was instrumental in the founding of the Mercedarian friars (O.Merc., also known as the Order of Captives, or the Order of Our Lady of Ransom) to redeem Christian slaves of Muslims. The friars took a fourth vow to be willing to die to liberate Christian slaves. St. Raymond founded a school in Tunis to teach Arabic as part of this mission to liberate Christian slaves. Two missions were named by Spanish Franciscans after the Italian Franciscan St. John Capistrano: in 1731 near what is now San Antonio, Texas, and in 1776 by St. Junipero Serra in what is now California. This saint preached in Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and Poland. Commissioned by the pope, he led a crusade at age 70, in 1756, after Constantinople had fallen in 1753. With John Hunyadi and their 40,000 to 50,000 peasant soldiers they lifted the siege of Belgrade. He is called “the Soldier Priest.”

LITANY FOR LAWYERS and GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

(for private devotional use)

Published with ecclesiastical approval
+ Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington
February 25, 2016

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.
Sovereign Judge, Have mercy on us.
You make the sun to shine upon the good and bad,
You allow the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust.

Power infinite, I love You.
Wisdom incomprehensible,
Love unspeakable,
You command me to love You.

Jesus, Word of God, I love You.
Jesus, Son of David,
Jesus, crucified under Pontius Pilate,
Jesus, You sit at the right hand of the Father,
Jesus, You shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead,
Jesus, Our Intercessor with the Father,
Jesus, Whose kingdom will never end,
Jesus, You fulfill the Law,

Holy Spirit, Light of my mind, I love You.
Holy Spirit, Strength of my will,

Holy Mary, Mirror of justice, Pray for us,
Holy Mary, Seat of wisdom,
Holy Mary, Tower of David,
Holy Mary, Royal Throne of the Eternal King,

Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States,^[4]
Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas,

Blessed Moses, bearer of the Divine Commands, Pray for us.
Blessed Moses, filled with righteous anger at seeing God’s people and their Golden Calf,

St. John the Baptist, Pray for us,
Saints Peter and Paul,
St. Ignatius of Antioch,^[5]
St. John Fisher,^[6]
The Martyrs of Vietnam,^[7]
St. Oliver Plunkett^[8] and other martyrs of Ireland,
Saint Augustine Zhao Rong^[9] and your 119 companions in China,^[10]
Saints Andrew Kim Taegon^[11] and Paul Chong Hasang^[12] and 101 companions in Korea,^[13]
Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War,^[14]
The 40 English and Welsh Martyrs,^[15]
St. Paul Miki^[16] and your 25 companions^[17] in Japan,
St. Miguel Pro^[18] of Mexico and other martyrs of the Cristero War,
St. Maximilian Kolbe,^[19]
The Martyrs of Compiègne,^[20] and other martyrs of the French Revolution,^[21]
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,^[22]
Holy Innocents,
St. Justin Martyr^[23] and your companions,^[24]
St. Maurice and other members of the Theban Legion,^[25]
The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste,^[26]
St. Charles Lwanga^[27] and your 21 companions in Uganda,
Blessed Franz Jaegerstaetter,^[28]
St. Perpetua^[29] and St. Felicity,^[30]
All you martyrs condemned to death by civil or military authorities on account of Christ,

St. John Chrysostom,^[31] Pray for us.
St. Augustine,^[32]
St. Thomas Aquinas,^[33]
All you holy orators and writers,

St. Gabriel the Archangel,^[34] Pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel,^[35]
St. Matthew,^[36]
St. Thomas More,^[37]
St. Raymond of Peñafort,^[38]
St. Ives of Brittany,^[39]
St. Edward the Confessor,^[40]
St. Jadwiga of Poland,^[41]
All you patrons of lawyers, diplomats, civil servants, police officers, queens and kings,

St. Cyprian of Carthage,^[42] Pray for us.
St. Ambrose,^[43]
Pope St. Gregory the Great,^[44]
St. Alphonse Liguori,^[45]
St. Francis de Sales,^[46]
St. Paulinus of Nola,^[47]
St. Germanus of Auxerre,^[48]
St. Cajetan,^[49]
St. Turibius [or Toribio] of Mogrovejo,^[50]
St. John Capistran,^[51]
All you holy men and women who left law or government service to devote yourselves to God in another manner,

St. Anthony of Padua,^[52] Pray for us.
St. Patrick,^[53]
St. Peter Claver,^[54]
All you holy men and women who protected the rights and lives of others,

St. Catherine of Siena,^[55] Pray for us.
St. Nicholas von Flue,^[56]
All you holy men and women who advised rulers,

King David, Pray for us,
King Solomon,
St. Pammachius,^[57]
St. Pulcheria,^[58]
St. Ethelbert of Kent,^[59]
St. Wenceslaus,^[60]
St. Adelaide,^[61]
St. Henry II^[62] and St. Cunigunde of Luxembourg,^[63]
St. Stephen and Blessed Gisela of Hungary,^[64]
St. Leopold III,^[65]
St. David of Scotland, ^[66]
St. Ferdinand III,^[67]
St. Louis IX of France,^[68]
St. Helen,^[69]
St. Margaret of Scotland^[70]
All you holy kings, queens, and rulers,

That You will engrave Your law upon our hearts, Lord, we ask You, hear our prayer,
That we may faithfully keep Your holy commandments,
That we may submit to Your just and gentle rule,
That we may not “load on men burdens that are unendurable. . .that we ourselves do not move a finger to lift,”^[71]
That we may not “neglect. . .justice, mercy, faith,”^[72]
That we might live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly before the Lord,^[73]
That to You, Christ the King, all things may be restored,

From all evil, Lord, deliver us, we pray,
From all sin,
From all murmurings and complaints against Your holy decrees,
On the Day of Judgment,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. And obtain for us the gift of good counsel.

Lord, show us Your mercy. And grant us Your salvation.

Let Us Pray

(three options)

Option 1 (an adaptation of Isaiah 11)

May the spirit of the Lord rest upon us:
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,
and our delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

May we not by appearance judge,
nor by hearsay decide,
but may we judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.

May we strike the ruthless with the rod of our mouths,
and with the breath of our lips slay the wicked.
May justice be the band around our waists,
and faithfulness a belt upon our hips.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Option 2 (by St. John Fisher[74])

Lord, according to Your promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men and women fit for such work.
The Apostles were soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Spirit. So, good Lord, do now in like manner with Your Church militant:
–Change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stones.
–Set in Your Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labors – watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat – which also shall not fear the threats of princes, persecution, neither death, but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Your holy Name.
By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Your Gospel shall be preached throughout the world. Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Your mercy, show it indeed upon Your Church. Amen.

Option 3 (by St. Thomas More)

Lord, grant that I may be
Able in argument,
Accurate in analysis,
Strict in study,
Candid with clients, and
Honest with adversaries.
Sit with me at my desk and
Listen with me to my client’s plaints,
Read with me in the library, and
Stand beside me in court,
So that today I shall not,
In order to win a point,
Lose my soul.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

[1] Incorporating some intercessions from a litany into a Prayer of the Faithful has been suggested by Rev. Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy, Regina Apostolorum University, in the context of a nuptial wedding. Rev. Edward McNamara, L.C., “Why No Litanies at a Wedding,” Zenit.org, June 19, 2007, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/why-no-litanies-at-a-wedding-4375

[2] For more about him, see “Message of John Paul II to Bishop Lucien Fruchaud of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier for the 700^th Anniversary of the Birth of St Ivo Hélory of Brittany,” May 13, 2003, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2003/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20030519_bishop-fruchaud.html, and John H. Wigmore, “St. Ives, Patron Saint of Lawyers,” 5 Fordham L. Rev. 401 (1936), https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol5/iss3/2/

[3] https://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Colonnades/Saints/St%20Cajetan-122/StCajetan.htm

[4] Substitute your own country’s or region’s patron saint(s).

[5] Bishop (d. ca. 110).

[6] Bishop of Rochester (1469-1535).

[7] 117 of the 130,000 to 300,000 martyred between the 16^th and 20^th centuries. Bishops Berriochora, Borie, Cebrian, Cuonet, Hermosilla, Sampedro, and Sanjurjo, priests (including Theophane Venard), and lay – all male.

[8] Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, (1625-1681).

[9] Priest (d. 1815). As a soldier, he escorted a bishop to his martyrdom, sought baptism and was ordained.

[10] Who died 17^th century through 1930, including Bishops Dufresse, Grassi, Fogolla, and Versiglia. Thirty thousand were martyred during the Boxer Rebellion alone.

[11] First Korean-born priest (1821-1846).

[12] Martyred prior to ordination (1794/95-1839).

[13] Some of over 10,000 Korean martyrs.

[14] The Civil War was 1936-1939. There are nearly 1,000 canonized or beatified. Two thousand more may be. They include Bishop Laguna, priests, religious and laity.

[15] Who died 1535-1679. They share the same feast day with an additional 284 canonized or beatified martyrs during the English Reformation.

[16] Jesuit; martyred one year before ordination (1562-1597).

[17] Companions were Jesuit, Franciscan, and lay.

[18] Priest (1891-1927).

[19] Franciscan priest (1894-1941). Polish.

[20] Female religious of the Carmel (d. 1794).

[21] These include the 190 “Martyrs of September” (1792).

[22] Also known as Edith Stein. Discalced Carmelite religious (1891-1942). German.

[23] Layman (100-165).

[24] Chariton, Charito, Paeon, Hierax, and Liberianus.

[25] 6,666-man strong legion, all converts, martyrs of Agaunum, Gaul (d. 286).

[26] 40 Martyrs of the 12th Legion, the so-called Thunderstruck Legion, at Sebastea (d. 320).

[27] Layman (1860/65-1886). All were laymen (boys).

[28] Husband and father (1907-1943). Austrian. Executed for refusal to be inducted into German army.

[29] Freewoman (d. ca. 203).

[30] Perpetua’s slave (d. ca. 203).

[31] Patriarch of Constantinople; Doctor of the Church (ca. 349-407).

[32] Bishop of Hippo, north Africa; Doctor of the Church (354-430). Served as public orator, a high government post, for the imperial city of Milan.

[33] Dominican priest; Doctor of the Church (1225-1274). Author of the Summa theologiae and its Treatise on Law.

[34] Patron saint of messengers, communication workers, and postal workers.

[35] Patron saint of police.

[36] Apostle; evangelist; tax collector; patron saint of civil servants.

[37] Lay martyr (1478-1535). Lawyer and Chancellor of England. A patron saint of lawyers; he reminds us of the meaning of an oath.

[38] Dominican priest (ca. 1175-1275); Spanish. Codifier of canon law; patron saint of canon lawyers.

[39] Also known as St. Ivo of Kermartin or St. Yves. Priest (1253-1303). Civil and canon lawyer. Like St. Thomas More, a patron saint of lawyers. Known as an honest man.

[40] King of England (1003/05-1006). Patron saint of kings.

[41] First female monarch of Poland (1373/74-1399). Patron saint of queens.

[42] Bishop of Carthage; martyr (ca. 200-258). Prominent trial lawyer and teacher of rhetoric.

[43] Bishop of Milan; Doctor of the Church (ca. 340-397). Practiced law in Rome and was a government official.

[44] Doctor of the Church (ca. 540-604). Studied law and became prefect of the City of Rome.

[45] Bishop of Sant’ Agata dei Goti; Doctor of the Church (1696-1787). Practiced law for eight years in Naples and founded the Redemptorists.

[46] Bishop of Geneva; Doctor of the Church (1567-1622). Obtained doctorate in law and admitted to bar by Senate of Chambery.

[47] Bishop of Nola (ca. 354-431). Senator, consul and governor.

[48] Bishop of Auxerre, Gaul (ca. 378-ca. 448). Practiced law and served as provincial governor.

[49] Italian priest; founder of the Theatines (1480-1547). Obtained doctorates in civil and canon law and became a senator. Founded a bank, the forerunner of the Bank of Naples, to provide money to the poor.

[50] Archbishop of Lima, Peru (1538-1606). A lay law professor in Salamanca, Spain.

[51] Franciscan priest (1386-1456). Also known as San Juan Capistrano. Studied law at the University of Perugia before becoming a priest. When war broke out between Perugia and the Malatestas in 1416, John was sent as ambassador to broker a peace, but Malatesta threw him in prison. Patron saint of jurists and military chaplains; he had led a crusade to lift successfully a siege of Belgrade.

[52] Franciscan priest; Doctor of the Church (1195-1231). Through his efforts, the Municipality of Padua in 1231 passed a law in favor of debtors who could not pay their debts. A copy of this law is still preserved in the museum of Padua. During war, at personal risk, he undertook a mission to one of the warring parties, Ezzelino, to free “the Guelph captives.”

[53] Missionary bishop to Ireland (5^th c.). He excommunicated those who killed, raped, kidnapped and enslaved Christian and non-Christian Irish.

[54] Jesuit priest (1581-1654). Patron saint of slaves.

[55] Third Order of St. Dominic; Doctor of the Church; co-patron saint of Italy; co-patron saint of Europe (1347-1380).

[56] Patron saint of Switzerland; father of ten (1417-1487). His counsel in proposing the “Compromise of Stans” prevented a civil war between the cantons in 1481.

[57] Senator of Rome (d. 409); friend of St. Jerome; founder of a hospice and hospital for travelers. Excavations have disclosed the plan and the arrangement of this only building of its kind.

[58] Empress (398/99-453), who sought to make amends for her parents’ sins against St. John Chrysostom. Presided over and guided two of the most important Councils in Church history: Ephesus and Chalcedon.

[59] King of Kent, England (ca. 560-616). His code of laws is the earliest legal document in a Germanic language. He did not command his subjects to convert but respected their consciences. There is also King St. Ethelbert II of East Anglia (d. 794).

[60] Duke of Bohemia (made king posthumously; ca. 907-935).

[61] Empress (931-999). Wife of Otto the Great, Holy Roman Emperor. Perhaps the most prominent woman of Europe in the 10^th century.

[62] Holy Roman Emperor and Benedictine oblate (973-1024).

[63] Empress (ca. 975-1040). Wife of St. Henry II.

[64] King (ca. 975-1038) and queen (985-1065) of Hungary.

[65] Margrave (Prince) of Austria, patron saint of Austria (1073-1136).

[66] King of Scotland (ca. 1080-1153).

[67] King of Castille, Leon and Garcia, Spain (1199/1201-1252). Also known as San Fernando Rey.

[68] King of France; co-patron of the Third Order of St. Francis (1214-1270).

[69] Empress, of Constantinople; mother of St. Constantine the Great (ca. 250-ca. 330).

[70] Queen of Scotland (ca. 1045-1093).

[71] Luke 11:37-46.

[72] Matt. 23:23.

[73] Micah 6:8.

[74] St. John Fisher’s prayer for good and holy bishops from a 1508 sermon, https://aleteia.org/2022/06/22/st-john-fishers-prayer-for-good-and-holy-bishops-in-the-catholic-church. Part of the Liturgy of the Hours on his feast day.