Our Father
Traditional Catholic Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
In Latin
Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.
About this prayer
The Our Father, also called the Lord’s Prayer, comes directly from Jesus. When His disciples asked how they should pray, He gave them this prayer as a model. It teaches us to begin with God rather than ourselves: His name, His kingdom and His will.
Only then do we bring our needs before Him. We ask for daily bread, forgiveness, strength against temptation and deliverance from evil. The prayer holds together worship, dependence, mercy and trust in just a few lines.
Because Jesus Himself gave us these words, the Our Father has always held a central place in Christian prayer. Catholics pray it at every Mass, throughout the Rosary, in the Liturgy of the Hours and in countless moments of personal prayer.
Scripture to pray with
- Matthew 6:9-13 – Jesus teaches His disciples the Our Father during the Sermon on the Mount.
- Luke 11:1-4 – After seeing Jesus pray, one of His disciples asks Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
- Matthew 6:14-15 – Jesus immediately emphasizes the call to forgive others after teaching the prayer.
When to pray it
The Our Father can be prayed at any time. It is especially useful when you are unsure what to say to God, because the prayer already contains the essentials: worship, surrender, trust, repentance, forgiveness and a request for God’s protection.
It is prayed during every Catholic Mass and throughout many Catholic devotions, but it also belongs in the ordinary moments of daily life, whether at the beginning of the day, before sleep or whenever you need to return your attention to God.