The GREATER LITANY of SAINT ALBAN,
PROTOMARTYR of BRITAIN *
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
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 Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
St. Alban, pray for us.
First Martyr of these shores, pray for us.
Friend of Travellers, pray for us.
Protector of Persecuted Catholics, pray for us.
Sure support of those fleeing persecution, pray for us.
Devout presence at Holy Mass, pray for us.
Silent adorer of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
Unfeigned in the face of the mob, pray for us.
Defender of the Catholic Priesthood, pray for us.
Soldier of Jesus Christ, pray for us.
Alban most just, pray for us.
Alban most temperate, pray for us.
Alban most prudent, pray for us.
Alban most courageous, pray for us.
Alban most faithful, pray for us.
Alban most hopeful, pray for us.
Alban most loving, pray for us.
Model of devotion, pray for us.
Exemplar to pagans, pray for us.
True Roman and true Christian, pray for us.
Guardian of the clergy, pray for us.
Labourer for honour, pray for us.
Preserver of wisdom, pray for us.
Victor over oppressors, pray for us.
Witness of God’s glory, pray for us.
Keeper of God’s commandments, pray for us.
Finder of God’s Kingdom, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
℣ He has given him his heart’s desire.
℟ And has set upon his head a crown of precious stones.
Let us pray.
O GOD, by whose grace Saint Alban gave himself up for his friend and received the martyr’s crown as the first in this land to shed his blood for Christ; grant, we pray, that following his example and supported by his prayers, we may worship you, the living God, and give true witness to Christ our Lord.
ALMIGHTY and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Alban to overcome the torments of his passion, grant that we, who celebrate his triumph, may remain invincible under your protection against the snares of the enemy.
O GOD, who were pleased to give light to your Church by adorning blessed Alban with the victory of martyrdom, graciously grant that, as he imitated the Lord’s Passion, so we may, by following in his footsteps, be worthy to attain eternal joys.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. ℟ Amen.
LITANIA MAJORA SANCTI ALBANI,
PROTOMARTYR BRITANNIÆ *
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison. Christe eleison.
Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Christe, audi nos. Christe, exaudi nos.
Pater de caelis, Deus, Miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, Miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus, Miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, Unus Deus, Miserere nobis.
Sancta Maria, Ora pro nobis, etc.
Sancte Michael,
Sancte Albane,
Protomartyr istórum litórum,
Amice viatórum,
Protector catholicórum persecutiónem patiéntium,
Auxílium fírmum persecutiónem fugiéntium,
Præsens pie in sancta Missa,
Adorátor silens sanctíssimi Sacraménti,
Intérrite in fácie túrbæ,
Defénsor sacerdótii cathólici,
Míles Jesu Chrísti,
Albáne justíssime,
Albáne temperantíssime,
Albáne prudentíssime,
Albáne fortíssime,
Albáne sperantíssime,
Albáne amantíssime,
Exémplum devotiónis,
Exémplum pagánis,
Vere Románe et vere Christiáne,
Cústos clericórum,
Laborátor ad honórem,
Servátor prudéntiæ,
Víctor oppressórum,
Téstis glóriæ Dei,
Tutor mandatórum Dei,
Invéntor regni Dei,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Miserere nobis.
V. Desidérium cordis eius ei dedit,
R. Et eum cum coróna lápidum pretiosórum coronávit.
Orémus.
DEUS, per cuius grátiam sanctus Albánus pro amícis suis se trádidit et, ut primus in terra hac sánguinem pro Christo spárget, corónam mártyrum accépit; præsta, quæsumus, ut, sequéntes exémplum suum, et précibus eius susténti, et Te, Deum vivéntem, adorémus, et Christo, Domino nostro, verum testémur.
OMNIPOTENS et miséricors Dominus, qui beátum Albánum mártyrem tuum passiónem suam superáre fecit, præsta ut nos quoque, qui triúmphum eius celebrámus, invícti sub protectióne tua contra láqueos inimici maneamus.
DEUS, cui, ut adornetis beatum Albanum cum victoria martirii, lucem dare ecclesiae tuae placuit, praesta ut, ita imitatus est passionem Domini, sequentes vestigia eius, ad gaudium perpetuum pervenire aeternas dignemur.
Per Iesum Christum, Dominum nostrum, filium tuum, qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
ABOUT SAINT ALBAN,
PROTOMARTYR of BRITAIN
Saint Alban (Latin, Albanus), the protomartyr of Britain, was a Roman citizen who lived at Verulamium (modern Saint Alban’s in Hertfordshire), a few miles northwest of London, during a time of persecution. According to tradition, he was a Roman soldier.
The chief magistrate of the city had orders to arrest all Christian clergy. One of them, a priest named Amphibalus, fled to Alban’s home in order to hide from the soldiers who wished to kill him. Alban was impressed by the priest’s constant prayer and vigil, and moved by the Holy Eucharist when the priest celebrated Mass secretly. Alban questioned Amphibalus about his beliefs. As a result, Alban came to believe in Christ and asked to be baptised.
Eventually, Amphibalus was forced to move on, and Alban changed clothes with him so that he could get away. The soldiers heard there was a priest hiding in Alban’s house, so they came to search it. Seeing Alban dressed in the priest’s clothes, they arrested him and brought him before the judge.
The magistrate was offering sacrifice to idols when Saint Alban appeared before him. After questioning him, he discovered how Alban and the priest had switched clothes. Furious because Alban had allowed a fugitive to escape, the magistrate threatened him with death unless he returned to paganism and revealed where Amphibalus had gone. Saint Alban replied, “I am also a Christian, and I worship the true God.”
After having the saint beaten and tortured, the magistrate threatened him with execution. Saint Alban rejoiced and glorified God. The magistrate ordered the soldiers to take Saint Alban to the Holmhurst Hill to be beheaded. When they came to the River Ver, they saw that the bridge was crowded with people who had come to witness Alban’s martyrdom. Since they could not proceed because of the multitude of people, Saint Alban prayed and made the Sign of the Cross over the river. At once, the waters parted so that they were able to cross over to the other side. The executioner was so astonished by the miracle that he threw down his sword and refused to behead the saint. He was arrested, and another man was found to behead them both.
There is a tradition that Saint Alban became thirsty while climbing the hill and asked for water. A small spring gushed forth near the top of the hill, and he was able to drink from it. Pilgrims used to come and drink from Saint Alban’s well.
The date of Saint Alban’s martyrdom is uncertain, but it is believed that it took place during the reign of Decius (ca. 251) or Valerian (ca. 257). The eighteenth century Turin manuscript (which may be based on a fifth century source) suggests that Saint Alban may have been executed as early as 209, when the emperor Septimus Severus and his two sons were in Britain. The name of the executioner who was converted has not been preserved. The priest Amphibalus was ultimately caught and put to death at a place called Redbourn, four miles from Verulamium, he, too, is venerated as a martyr for Christ.
When people began to cry out against the magistrate, he put an end to the persecution. In later years a cathedral was built on the site of the martyrdom, and the relics of Saint Alban, the priest and martyr, Saint Amphibalus, and perhaps even the executioner were enshrined within. Saint Bede the Venerable reports tells us that miracles frequently took place at Saint Alban’s tomb. When the Danes invaded England in 860, the relics were removed for safekeeping, then later returned.
In the tenth century, a number of larger relics of Saint Alban were given to the Church of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne, Germany, which was a Benedictine Church with a Shrine dedicated to Saint Alban.
A new chapel and shrine were built for the relics in the early fourteenth century. Two hundred years later, during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, the marble shrine was destroyed, and the Church was lost to Catholic communion. Much later, the fragments of the shrine were reassembled on its former site.
In the 1950s, the authorities at Saint Pantaleon, which had preserved the saints relics intact since the Tenth Century, gave the thigh of the protomartyr — the largest remaining intact relic still known — to the Benedictine Monks at St. Michael’s Abbey, in Farnborough, Hampshire.
In 2021, the Rt. Rev. Abbot of Farnborough loaned this relic to the Oratory Church of Saint Alban-on-the-Moors, in Cardiff, Wales, were it is venerated by the Christian faithful in the beautiful Shrine of Saint Alban constructed to receive it.
* Cum permissu superiorum, Orat. S. Ph. Neri in Form. Cardiffense, die 20 Jun., anno Dño 2020.