The ancient Marian antiphon for the feast of the Immaculate Conception — drawn from the Song of Songs and Judith.
Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te. Tu gloria Ierusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri, tu advocata peccatorum. O Maria, O Maria. Virgo prudentissima, Mater clementissima. Ora pro nobis. Intercede pro nobis ad Dominum Iesum Christum.
Thou art all beautiful, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in thee. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people, thou art the advocate of sinners. O Mary, O Mary. Virgin most prudent, Mother most merciful. Pray for us. Intercede for us with the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) and throughout its octave; during the month of May (the month of Mary); at every public devotion to the Immaculate Conception.
The Tota Pulchra Es is one of the most ancient Marian antiphons in the Latin tradition, first attested in the 4th century. The text combines verses from the Song of Songs (4:7), Judith (15:9–10), and the wisdom literature of the Old Testament — applying to the Blessed Virgin Mary the foundational Catholic typological reading of the Old Testament love-poetry as prefigurations of Mary.
It has been particularly associated with the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (December 8) since the medieval period. The 1854 definition of the Immaculate Conception as Catholic dogma by Pope Bl. Pius IX (see his entry in the 19th-c. catalogue) renewed the antiphon's liturgical prominence. The 1903 setting by Anton Bruckner is the most widely-performed concert setting of the antiphon.
