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Ora Pro Nobis

Latin Phrases
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Latin liturgical phrase meaning "pray for us," widely used in religious hymns, supplications, and poetic invocations for intercession.

Detailed Definition
“Ora pro nobis” is an appeal for intercession, asking a saint, ancestor, or absent beloved to carry the living into prayer. In verse it can create a liturgical refrain, especially in poems of communal grief, war, illness, or exile. Repeated after individual names or images, it turns private suffering into a shared chorus and gives the poem the atmosphere of a vigil.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet may write “Ora pro nobis” as a plea for mercy from saints, ancestors, or the natural world; the phrase, meaning “Pray for us,” echoes the litany of Christian prayer; placed after the names of the dead, “Ora pro nobis” makes a poem sound communal and elegiac; a modern poet can use it ironically when asking absent institutions to answer for their failures
Additional Notes
“Ora Pro Nobis” means “Pray for us.” It is a familiar petition in Catholic prayers and litanies, often addressed to the Virgin Mary or a saint. In poetry, the phrase can create a devotional tone, invoke intercession, or serve as a refrain expressing communal need and spiritual vulnerability.
Also Known As
Pray for Us
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