Sources and editorial method

Traditional prayer library

A dated source for the words you pray

Each prayer page names the book or historical account used for its wording. The prayer library uses sources published before the Second Vatican Council. A prayer’s date of origin and the date of its English translation are different questions, so we name the edition used here.

• English and Latin texts are checked separately. A Latin version is offered when its wording can be traced to a dated source.
• Older wording is retained. Spacing, paragraph breaks, and words divided across printed lines may be normalized. Expanded abbreviations and unusual expressions are explained on the reader page.
• Explanations and suggested uses are editorial guidance, separate from the historical prayer text.
• A prayer addressed to a saint does not establish that the saint wrote or used it. The reader distinguishes a saint’s own writings, documented use, recommendations, and traditional attributions.

Most library texts are checked against scans of printed books. The Baltimore Catechism, Te Deum, Vianney novena, and Fatima account use online transcriptions of named historical works. The Fatima English form follows John de Marchi’s 1952 account; the date of the apparition is not used to date that translation.