The Angelus

A thrice-daily devotion (morning, noon, and evening) consisting of three Hail Marys interspersed with versicles commemorating the Annunciation, rung in by bell; one of the most widespread Catholic devotional customs linking daily labour to sacred time. The practice spread from Franciscan houses through Catholic Europe via papal and episcopal directives across the 13th–16th centuries. Pope Pius V standardized the three-bell form after Lepanto (1571). It remains standard in Catholic parishes worldwide.