The Pater Noster is the prayer that Christ himself taught his disciples. For nearly two thousand years, Catholics have prayed it in Latin. Learning it in the original language connects you to that unbroken tradition and reveals layers of meaning that English translations can only approximate.
Here is the complete prayer, followed by a word-by-word breakdown with Ecclesiastical pronunciation.
The Full Prayer
sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem,
sed libera nos a malo.
Amen.
Word by Word
| Latin | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Pater | PAH-tehr | Father |
| noster | NOHS-tehr | our |
| qui | kwee | who |
| es | ehs | you are |
| in | een | in |
| caelis | CHEH-lees | heavens |
| sanctificetur | sahnk-tee-fee-CHEH-toor | may it be made holy |
| nomen | NOH-mehn | name |
| tuum | TOO-oom | your |
| adveniat | ahd-VEH-nee-aht | may it come |
| regnum | REHN-yoom | kingdom |
| fiat | FEE-aht | may it be done |
| voluntas | voh-LOON-tahs | will |
| sicut | SEE-koot | just as |
| caelo | CHEH-loh | heaven |
| terra | TEHR-rah | earth |
| panem | PAH-nehm | bread |
| quotidianum | kwoh-tee-dee-AH-noom | daily |
| da | dah | give |
| nobis | NOH-bees | to us |
| hodie | OH-dee-eh | today |
| dimitte | dee-MEET-teh | forgive / release |
| debita | DEH-bee-tah | debts / trespasses |
| dimittimus | dee-MEET-tee-moos | we forgive |
| debitoribus | deh-bee-TOH-ree-boos | to our debtors |
| inducas | een-DOO-kahs | lead (into) |
| tentationem | tehn-tah-tsee-OH-nehm | temptation |
| libera | LEE-beh-rah | free / deliver |
| malo | MAH-loh | evil |
Pronunciation Tips
In Ecclesiastical Latin (Church Latin), the pronunciation follows Italian rules. The most important differences from Classical Latin are: c before e or i is pronounced "ch" (as in "church"), ae is pronounced "eh", and gn is pronounced "ny" (as in the Italian word "lasagna").
So caelis becomes "CHEH-lees" and regnum becomes "REHN-yoom" with the soft ny sound.
A Note on Grammar
Latin is an inflected language, which means that word endings change to indicate grammatical function. In the Pater Noster, you can see this clearly: noster (our, masculine nominative) vs. nostrum (our, masculine accusative) vs. nostra (our, feminine/neuter). The endings tell you the role each word plays in the sentence.
Don't worry about mastering all the grammar right away. The most important thing is to begin praying the words and letting their meaning sink in over time.
Pray the Pater Noster in Latin, word by word
Lingua Sacra teaches this prayer with line-by-line audio, grammar annotations, and spaced-repetition vocabulary. The Pater Noster is free on every device — no install needed to try.