Glória in excélsis Deo.
Et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis.
Laudámus te.
Benedícimus te.
Adorámus te.
Glorificámus te.
Grátias ágimus tibi
propter magnam glóriam tuam.
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis,
Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili unigénite, Iesu Christe.
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris.
Qui tollis peccáta mundi,
miserére nobis.
Qui tollis peccáta mundi,
súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris,
miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus.
Tu solus Dóminus.
Tu solus Altíssimus, Iesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spíritu:
in glória Dei Patris.
Amen.

The Gloria in Excelsis Deo is the ancient “angelic hymn” that opens the Mass on most solemn occasions. The hymn traces back to a third‑century Greek doxology sung by angels at Christ’s birth (Luke 2:14) and was already in use in the “morning prayer” of the Apostolic Constitutions. It was translated into Latin, most probably by St. Hilary of Poitiers in the mid‑fourth century, who brought the text from the East during his exile1. Early Roman practice reserved the Gloria for bishops on Christmas, later extending it to Sundays and major feasts under Popes Telesphorus and Symmachus. By the medieval period it had become the principal “greater doxology” of the liturgy, distinct from the shorter “Gloria Patri”.

In the Tridentine rite the Gloria was sung after the Kyrie whenever the “time was proper” (si tempus fuerit), i.e. on Sundays outside Advent and Lent, on solemnities, feasts, and on Easter for the faithful. Its performance involved a solemn intonation by the celebrant, followed by the choir and the faithful, with specific gestures of bowing at the Holy Name and the words Adoramus te, Gratias agimus tibi1. The rubrics of the 1962 Missal still require these gestures and the alternation of choir and people, preserving the medieval ceremonial richness.

The text is a triple‑addressed doxology to the Holy Trinity: glory to God the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. It proclaims the angelic proclamation of “glory to God in the highest” and extends it to the earth, wishing peace to “people of good will.” The successive verbs—laudamus, benedicimus, adoramus, glorificamus—reflect a theological progression from praise to worship, a structure highlighted by medieval commentators such as Durandus and Gihr. The hymn thus embodies the Church’s participation in the heavenly hymn, expressing gratitude for the Incarnation and the salvific work of Christ, and invoking the Holy Spirit’s presence.

Its inclusion in the Mass signified the Church’s continuity with the early Christian worship of the angels and the affirmation of Trinitarian doctrine against subordinationist tendencies of the fourth century. The ritual gestures, the chant intonation, and the alternation of choir and faithful all serve to make the congregation a living continuation of the angelic hymn, a view reinforced by the liturgical manuals of the 16th‑19th centuries.

The Gloria in Excelsis Deo is an ancient, Trinitarian hymn of praise, rooted in early Greek worship, transmitted by Hilary of Poitiers, and incorporated into the Roman Mass with solemn ceremonial actions that express the Church’s participation in the angels’ song of glory and peace.