Changes

The  

The '''Ave Maria''' is a Roman [[Catholic]] Prayer which is commonly used in the personal devotion known as the Most Holy [[Rosary]] of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is not a part of the Mass, but the faithful often recite five decades of the Rosary in the time before Mass when Catholics gather in the sanctuary.  The text of the prayer is as follows:

'''Ave Maria''' is a  

Roman Catholic Prayer

which is commonly used in the personal devotion known as the Most Holy [[Rosary]] of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is not a part of the Mass, but the faithful often recite five decades of the Rosary in the time before Mass when Catholics gather in the sanctuary.  The text of the prayer is as follows:

[[Image:Cross.JPG|thumb|Right|200px|Rosary]]

[[Image:Cross.JPG|thumb|Right|200px|Rosary]]

==Musical settings==

==Musical settings==

The words are often sung to a musical setting by [[Franz Schubert]]. Curiously, although his original song was inspired by his devotion, it was not entitled ''[[Ave Maria]],'' but ''Ellens dritter Gesang'' (Ellen's third song), and was a setting for a German translation of a portion ''The Lady of the Lake,'' a long poem by [[Sir Walter Scott]]. In the original, Scott's heroine is praying to the Virgin Mary, and opens her plea with the phrase "Ave Maria," but continues in her own words:

The words are often sung to a musical setting by [[Franz Schubert]]. Curiously, although his original song was inspired by his devotion, it was not entitled ''[[Ave Maria]],'' but ''Ellens dritter Gesang'' (Ellen's third song), and was a setting for a German translation of a portion ''The Lady of the Lake,'' a long poem by [[Sir Walter Scott]]. In the original, Scott's heroine is praying to the Virgin Mary, and opens her plea with the phrase "Ave Maria," but continues in her own words: