Editor’s note: Commentary, other than quotes with footnote citations from official documents, should be understood as only the personal opinion of the webmaster, and not as statements approved by any ecclesiastical authority.
Many versions exist of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The version provided online at this site is the Carmelite Rite version of the Little Office that was being used between 1910 and Vatican II; however, there are many other versions of the Little Office available both online and in print.
Online Versions
- Officium Parvum Beatae Mariae Virginis juxta Ritual Carmelitanum (1939)🔗
Latin Only version of Carmelite Rite, matches the Latin in our online version - Officium parvum B.V.M. = Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the use of the Carmelite order 🔗 (1851)
Latin/English version of Carmelite Rite in use before 1910 revision. - DivinumOfficium.com 🔗
Roman rite Liturgical Prayer, while this version is undocumented, it looks to be one that was originally published in the late 1800s or early 1900s. - The Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Office for the Dead. Same as in the Evening Office Book of the St. John’s Society, as established in Dublin (1867) 🔗
Older version of the Little Office in Latin/English - The Little office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, conformable to the recent pontifical decrees and the Office of the dead in Latin and English (1915) 🔗
Digital version of the Office originally published by Benzinger Brothers, and used as the basis for the Angelus Press version of the Little Office listed below.
Print Versions
- The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel with the Office of the Dead according to the Carmelite Rite (1953 Edition) 🔗 – Lulu.com
This is the edition we used as the basis for our online Little Office. While the content is fantastic, this is printed as a mass market paperback, and is a low-quality printing. This edition also contains commemorations for Carmelite saints as well as the Office of the Dead. - The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (2014)🔗 – Baronius Press
Leather bound – VERY high quality printing and content and will last for years. If you want a physical book to carry with you as your primary source for the Little Office, I highly recommend this version. It will last for years and years, and it’s got some great commentary that’s worth the price alone. Features include: Based on an edition published just after the Reform Act in 1850 (allowing English Catholics to openly practice the Faith), Fully updated to comply with the editio typica of the Breviary (1961) permitted by the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio ‘Summorum Pontificum’, The first ever edition to include the complete Gregorian chants for the Little Office. Meditations before each hour from the mediaeval Mirror of Our Lady, Preface by the Very Reverend Fr. Berg, superior of the FSSP, Flexible leather cover with stitched edge, gold gilding, 2 ribbons. - The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary 🔗 – St. Bonaventure Press
Hard-bound, Sewn Binding – From 1904 Edition, Introduction by Father Lasance - The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Office of the Dead (2015) – Angelus Press
Flexbound soft cover – The text of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Office of the Dead is that of the 1915 Benziger Brothers edition with updated punctuation and slight rewording of some familiar passages in English. The content of the Offices was revised in conformity with the norms of the typical edition of the Roman Breviary published in 1961. Completely re-typset with the Latin and English text on facing pages. - Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1988) – Catholic Book Publishing
Contains the revised edition approved by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the United States Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy. This volume presents the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary complete with reforms mandated by the Second Vatican Council with daily texts from the Liturgy of the Hours, along with readings and prayers.
NOT Recommended – The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary According to the Ancient and Venerable Rite of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem – Lulu.com
This edition lists Bishop Bryan Clayton, D.D., Er. Carm. as the editor. I cannot find any example of this person or this religious order online, except as being listed as a nonprofit orgainization by the state of Massachusetts in 2009, with Clayton listed as President, Treasurer, Secretary and Director. In another document listed as authored by Clayton on Lulu.com, he lists himself as being leader of a parish that is not recognized by the local diocese as an authentic Catholic church. His name is also not listed as one of the priests in the Archdiocese of Boston. Due to the fact that this person is claiming ecclesiastical leadership with no support from the magisterium, and looks to be affiliated with possible schismatic or apostate groups, I cannot recommend this book.