The
Roman Breviary (
Latin:
Breviarium Romanum) is the
liturgical book of the
Latin liturgical rites of the
Catholic Church containing the public or canonical
prayers,
hymns, the
Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office (i.e., at the
canonical hours or
Liturgy of the Hours, the Christians' daily prayer). The word
breviary, in general, refers to a collection of Christian orders of prayers and readings, such as contained in
Anglican or
Lutheran resources. It may also be used to refer to an abridged version of any text or a brief account or summary of some subject, but is primarily used to refer to a Christian liturgical book. The volume containing the daily hours of Roman Catholic prayer was published as the
Breviarium Romanum (Roman Breviary) until the reforms of Paul VI, when it became known as the
Liturgy of the Hours. However, these terms are used interchangeably to refer to the Office in all its forms. This entry deals with the Roman Breviary prior to the changes introduced by
Pope Paul VI in 1974.