Is the Hail Mary prayer biblical?
Biblical source
The prayer incorporates two greetings to Mary recorded in the Gospel of Luke: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee", and "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb".
And we seek Mary's intercession just like we ask each other here on earth for prayers, so it should be okay for a Christian to pray the Hail Mary, asking her to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."
The good news is that we don't need to pray to Mary or to the saints in order to be heard by God. Jesus made this wonderful promise: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:3).
The Hail Mary is traditionally prayed by Catholics, but many people (both Christian and non-Christian) feel drawn to Mary. They recognize her powerful witness as a faithful disciple of Christ and seek her aid as a compassionate spiritual mother.
It simply means we turn to her for prayers, something all Christians do when they ask for prayers from their brothers and sisters. So, when Catholics “pray” to Mary, we're not praying in the same way as we pray to God. We're asking for her intercession, the way we ask our brothers and sisters for prayers.
A popular German religious manual of the fifteenth century ("Der Selen Troïst", 1474) even divides the Hail Mary into four portions, and declares that the first part was composed by the Angel Gabriel, the second by St. Elizabeth, the third, consisting only of the Sacred Name.
A: As you know the bible does "not" tell us to pray the Rosary because this form of prayer originated only during the middle ages. However, important elements of the Rosary are biblical and/or belong to the common Christian beliefs.
The phrase "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death" demonstrates that Catholics view Mary not as a goddess to be worshipped, but as a helpful ally in the life-long struggle against sin and temptation. In all of the Marian prayers offered by Catholics, there is not a single claim of Mary's divinity.
The earliest Hail Mary (except for the word “our”) is found in Girolamo Savonarola's writings. Following the Council of Trent, the final Hail Mary prayer was put into the brievary in 1568 by Pope St. Pius V.
Catholics do not pray to Mary as if she were God. Prayer to Mary is memory of the great mysteries of our faith (Incarnation, Redemption through Christ in the rosary), praise to God for the wonderful things he has done in and through one of his creatures (Hail Mary) and intercession (second half of the Hail Mary).
Where is Hail Mary in the Bible?
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you”
Luke 1:26-28 – In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
It is often used by Latin Rite (Western) Catholics. It is also used in the East (but only by Latinised Ukrainian and Maronite Catholics). When praying the Rosary, Catholics pray ten sets of Hail Marys. Before each set, they pray one Our Father (also called the Pater Noster or The Lord's Prayer).

The Hail Mary prayer is separated into two main parts:
Recognizing Mary as the sinless mother of Jesus, the one who gave birth to our Savior, and played a role in our salvation. Asking Blessed Mary to pray for us “now and at the hour of our death,” and to be our intercessor before her son.
Catholics do not view Mary as equal to Christ, but rather venerate Mary because of her relationship to Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it” (CCC 964).
Roman Catholic Christians who believe in purgatory interpret passages such as 2 Maccabees 12:41–46, 2 Timothy 1:18, Matthew 12:32, Luke 23:43, 1 Corinthians 3:11–3:15 and Hebrews 12:29 as support for prayer for purgatorial souls who are believed to be within an active interim state for the dead undergoing purifying ...
The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in history. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into five main mysteries which correspond to the five decades of the rosary. Five Joyful Mysteries are prayed on Mondays and Saturdays.
in 1263 added the holy name of Jesus after the scriptural sentence, as the devotion of the faithful had introduced the name Mary after the first greeting.
False. While rosaries are typically associated with Catholics, non-Catholics can certainly pray the rosary — and in fact, many credit it with their conversion. Even some Protestants recognize the rosary as a valid form of prayer.
Although Marian in character, the Rosary in reality focuses on Mary's heavenly son, Jesus. According to St. Pope John Paul II, the Rosary “is at heart a Christocentric prayer” because “it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety”.
The practice of praying through saints can be found in Christian writings from the 3rd century onward. The 4th-century Apostles' Creed states belief in the communion of Saints, which certain Christian churches interpret as supporting the intercession of saints.
Why do Catholics confess to a priest?
Let's summarize: Catholics confess their sins to a priest because that is the method of forgiveness that God established. The Almighty alone has the power to forgive sins, and the Son of God granted that authority to His Apostles.
Yes, Catholics do ask Mary and the other saints to pray for us; to be intercessors for us. We ask the saints by their powerful intercession to obtain for us God's favors and graces. Together with them, we appeal to God.
Devotion to the Virgin Mary does not, however, amount to worship – which is reserved for God; Catholics view Mary as subordinate to Christ, but uniquely so, in that she is seen as above all other creatures.
Tradition does hold that St. Dominic (d. 1221) devised the rosary as we know it. Moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother, he preached the use of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who had denied the mystery of Christ.
The simple answer is no, Catholics don't worship Mary. We pray to Mary, but not in the same way we pray to God—and not to worship her as a god.
Revelation 8:3 – The prayers of the saints rise up before God, and then God acts on earth. John 15 – “I am the vine, and you are the branches.”
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Hail Mary, Latin Ave Maria, also called Angelic Salutation, a principal prayer of the Roman Catholic Church, comprising three parts, addressed to the Virgin Mary. The prayer is recited in the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin (see rosary) and is often assigned as penance during the sacrament of reconciliation (confession).
These usually involved asking for Mary's intercession, especially at the hour of death. The earliest Hail Mary (except for the word “our”) is found in Girolamo Savonarola's writings. Following the Council of Trent, the final Hail Mary prayer was put into the brievary in 1568 by Pope St. Pius V.
The Hail Mary is rooted in Scripture — the initial lines are taken directly from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We read that God sends the Angel Gabriel to proclaim to the Virgin Mary that she is to bear the Son of God.
What does the Bible say about praying the rosary?
Biblical Basis for the Rosary
A: As you know the bible does "not" tell us to pray the Rosary because this form of prayer originated only during the middle ages. However, important elements of the Rosary are biblical and/or belong to the common Christian beliefs. Judge for yourself.
The Hail Mary is the oldest, most repeated, most imitated, and most powerful Christian prayer. It is the oldest because it was spoken at the moment when Christ, the Son of God, was conceived in the Virgin's womb, at the very beginning of Christianity when the divine Son of God became the human Son of his mother, Mary.
The Hail Mary prayer is separated into two main parts:
Recognizing Mary as the sinless mother of Jesus, the one who gave birth to our Savior, and played a role in our salvation. Asking Blessed Mary to pray for us “now and at the hour of our death,” and to be our intercessor before her son.