Pray it three times daily: morning, noon and evening, wherever you are, and let a bell, an alarm or the sound of the church bells be the summons. The form is fixed and short: three versicles with their responses — "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary," "Behold the handmaid of the Lord," "And the Word was made flesh" — each followed by a Hail Mary▾, then the versicle "Pray for us, O holy Mother of God," and the concluding prayer, "Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts." Stop what you are doing rather than praying it while working; the point is the interruption. Where circumstances make even this difficult, the Directory on Popular Piety says that at least three Hail Marys▾ should be said. Throughout Eastertide, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost, the Angelus▾ is replaced by the antiphon Regina Caeli▾, a substitution laid down by Benedict XIV in 1742. On solemn occasions — in religious communities, at Marian shrines, at gatherings — it may be sung, with the Gospel of the Annunciation proclaimed and the bells rung.

The Angelus▾ is treated in the Directory on Popular Piety among the practices recommended by the Magisterium, which praises its simple structure, biblical character, quasi-liturgical rhythm sanctifying the times of the day, and openness to the Paschal Mystery.

Three times daily — morning, noon and evening