According to tradition, St. Bernard of Clairvaux added the words, "O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!"
The Salve Regina ("Hail Holy Queen") remains one of the most popular hymns and prayers of the Catholic Church to the Virgin Mary.
It is sung most frequently at the end of Night Prayer as part of the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as on various Marian feasts throughout the liturgical year.
Most of the words are attributed to Bl. Herman the Cripple, a holy monk who was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. He lived during the 11th century and composed the Salve Regina while living in a Benedictine monastery.
However, the last few words of the Salve Regina, as it is sung today, are traditionally traced to St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
An article written for the Sacred Heart Review provides a summary of how these last words were written:
On Christmas Eve [in 1146, St. Bernard] came to Spires, [Germany] and was accompanied to the cathedral by the bishop and people, in solemn procession. And the princes of the empire who were assembled...received the saint with every mark of distinction. On entering the [cathedral], the Salve Regina was intoned with the greatest enthusiasm. St. Bernard was deeply moved, and as the last words resounded : "After this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus," the saint exclaimed: " O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria " — " O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary."
It was a spontaneous exclamation of love that has since become an essential part of the Salve Regina.
St. Bernard was a man full of love of the Virgin Mary and he could not contain such love when he heard the melodious song echo in the beautiful church.
He spent his whole life singing of the glories of the Virgin Mary and is sometimes called the "bard" or "troubadour" of Mary.
The church in Spires has these words etched into brass plates placed prominently in the building.
