celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after Ascension. In Spain we find a similar litany from Thursday to Saturday after Pentecost. In England the Litany of Rogation Days was known in the earliest periods. In Germany it was ordered by a Synod of Mainz in 813. Because the Mass Litany became popular through its use in processions, numberless varieties were soon made, especially in the Middle Ages. Litanies appeared in honour of God the Father, of God the Son, of God the Holy Ghost, of the Precious Blood, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Immaculate Conception, of each of the saints honoured in different countries, for the souls in Purgatory, etc. In 1601 Baronius wrote that about eighty forms were in circulation. To prevent abuse, Pope Clement VIII, by decree of 6 September 1601, forbade the publication of any litany, except that of the saints as found in the liturgical books and that of Loreto. Anglican litanies The Anglican Communion also has a Litany in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. This is substantially the same as Thomas Cranmer's original English vernacular service from 1544, Exhortation and Litany. Cranmer drew on a variety of sources, chiefly two medieval litanies from the Sarum rite, but also the German Litany of Martin Luther. He originally retained the invocation of the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary in very shortened form, but these were omitted in 1549, and he made a notable change in the style of the service by expanding and grouping together said by the priest and provided but a single response to the whole group. An anti-papal clause was omitted in 1559. The processional aspect was soon eliminated and the service said or sung kneeling in the church. The term "the Lesser Litany" is sometimes used to refer to the versicles and responses, with the Lord's Prayer, that follow the Apostles' Creed at Morning Prayer (or Matins) and Evening Prayer (or Evensong). Many other litanies are used in private prayer. A Marian litany is one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; only one is authorised for public recitation (mentioned above). The Litany of humility is another well-known prayer. Catholic litanies In the Catholic Church, six litanies are approved for public recitation: The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus The Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus The Litany of the