Publisher Desc.  The Ave Maria is an antiphon used by the Roman Catholic Church venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is found in the Liber Antiphonarius of St. Gregory as an antiphon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, but as early as the 8th century was used as the offertory antiphon of the feasts of the Annunciation (March 25) and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).