Ask an airman about faith and you’ll often hear about the quiet before a mission, the long hours on a flight line, or the family waiting at home during a deployment. These prayers are for all of it: pilots and crews, maintainers and controllers, and everyone who loves them.
Historical Context
Pope Benedict XV named Our Lady of Loreto patroness of aviators in 1920, because of the old tradition that the house of the Holy Family was carried through the air to Loreto in Italy. St Joseph of Cupertino, a seventeenth-century friar famous for being lifted into the air in prayer, shares a feast day with the Air Force’s birthday.
An Air Force Prayer
Lord, guard and guide all who serve in the Air Force.
Give them skill, steady nerves and sound judgment.
Protect them in the air and on the ground,
at home and far away.
Make them people of integrity,
and bring every one of them home safely.
Amen.
A Pilot’s Prayer Before Flight
Lord, you made the sky.
Keep my aircraft sound and my mind clear.
Watch over my crew and everyone below.
Our Lady of Loreto, pray for us.
Amen.
For Those Deployed
Father, my loved one is far away tonight.
Surround them with your protection.
Give them rest when they can sleep
and courage when they can’t.
Bring them home to us.
Amen.
For Air Force Families
Lord, bless the spouses, children and parents who serve at home.
Strengthen them through moves, missed birthdays and long separations.
Amen.
Best Times for This Prayer
- Before a flight or mission.
- During deployments.
- On 18 September, the Air Force birthday.
- On 10 December, the feast of Our Lady of Loreto.
Scripture Connection
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” — Psalm 139:9-10
The psalmist imagines flying to the farthest place he can think of and finds that God is already there. For anyone who works in the sky, that’s both a comfort and a promise.
Related prayers
For other service members, see the Marine Corps Prayer and Paratroopers Prayer. For anyone who flies, the Pilot Prayer.