Women in the Catholic Church inspired vast quantities of Catholic art - notably images of the Madonna and Child—and various Catholic prayers, Marian hymns and devotions (notably Hail Mary): "Ave Maris Stella" (Latin, "Hail Star of the Sea") is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary and inspiration for the English hymn "Hail Holy Queen". The "Salve Regina", also known as the Hail Holy Queen, is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons. Its poetic verses portray Mary as a figure of hope in a time of trial: The prominence of Mary in the life of the Church grew gradually.
Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist Corpus", greets Christ in the Eucharist as follows (in translation from the original Latin): "Hail, true body, born of Mary Virgin, and which truly suffered and was immolated on the cross for mankind!" The Catholic Church also holds that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is entire: it does not see what is really in the Eucharist as a lifeless corpse and mere blood, but as the whole Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity; nor does it see the persisting outward appearances of bread and wine and their properties (such as weight and nutritional value) as a mere