The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ANGELUS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
N
G
E
L
U
S
More clues leading to the result ANGELUS
- Supporters ringing unionist bell
- Guardian supported by American in daily prayers
- Messenger joins us in prayer
- Guardian supported by American in prayer
- Prayer of Scotsman about English failure essentially
- Prayer offered when a new setter joins us
- Pin shoved up into jacksie – does that ring a bell?
- First strike a wild lunge before the bell
- Article takes shape about university clanger
- . One is envious hearing the bell
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Catholic prayer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case catholic prayer = angelus.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.