"Sacris solemniis" is a hymn written by St.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

(1225–1274) for the feast of Corpus Christi (also known as the Solemnity of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ). The

strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varyi ...

of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "

Panis angelicus (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") is the penultimate stanza of the hymn "" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of ...

" (bread of angels) has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. It appears about 1768 in the iberian musical form Vilancete/Villancico at Francesc Morera's "Si el grano divino". at ''Eucharistic celebration because the beginning of a new bishop ministry'' Most famously, in 1872

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

set this strophe for voice (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

), harp,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

, and organ, and incorporated it into his ''Messe à trois voix'' Opus 12. The hymn expresses the doctrine that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In the Roman Catholic tradition the concept of transubstantiation is presented as an explanation of how this change happens. The phenomenon whereby the strophe of Sacris solemniis that begins with the words "Panis angelicus" is often treated as a separate hymn has occurred also with other hymns that Thomas Aquinas wrote for Corpus Christi:

Verbum supernum prodiens "Verbum supernum prodiens" (literally: The word escendingfrom above) is a Catholic hymn in long metre by St Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274). It was written for the Hour of Lauds in the Divine Office of Corpus Christi. It is about the institutio ...

(the last two strophes beginning with " O salutaris hostia"),

Adoro te devote "Adoro te devote" is a Eucharistic hymn written by Thomas Aquinas. It is one of the five Eucharistic hymns which were composed and set to music for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV as a Solemnity for the Latin ...

(the strophe beginning with "Pie pelicane, Jesu Domine"), and

Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium "Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium" () is a Medieval Latin hymn attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) for the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is also sung on Maundy Thursday during the procession from the church to the place where ...

(the last two strophes beginning with "

Tantum ergo "Tantum ergo" is the incipit of the last two verses of Pange lingua, a Medieval Latin hymn generally attributed to St Thomas Aquinas c. 1264, but based by Aquinas upon various earlier fragments. The "Genitori genitoque" and "Procedenti ab utroque" ...

").

Latin text and English version

The Latin text below is from the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

. The English translation is a

cento The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

based upon a translation by John David Chambers (1805–1893).''Thesaurus Precum Latinarum''
"Sacris Solemniis"
/ref>

TV and Movie

In the 4th episode of the first season of the 2022 television show,

Night Sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of astronomical object, celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a ...

the character Jude sings the first verse of ''Sacris Solemniis'' at a karaoke bar.

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Sacris Solemniis
in the

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

discusses the merits of a number of different translations.
Another translation and historical explanation of the text

* ttp://www.chantcd.com/lyrics/bread_of_angels.htm Gregorian Chants* {{Thomas Aquinas Eucharist in the Catholic Church 13th-century poems Latin-language Christian hymns 13th-century Latin literature Medieval literature Hymns by Thomas Aquinas

Latin text and English version

TV and Movie

Text

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External links