"Adoro te devote" is a prayer written by

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

. Unlike hymns which were composed and set to music for the

Solemnity In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite, a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his legal father Joseph, or another important ...

of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV for the entire

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, it was not written for a liturgical function and appears in no liturgical texts of the period; some scholars believe that it was written by the friar for private use at

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. The text has since been incorporated into public worship as a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

. The authorship of the hymn by Thomas Aquinas was previously doubted by some scholars. More recent scholarship has put such doubts to rest. Thomas seems to have used it also as a private prayer, in daily

adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, and love for a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give Homage (arts), homage or worship to someone or something". Ancient Rome In class ...

of the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. ''Adoro te devote'' is one of the medieval poetic compositions, being used as spoken prayers and also as chanted hymns, which were preserved in the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

published in 1570 following the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

(1545–1563). The hymn is still sung today, though its use is optional in the post-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

ordinary form.

Text and literal translation

There are two variant readings of the Latin text, with slightly different nuances to some of the words: ''"most of the variations occur in the first two verses. The substitution of the words ''"posset omni scélere"'' in place of ''"quit ab omni scélere"'' in the second-to-last verse and ''"cupio"'' for ''"sitio"'' in the closing one are practically the only other changes"''. This does not affect the overall meaning of the lines or stanzas so that ''"either variant may be legitimately used according to local custom."''

Poetic English translations

There have been at least 16 significant English translations of Adoro te devote, reflecting its popularity as a prayer and hymn, including versions by Edward Bouverie Pusey, Edward Caswall, and

Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Society of Jesus, Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His Prosody (linguistics), prosody – notably his concept of sprung ...

. There are also several popular hymns such as "Humbly We Adore Thee," which employ the 13th century Benedictine plainsong melody, but use modern texts not related to the Latin text.

Liturgical use

This hymn was added to the

in 1570 by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V, OP (; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (and from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 January 1566 to his death, in May 1572. He was an ...

, and also it has more quotations in the ''

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a reference work that summarizes the Catholic Church's doctrine. It was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992 ...

'' (n. 1381). This Eucharistic hymn was generally chanted with a

genuflection Genuflection or genuflexion is the act of bending a knee to the ground, as distinguished from kneeling which more strictly involves both knees. From early times, it has been a gesture of deep respect for a superior. Today, the gesture is common ...

in front of the Blessed Sacrament. The hymn is typically used as an Eucharistic hymn and is sung either during the distribution of communion at

, or during the

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, also called Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament or the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, is a devotional ceremony, celebrated especially in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in some other C ...

. There are modern musical settings and arrangements by Alexandre Guilmant (''Offertoire sur Adoro te devote'' for organ, 1908), Cecilia McDowall (2016), Carlo Pedini (2021) and Healey Willan (chorale prelude, 1954).

Final prayer

Until the first half of the nineteenth century, the (Eucharistic) chant Adoro te devote was often used to be followed by this second thanksgiving prayer, referred to Jesus Christ God: :''Obsecro Te, sancte Domine Jesu'' :''Christe, ut passio tua sit mihi virtus'' :''qua muniar atque defendar,'' :''vulnera tua sit mihi cibus potusque'' :''quibus pascar, inebrier atque delecter;'' :''aspersio sanguinis tui sit mihi ablutio'' :''omnium delictorum meorum;'' :''resurrectio tua sit mihi gloria'' :''sempiterna. In his sit mihi refectio,'' :''exultatio sanitas et dulcedo'' :''cordis mei. Qui vivis et regnas in'' :''unitate Patri et Spiritus Sancti Deus'' :''per omnia saecula saeculorum''. :''Amen.'' On 13 December 1849, Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

stated a period of 3 years of

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

. Partial indulgence Manuale delle indulgenze (Indulgences' Handbook) n. 4. Cited in remains in force even after the suppression of the prayer from the 1969 missal.

Notes

References

External links

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"Humbly We Adore Thee
{{Authority control Christian hymns in Latin Eucharist in the Catholic Church 13th-century poems 13th-century Latin literature Hymns by Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas Italian Christian hymns