"''Sacris solemniis''" is a hymn written by St.

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 ...

(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 var ...

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 o ...

''" (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 In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or musical improvisation, performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a ...

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 music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

set this strophe for voice (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

, and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, 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 ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. In the Roman Catholic tradition the concept of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...

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

Adoro te devote "Adoro te devote" is a prayer written by Thomas Aquinas. Unlike hymns which were composed and set to music for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV for the entire Latin Church of the Catholic Church, it was not wr ...

'' (the strophe beginning with "''Pie pelicane, Jesu Domine''"), and '' Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium'' (the last two strophes beginning with "'' Tantum ergo''").

Latin text and English version

The Latin text below is from the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), 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 Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

. The English translation is a

cento Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

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

In popular culture

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

Night Sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of 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 night sky include moonlig ...

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

Text

References

External links

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 Encyclopedi ...

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 Christian hymns in Latin 13th-century Latin literature Medieval literature Hymns by Thomas Aquinas

Latin text and English version

In popular culture

Text

See also

References

External links