"Te Splendor" is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 ...

dedicated to Saint Michael, the Archangel. The hymn derives its name from the fact that in Latin it begins with the words: ''Te splendor et virtus Patris''. The hymn is found in the

Roman Breviary The Roman Breviary (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Breviarium Romanum'') is a breviary of the Roman Rite in the Catholic Church. A liturgical book, it contains public or canonical Catholic prayer, prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notat ...

History

"Te splendor et virtus Patris" is based on the hymn "Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris" attributed to

Rabanus Maurus Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...

, which was revised in 1632 by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

. Many churches and religious orders continued to use the original version. In the Roman Breviary, "Te Splendor" is traditionally sung at

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

and Matins on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel (September 29), which also commemorates the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel and all the Angels on Mount Gargano. (The apparition of St. Michael at Gargano is observed on May 8.) In 1817

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

granted an

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 ...

of 200 days once a day for saying the hymn (including antiphon and prayer) with a contrite heart and devotion, in honor of St. Michael the Archangel in order to obtain his patronage and protection against the assaults of the enemy of man. The hymn is included in the

Raccolta The ''Raccolta'' (literally, "collection" in Italian), is a book, published in many editions from 1807 to 1952, that collected the texts of Roman Catholic prayers and briefly described other acts of piety, such as visiting and praying in particul ...

collection of prayers, and its authorized translations.

Versions

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Re ...

composed an arrangement of "Tibi Christe splendor patris".

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...

arranged it as a hymn for four voices; Luca Marenzio set it as a motet. "Te Splendor et virtus Patris" forms a part of

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (; 3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Early life and education Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré ...

's "Le Tombeau de Titelouze" for organ. English Catholic priest Frederick Charles Husenbeth did an English translation from the Latin, as did Anglican priest and hymnwriter

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...

in his 1867 ''Mediæval Hymns and Sequences''. Catholic Oratorian Edward Caswall's, translation is rendered as "O Jesu! Life-Spring of the Soul".''Lyra Catholica: containing all the Breviary and Missal hymns, with others from various sources''
(Translated by Edward Caswall), E. Dunigan & Bros., 1851

Hymn

English text of the hymn is as follows:

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* The Raccolta ''Collection of indulgenced prayers'' by T. Galli, authorized translation by Ambrose Saint John, Published by Burns and Lambert, London, 1857, page 252.

External links

"Tibi, Christe, splendor Patris", Victoria

"Te splendor et virtus Patris", plainchant

"Te splendor et virtus Patris", Dupré
Roman Catholic prayers Michael (archangel)