Anima Christi
The "Anima Christi" (Latin for ‘Soul of Christ’) is a traditional Christian prayer to Jesus used in the Roman Catholic and Evangelical-Lutheran traditions.[1][2] It is of medieval origin and in this Christian prayer, the "supplicant contemplates the suffering body of Christ on the cross and pleads to be concealed within his wounds."[3]
History
For many years the prayer was popularly believed to have been composed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, as he puts it at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises and often refers to it. In the first edition of the Spiritual Exercises Ignatius merely mentions it, evidently supposing that the reader would know it. In later editions, it was printed in full. It was by assuming that everything in the book was written by Ignatius that it came to be looked upon as his composition. On this account the prayer is sometimes referred to as the Aspirations of St. Ignatius Loyola.
However, the prayer actually dates to the early 14th century and was possibly written by Pope John XXII, but its authorship remains uncertain. It has been found in a number of prayer books printed during the youth of Ignatius and is in manuscripts which were written 100 years before his birth. The English hymnologist James Mearns found it in a manuscript of the British Museum which dates back to about 1370. In the library of Avignon there is preserved a prayer book of Cardinal Pierre de Luxembourg (died 1387), which contains the prayer in practically the same form as that in which it appears today. It has also been found inscribed on one of the gates of the Alcázar of Seville, which dates back to the time of Pedro the Cruel (1350–1369).
The invocations in the prayer have rich associations with Catholic and Lutheran concepts that relate to the Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist (Body and Blood of Christ), Baptism (water) and the Passion of Jesus (Holy Wounds).[2]
Text
| Latin text | Literal English translation | Translation by Saint John Henry Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Anima Christi, sanctifica me. Corpus Christi, salva me. Sanguis Christi, inebria me. Aqua lateris Christi, lava me. Passio Christi, conforta me. O bone Jesu, exaudi me. Intra tua vulnera absconde me. Ne permittas me separari a te. Ab hoste maligno defende me. In hora mortis meae voca me. Et jube me venire ad te, Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te, In saecula saeculorum. Amen.[4] |
Soul of Christ, sanctify me Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me Water from the side of Christ, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds hide me Suffer me not to be separated from Thee From the malignant enemy defend me In the hour of my death call me And bid me come unto Thee That with Thy Saints I may praise Thee Forever and ever. Amen. |
Soul of Christ, be my sanctification; Body of Christ, be my salvation; Blood of Christ, fill all my veins; Water of Christ's side, wash out my stains; Passion of Christ, my comfort be; O good Jesus, listen to me; In Thy wounds I fain would hide; Ne'er to be parted from Thy side; Guard me, should the foe assail me; Call me when my life shall fail me; Bid me come to Thee above, With Thy saints to sing Thy love, World without end. Amen. |
In the mid-19th century the prayer was translated and published as the English hymn Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast by Edward Caswall. Since then it has been popular as a communion hymn in Anglican and Catholic communities and has been included in some 43 different hymnals.
Indulgence
In the Catholic Church, the 2004 Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithful of Christ who prays the Anima Christi after having received Communion.[5] Although not a part of the Maronite Catholic tradition, during the 21st century, the Anima Christi prayer is recited in some Maronite churches in the United States at the end of the Mass.
Musical adaptations
Jean-Baptiste Lully composed a motet called Anima Christi, and musicians such as Giovanni Valentini have performed it. Liszt made two settings of it, both for male voices and organ, in 1874 [published in the Breitkopf Franz-Liszt-Stiftung, volume V/6 (1936)]. There is a contemporary Catholic composition by Marco Frisina. Lutheran adaptions include those by Heinrich Schütz (SWV 325) and Johann Theile. The hymn 'Soul of my Saviour' is an English translation of this prayer by J. Hegarty, and music of Jesuit priest William J. Maher (Bristol, 1823).[6]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Anima Christi.—This well-known prayer dates its origin from the first half of the fourteenth century and was enriched with indulgences by Pope John XXII in the year 1330. All the manuscripts practically agree as to these two facts so there can be no doubt of their exactness. In regard to its authorship all we can say is that it was, perhaps, written by John XXII. Of this we are not certain, as this Pope has been falsely accredited with similar pious compositions, and a mistake could easily be made of confounding the one who gave the indulgence with the real author. The Anima Christi was and is still generally believed to have been composed by St. Ignatius Loyola, as he puts it at the beginning of his "Spiritual Exercises" and often refers to it. This is a mistake, as has been pointed out by many writers, since the prayer has been found in a number of prayer books printed during the youth of the saint and is in manuscripts which were written a hundred years before his birth (1491). James Mearns, the English hymnologist, found it in a manuscript of the British Museum which dates back to about 1370. In the library of Avignon there is preserved a prayer book of Cardinal Peter De Luxembourg, who died in 1387, which contains the Anima Christi in practically the same form as we have it to-day. It has also been found inscribed on one of the gates of the Alcazar of Seville, which brings us back to the times of Don Pedro the Cruel (1350–69) This prayer was so well known and so popular at the time of St. Ignatius, that he only mentions it in the first edition of his "Spiritual Exercises", evidently supposing that the exercitant or reader already knew it. In the later editions, it was printed in full. It was by assuming that everything in the book was written by St. Ignatius that it came to be looked upon as his composition. All this has been told at length by Guido Dreves (Stimmen aus Maria-Laach LIV, 493) and B. Baesten (Précis Historiques, XXXII, 630).
References
- Back to citation Gaba, Latif Haki (7 July 2011). The Essential Lutheran Prayer Book. Gaba. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-257-89775-9.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 "Good Friday" (PDF). Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- Back to citation Thomas, Alfred (18 June 2018). Shakespeare, Catholicism, and the Middle Ages: Maimed Rights. Springer. p. 176. ISBN 978-3-319-90218-0.
- Back to citation Thurston, Herbert. "The Anima Christi", The Month, p. 493, vol 125, Jan.-June 1915
- Back to citation Enchiridion Indulgentiarum. quarto editur, Concessiones, 8 § 2, 2°.
- Back to citation "Soul of my Savior, sanctify my breast". Hymnary.org. Retrieved 2025-09-01.