Catholic prayers
Anima Christi
The Anima Christi is a short prayer to Jesus, asking him to make us holy, to keep us close to him, and to call us to himself at the hour of death. It dates from the early 14th century, and many Catholics pray it quietly after receiving Holy Communion.
The Anima Christi
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 malicious enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me,
and bid me come to thee,
that with thy Saints I may praise thee
for ever and ever. Amen.
In Latin
Anima Christi, sanctifica me.
Corpus Christi, salva me.
Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
Passio Christi, conforta me.
O bone Iesu, 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 iube me venire ad te,
ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
About this prayer
The Anima Christi was long credited to St. Ignatius of Loyola, but it is older than he was. It was already known in the 1300s, more than a century before he was born: it appears in a manuscript from about 1370, in the prayer book of Cardinal Pierre de Luxembourg, who died in 1387, and on a gate of the Alcázar of Seville from the reign of Pedro of Castile (1350 to 1369). Its author is unknown.
By the time of St. Ignatius it was already a well-loved prayer, and he commended it at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises. In the 19th century it was put into English verse as the hymn "Soul of my Savior," still sung at Communion today.
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When to pray it
The Anima Christi is most often prayed in thanksgiving after Holy Communion, in the quiet moments after returning to the pew. It is also a fitting prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, at the end of the day, or at any time you want to draw close to Christ.
More Catholic prayers: The AngelusMorning prayersEvening prayersNight prayersAll Catholic prayers
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