Who’s St Francis of Assisi
St Francis of Assisi is a saint and a friar of the Catholic Church. He lived in Italy, during the 13th century. His feast day is October 4th and his original name was Francesco Bernardone da Assisi.
St Francis became famous for founding the Franciscan Order, which has since spread across all continents throughout history to include Catholics who share a common devotion to Jesus Christ through prayerful contemplation of His life on earth through words or actions (called “actional” contemplation).
History of the prayer for peace
In 1912, the Peace Prayer had its first appearance in a religious magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell) in France. The magazine was created by a priest, Father Esther Bouquerel, and his Catholic society, La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe (The Holy Mass League), which was founded in 1901. The prayer went by the name ‘Belle prière à faire pendant la messe’ (A Beautiful Prayer to Say During the Mass) and had no author attached to it. It is believed that the author was Father Bouquerel, but the true creator of the prayer will remain a mystery.
In 1915, the French Marquis Stanislas de La Rochethulon sent the prayer in French to Pope Benedict XV. The following year, it was published in Italian in the Vatican’s daily newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
In the 1920s, a Franciscan priest published a prayer on the back of an image of St. Francis without stating its source. It spread widely in Europe and, eventually, was translated into English. In 1927, a French Protestant organization named Les Chevaliers du Prince de la Paix (The Knights of the Prince of Peace) credited the prayer to St. Francis for the first time. An American minister, Kirby Page, wrote about it in his 1936 book Living Courageously, where he explicitly attributed it to the saint. During and after World War II, the Prayer of St. Francis became particularly widespread due to Francis Cardinal Spellman’s books and over the years has gained a worldwide popularity with people of all faiths.
St Francis prayer for peace in Latin
Domine, fac me servum pacis tuae,
ubi odium, amorem seram;
ubi iniuria, veniam;
ubi dubium, fidem;
ubi desperatio, spem;
ubi caligo, lucem;
ubi tristitia, laetitiam.
O Domine coelestis, concede mihi ut ne tam petam
consolari quam consolare,
intellegi quam intelligere,
amari quam amare.
Nam in dando recipimus,
in ignoscendo ignoscimur,
et in moriendo ad vitam aeternam nascimur. Amen.
St Francis prayer for peace in English
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
St Francis prayer for peace in Spanish
Señor, haz de mí un instrumento de tu paz.
Que allá donde hay odio, yo ponga el amor.
Que allá donde hay ofensa, yo ponga el perdón.
Que allá donde hay discordia, yo ponga la unión.
Que allá donde hay error, yo ponga la verdad.
Que allá donde hay duda, yo ponga la Fe.
Que allá donde desesperación, yo ponga la esperanza.
Que allá donde hay tinieblas, yo ponga la luz.
Que allá donde hay tristeza, yo ponga la alegría.
Maestro, que yo no busque tanto ser consolado, cuanto consolar,
ser comprendido, cuanto comprender,
ser amado, cuanto amar.
Porque es dándose como se recibe,
es olvidándose de sí mismo como uno se encuentra a sí mismo,
es perdonando, como se es perdonado,
es muriendo como se resucita a la vida eterna.
Amén.
St Francis prayer for peace in French
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l’amour.
Là où il y a l’offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l’union.
Là où il y a l’erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l’espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant
à être consolé qu’à consoler,
à être compris qu’à comprendre,
à être aimé qu’à aimer,
car c’est en donnant qu’on reçoit,
c’est en s’oubliant qu’on trouve,
c’est en pardonnant qu’on est pardonné,
c’est en mourant qu’on ressuscite à l’éternelle vie.
