This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Adoro Te Devote". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
"Adoro te devote" is a prayer written by Thomas Aquinas.[1] 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[2] of the Catholic Church, it was not written for a liturgical function and appears in no liturgical texts of the period; some scholars believe that it was written by the friar for private use at Mass.[3] The text has since been incorporated into public worship as a hymn.
The authorship of the hymn by Thomas Aquinas was previously doubted by some scholars.[4] More recent scholarship has put such doubts to rest.[5] Thomas seems to have used it also as a private prayer, for a daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.[5]
Adoro te devote is one of the medieval poetic compositions, being used as spoken prayers and also as chanted hymns, which were preserved in the Roman Missal published in 1570 following the Council of Trent (1545–1563).
The hymn is still sung today, though its use is optional in the post-Vatican II ordinary form.
| Latin text | Literal English translation |
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There are two[7] variant readings of the Latin text, with slightly different nuances to some of the words: "most of the variations occur in the first two verses. The substitution of the words "posset omni scélere" in place of "quit ab omni scélere" in the second-to-last verse and "cupio" for "sitio" in the closing one are practically the only other changes".[7] This does not affect the overall meaning of the lines or stanzas so that "either variant may be legitimately used according to local custom."[7]
There have been at least 16 significant English translations of Adoro te devote, reflecting its popularity as a prayer and hymn,[8] including versions by Edward Bouverie Pusey, Edward Caswall, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.[9][10][11] There are also several popular hymns such as "Humbly We Adore Thee," which employ the 13th century Benedictine plainsong melody, but use modern texts not related to the Latin text.[12]
This hymn was added to the Roman Missal in 1570 by Pope Pius V, and also it has more quotations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1381). This Eucharistic hymn was generally chanted with a genuflection in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
The hymn is typically used as an Eucharistic hymn and is sung either during the distribution of communion at Mass, or during the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Until the first half of the nineteenth century, the (Eucharistic) chant Adoro te devote was often used to be followed by this second Thanksgiving prayer, referred to Jesus Christ God:
On 13 December 1849, Pope Pius IX stated a period of 3 years of indulgence.[13] Partial indulgence[14] remains in force even after the suppression of the prayer from the 1969 missal.
