Prayer of Saint Francis

For a prayer actually written by Saint Francis, see Canticle of the Sun.

"Prayer of Saint Francis"
Original titleBelle prière à faire pendant la Messe
First published inLa Clochette
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
PublisherLa Ligue de la Sainte-Messe
(ed. Fr. Esther Bouquerel)
Publication dateDecember 1912 (1912-12)

The anonymous text that is usually called the Prayer of Saint Francis (or Peace Prayer, or Simple Prayer for Peace, or Make us an Instrument of Your Peace) is a widely known Christian prayer for peace. Often associated with the Italian Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1182 – 1226), but entirely absent from his writings, the prayer in its present form has not been traced back further than 1912.[1] Its first known occurrence was in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell), published by a Catholic organization in Paris named La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe (The League of the Holy Mass). The author's name was not given, although it may have been the founder of La Ligue, Father Esther Bouquerel. The prayer was heavily publicized during both World War I and World War II.[2] It has been frequently set to music by notable songwriters and quoted by prominent leaders, and its broadly inclusive language has found appeal with many faiths encouraging service to others.[1][3][4]

  1. ^ a b Renoux, Christian. "The Origin of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis". The Franciscan Archive. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  2. ^ Manning, Kathleen (2017). "What do we know about St. Francis, America's most popular saint?". U.S. Catholic. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. ^ Renoux 2001, pp. 21, 27–28.
  4. ^ Piccuci, Egidio (19–20 January 2009). "Le origini del testo attribuito a san Francesco d'Assisi: L'Osservatore Romano e la vera storia della Preghiera semplice". L'Osservatore Romano (in Italian). p. 6.