Prayer of St. Francis

Saint Francis of Assisi

(September 26, 1181 – October 3, 1226)

St. Francis of Assisi was a Roman Catholic friar and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans.

He is known as the patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment, and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies honoring animals around his feast day of October 4.

The Prayer of St. Francis is attributed to him, although the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912, when it was printed in France in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell).

According to Wikipedia, there are more than 100 versions of the prayer in the Engish language. The version offered here is the best known.

The wording of this prayer follows.

(repeats 2 times)

"Lord, make me an instrument of Thy 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;
and 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."

More Information

Click the individual versions of this prayer for to view the full text, hear excerpts, or to download it.