Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Adoro te devote

Hymn of adoration and thanksgiving after Communion

LatinEnglish

Adóro te devóte, latens Déitas,
Quæ sub his figúris vere látitas:
Tibi se cor meum totum súbjicit,
Quia te contémplans totum déficit.

I adore you devoutly, hidden Godhead,
who truly lie concealed beneath these appearances:
to you my heart wholly submits itself,
for, contemplating you, it wholly fails.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fállitur,
Sed audítu solo tuto créditur;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Fílius:
Nil hoc verbo veritátis vérius.

Sight, touch and taste in you are deceived,
but by hearing alone one safely believes;
I believe whatever the Son of God has said:
nothing is truer than this word of truth.

In cruce latébat sola Déitas,
At hic latet simul et humánitas;
Ambo tamen credens atque cónfitens,
Peto quod petívit latro pœnitens.

On the cross the Godhead alone was hidden,
but here the humanity is hidden as well;
yet believing and confessing both,
I ask what the penitent thief asked.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intúeor;
Deum tamen meum te confíteor:
Fac me tibi semper magis crédere,
In te spem habére, te dilígere.

The wounds, as Thomas did, I do not behold;
yet I confess you to be my God:
make me ever believe in you the more,
place my hope in you, and love you.

O memoriále mortis Dómini,
Panis vivus vitam præstans hómini,
Præsta meæ menti de te vívere,
Et te illi semper dulce sápere.

O memorial of the Lord’s death,
living Bread that gives life to man,
grant to my soul to live by you,
and ever to taste your sweetness.

Pie pellicáne, Jesu Dómine,
Me immúndum munda tuo sánguine,
Cujus una stilla salvum fácere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scélere.

Loving pelican, Lord Jesus,
cleanse me, unclean, in your blood,
a single drop of which can save
the whole world from all its sin.

Jesu, quem velátum nunc aspício,
Oro fiat illud quod tam sítio:
Ut te reveláta cernens fácie,
Visu sim beátus tuæ glóriæ. Amen.

Jesus, whom now I behold veiled,
I pray that what I so thirst for may come to pass:
that, beholding you with face unveiled,
I may be blessed in the sight of your glory. Amen.

SourceSaint Thomas Aquinas · Hymn of adoration and thanksgiving after Communion

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The history of this prayer

The Adoro te devote is attributed to St Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican Angelic Doctor, author of the Summa Theologiae. It is not part of the Corpus Christi office he composed at Urban IV's request in 1264; it is a personal prayer of adoration before the Host.

The Missal of St Pius V (1570) included it among the prayers of thanksgiving after Mass. Each stanza is an act of faith: the senses are deceived, but hearing believes Christ's word. Here we find the image of the “loving pelican” that feeds its young with its own blood. St Thomas' feast is on 28 January.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Adoro te devote really by St Thomas Aquinas?

Tradition has attributed it to him since the Middle Ages. Scholars debate the authorship: many accept it, others doubt it, and there is no conclusive proof.

When is the Adoro te devote sung?

At Eucharistic adoration, after Communion and at holy hours. It is one of the best-known Gregorian Eucharistic chants.

What is the “pelican” in the hymn?

An ancient image: the pelican was believed to wound its own breast to feed its young with its blood — a figure of Christ, who feeds us with his Blood.

More prayers: Prayers of the saints

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