| Veni Creator Spiritus | |
|---|---|
| Hymn | |
 First verse | |
| English | Come, Creator Spirit |
| Occasion | Pentecost |
| Text | c. 809, attributed toRabanus Maurus |
| Language | Latin |
| Meter | 8 8 8 8 |
| Melody | Gregorian chant |
| Composed | c. 1000, attributed toKempten Abbey |
Veni Creator Spiritus (Latin: Come, Creator Spirit) is a traditionalChristianhymn believed to have been written byRabanus Maurus, a ninth-centuryFrankishBenedictine monk, teacher, archbishop, and saint. When the originalLatin text is used, it is normally sung to aGregorian Chant tune first known fromKempten Abbey around the year 1000. The hymn has been translated and paraphrased into several languages, and adapted into many musical forms, often as ahymn for Pentecost or for other occasions that focus on theHoly Spirit.
As an invocation of the Holy Spirit,Veni Creator Spiritus is sung in theCatholic Church during liturgical celebrations on the feast ofPentecost, at bothTerce andVespers. It is also sung at occasions such as theCollege of Cardinals entering theSistine Chapel during apapal conclave, theconsecration ofbishops, theordination ofpriests, theprofession of members ofreligious institutes, administering thesacrament ofConfirmation, thededication of churches, the convening ofsynods or councils, thecoronation of monarchs, theRed Mass starting the judicial year, and the beginning of other similar solemn events. It is also traditional to chant the hymn onNew Year's Day to obtain a plenaryindulgence.
Martin Luther used the hymn as the basis for his Pentecostchorale "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist", first published in 1524.
Veni Creator Spiritus is also widely used inAnglican liturgies, where it has appeared since the publication of the1550 ordinal and continues to appear, for example, in theordinal of the1662Book of Common Prayer, and in the Novena to The Holy Ghost inSaint Augustine's Prayer Book, published in 1947.[1] BishopJohn Cosin's 1625 translation, "Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire" has been sung at allBritish coronations since Charles I's. Another well-known rendering into English is "Creator Spirit, by whose aid", written in 1690 byJohn Dryden and published inThe Church Hymn Book (1872, n. 313).[2]
Several variations of the lyrics exist. Below are the original ninth-century text and a classicizing revision published in 1632 underPope Urban VIII. The former is used in some Protestant churches and certain Catholic religious orders, while the latter is used in mostsecular Catholic parishes.[citation needed] A versified English translation follows.
Original text[3]
Veni Creator Spiritus,
Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia,
Quae tu creasti pectora.
Qui Paraclitus diceris,
Donum Dei altissimi
Fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
Et spiritalis unctio.
Tu septiformis munere,
Dexterae Dei tu digitus,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
Sermone ditans guttura.
Accende lumen sensibus:
Infunde amorem cordibus:
Infirma nostri corporis
Virtute firmans perpeti.
Hostem repellas longius,
Pacemque dones protinus:
Ductore sic te praevio,
Vitemus omne noxium.
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
Noscamus atque Filium;
Te utriusque Spiritum
Credamus omni tempore.
Gloria Patri Domino,
Natoque qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito,
In saeculorum saecula. Amen.
1632 revision[3]
Veni Creator Spiritus,
Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia,
Quae tu creasti pectora.
Qui diceris Paraclitus,
Altissimi donum Dei,
Fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
Et spiritalis unctio.
Tu septiformis munere,
Digitus Paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
Sermone ditans guttura.
Accende lumen sensibus:
Infunde amorem cordibus:
Infirma nostri corporis
Virtute firmans perpeti.
Hostem repellas longius,
Pacemque dones protinus:
Ductore sic te praevio,
Vitemus omne noxium.
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
Noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utriusque Spiritum
Credamus omni tempore.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
Et Filio qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito,
In saeculorum saecula. Amen.
English translation[4]
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
Vouchsafe within our souls to rest;
Come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid
And fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
To Thee, the Comforter, we cry,
To Thee, the Gift of God Most High,
The Fount of life, the Fire of love,
The soul's Anointing from above.
The sev'n-fold gifts of grace are Thine,
O Finger of the Hand Divine;
True Promise of the Father Thou,
Who dost the tongue with speech endow.
Thy light to every thought impart
And shed Thy love in every heart;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
Drive far away our wily Foe,
And Thine abiding peace bestow;
If Thou be our protecting Guide,
No evil can our steps betide.
Make Thou to us the Father known;
Teach us the eternal Son to own
And Thee, whose name we ever bless,
Of both the Spirit, to confess.
Praise we the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, with them One;
And may the Son on us bestow
The gifts that from the Spirit flow! Amen.
Since theEnglish Reformation in the 16th century, there have been more than fifty English-language translations and paraphrases ofVeni Creator Spiritus.[5] The version attributed toArchbishop Cranmer, his sole venture into English verse, first appeared in the Prayer Book Ordinal of 1550. It was the only metrical hymn included in the Edwardian liturgy. In 1561John Day included it after the psalms in his incomplete metrical psalter of that year. From 1562 onwards, inThe Whole Booke of Psalmes, Day printed Cranmer's version at the start of the metrical paraphrases.[6] In terms of concision and accuracy, Cranmer compares poorly with Luther. Cranmer's sixth stanza, which mentions theLast Judgement and religious strife within Christendom ("the last dreadful day... strife and dissension..."), was a new addition, with no parallel in the Latin original or in Luther's version.
The version included in the 1662 revision of theBook of Common Prayer compressed the content of the original seven verses into four (with a two-line doxology), but retained the Latin title. It was written by BishopJohn Cosin for thecoronation of KingCharles I of Great Britain in 1625.[7] The same words have been used at every coronation since, sung by the choir after theCreed and before theAnointing.[8] The first verse is:
Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
and lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost Thy sevenfold gifts impart.[9]
At theCoronation of Charles III and Camilla in 2023, the words were sung for the first time inIrish Gaelic,Scots Gaelic andWelsh in addition to English,[10] the three new translations being the work of Iain Urchadan, Damian McManus, andGrahame Davies respectively.[11][12]
Another well-known version, by the poetJohn Dryden, was first published in hisExamen Poeticum (1693). It has six-line verses and hence must be sung to ahymn tune in 88 88 88meter, such as "Melita" byJohn Bacchus Dykes.[13] Dryden's first verse is:
Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every pious mind;
Come, pour Thy joys on humankind;
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make Thy temples worthy Thee.
Martin Luther wrote aparaphrase in German, "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" (literally: Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost) as aLutheran hymn forPentecost, first published in 1524, with a melody derived from the chant of the Latin hymn. It appears in the Protestant hymnalEvangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 126.[14]
Heinrich Bone published his own German paraphrase in 1845, "Komm, Schöpfer Geist, kehr bei uns ein" (literally: Come, Creator Spirit, visit us), also using an adaptation of the plainchant melody. It appears in the German Catholic hymnalGotteslob (2013) and its 1975 predecessor.
A rhymed German translation or paraphrase, "Komm, Heiliger Geist, der Leben schafft" (literally: Come, Holy Spirit who creates life), was written byFriedrich Dörr to a melody close to the Gregorian chant, published in 1972. It became part of theGotteslob hymnal in 1975, and the second edition in 2013, as GL 342 in the section "Pfingsten – Heiliger Geist" (Pentecost – Holy Spirit).
Over the centuries, Veni Creator Spiritus has inspired the following works by notable composers, in approximate chronological order:
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