The Anima Christi ('Soul of Christ') is one of the most beloved and most ancient Eucharistic prayers in the Catholic tradition. Its origin is medieval — likely 14th-century — and for many years it was attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola because he placed it at the very beginning of his Spiritual Exercises (1522-1524) and recommended it as a daily prayer for retreatants. Modern scholarship has dated the prayer at least a century before Ignatius's birth; it appears in manuscripts as early as 1314, possibly composed by John XXII or by an anonymous monk of the Carthusian or Franciscan tradition. Ignatius did not write it, but he loved it, and his Spiritual Exercises gave it the wide circulation it enjoys today across the Catholic world. The prayer is a sustained meditation on the Eucharistic Christ — His soul, His body, His blood, the water and blood that flowed from His pierced side at the Crucifixion (John 19:34), His Passion. Each line is both a confession of faith and a petition: 'Soul of Christ, sanctify me' is the prayer of someone asking to be made interiorly holy by Christ's own holiness; 'Body of Christ, save me' is the confession that salvation comes through the same body now received under the appearance of bread; 'Within Thy wounds hide me' is the medieval mystical longing to find refuge in the very wounds of the crucified Lord. The prayer's closing — 'In the hour of my death call me' — has made it a traditional Catholic prayer for the dying, prayed at the bedside in the final hours by hospice chaplains, family members, and Catholic nurses. The Anima Christi is appropriate for: thanksgiving immediately after receiving Holy Communion (its primary traditional use), a Holy Hour or visit to the Blessed Sacrament, the closing of personal prayer, the bedside of the dying, and as a daily devotion expressing Eucharistic intimacy.
Anonymous, 17th century
2 min
Duration
1 day
Commitment
Beginner-Friendly
Level
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Patron Saint
How to Pray
Pray with devotion, ideally in a posture of attentive stillness — kneeling, sitting upright with hands open, or standing before the Blessed Sacrament. The prayer is intended to be unhurried; each line is a distinct petition and the natural pace allows for a brief pause between phrases to let each line settle into the heart. The traditional moments for the Anima Christi: (1) Immediately after receiving Holy Communion at Mass, in the silence of personal thanksgiving — this is the prayer's primary devotional use, and St. Ignatius's recommendation; (2) During a Holy Hour or Eucharistic adoration before the exposed Blessed Sacrament; (3) At the close of personal morning or evening prayer, especially as part of a Eucharistic spirituality; (4) At the bedside of someone gravely ill or dying — the closing line, 'In the hour of my death call me and bid me come unto Thee,' makes the prayer particularly fitting as a deathbed devotion, prayed by the dying person if conscious or by family members alongside them; (5) Sung version in Latin ('Anima Christi, sanctifica me…') in monastic and traditional liturgical settings. Many Catholic prayer cards carry the Anima Christi on the reverse alongside a Communion-reception prayer; some Catholic devotional books open with it (following the Spiritual Exercises pattern). The prayer can be memorized in a single afternoon and prayed anywhere; its brevity and density of Eucharistic content make it one of the highest-leverage short prayers in the Catholic devotional repertoire.
Prayer Text
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Permit me not to be separated from Thee. From the wicked foe defend me. In the hour of my death call me, and bid me come unto Thee, that with Thy saints I may praise Thee forever and ever. Amen.
Coordinate sustained prayer for someone you love. Volunteers fill 30-minute slots covering days or weeks; the family receives a spiritual bouquet at the end.
