Prayer:Peace Prayer
Stored: Peace Prayer
| Peace Prayer | |
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| Author | Unknown |
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| Language | English |
| Approval | None |
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| Added on | 2026-08-13 |
The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved and widely recited Christian prayers in the world. Though it is traditionally attributed to the great Franciscan founder, Saint Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), modern scholarship has established that the prayer in its current form does not appear in any of his authenticated writings. Nevertheless, the prayer so perfectly encapsulates the spirit, charism, and teaching of the Poverello of Assisi that it has been inseparably linked with his name for well over a century, and its association with him remains devotionally cherished throughout the universal Church.
The prayer first came to wide public attention in the early twentieth century, when it was printed anonymously in French in 1912 in the small Catholic devotional magazine La Clochette (The Little Bell), published in Paris by the Ligue de la Sainte-Messe. It was subsequently popularized on a holy card bearing an image of Saint Francis and circulated widely during and after the First World War, a period of immense suffering that gave the prayer's longing for peace an urgent and universal resonance. Over the following decades it spread throughout the world in dozens of languages and became a touchstone of ecumenical prayer, quoted by popes, statesmen, and spiritual leaders alike.
Though the exact authorship remains uncertain, the theological substance of the Peace Prayer is firmly rooted in the Franciscan spiritual tradition. Its emphasis on self-forgetfulness, active charity, and the paradoxical wisdom of the Gospel — that it is in giving that we receive, and in dying that we are born to eternal life — echo the teachings found throughout the writings of Saint Francis, including his Admonitions, his Earlier Rule, and his Canticle of the Creatures. The prayer has received the warmest approbation of the Church, having been prayed publicly by Pope Saint John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope Saint John Paul II, and Pope Francis, who took his very name in honor of the saint to whom this prayer is attributed.
The Prayer
The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Your 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; 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.
History and Background
The origins of the Peace Prayer have been the subject of careful scholarly investigation. The earliest documented appearance of the prayer in print is in the French Catholic periodical La Clochette in 1912, where it appeared without attribution to any named author. Within a few years, the prayer was printed on the reverse side of a holy card bearing an image of Saint Francis on the front, with the words Prière pour la Paix — "Prayer for Peace" — as its title. This association of the prayer with the image of Saint Francis appears to be the origin of its enduring attribution to him.
During the First World War, the prayer was distributed widely among French soldiers and their families as a source of consolation and a call to a higher form of charity amid the devastation of armed conflict. Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York and other prominent Catholic figures helped to bring the prayer to English-speaking audiences in the mid-twentieth century. In 1965, the prayer was presented to United Nations Secretary-General U Thant at a ceremony marking the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations, cementing its role not only as a Catholic devotional text but as a universal expression of the human longing for peace.
Pope Saint John Paul II made particularly memorable use of the prayer during his historic visit to Assisi in 1986, when he gathered with representatives of the world's major religions for the World Day of Prayer for Peace. On that occasion, the Peace Prayer was recited as a fitting summary of the Franciscan spirit that had prompted the gathering. The city of Assisi itself has since become permanently associated with the prayer and with interreligious dialogue in the pursuit of peace.
The theological content of the prayer reflects several key Gospel passages and Franciscan themes. The petition to be an "instrument" of peace recalls Saint Paul's teaching in Romans 12 on the transformation of the Christian into a vessel of God's grace. The series of antitheses — hatred and love, injury and pardon, doubt and faith — employs a rhetorical structure common in medieval Christian spirituality. The closing paradoxes derive directly from the teaching of Christ in the Gospels: "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25), and the Pauline principle that "it is in giving that we receive" finds its echo in Acts 20:35.
How to Pray / Devotional Use
The Peace Prayer may be prayed privately as a morning offering, asking God to orient the soul toward charity and self-forgetfulness throughout the coming day. Many individuals find it helpful to pray it slowly, pausing after each line to apply its petitions to concrete situations and relationships in their own lives, particularly in moments of conflict, resentment, or discouragement.
In communal settings, the Peace Prayer is frequently recited at the conclusion of parish Masses, school assemblies, ecumenical gatherings, and Franciscan Third Order meetings. It is especially fitting as a closing prayer at meetings dedicated to social justice, peacemaking, or charitable works. Many Franciscan communities incorporate it into their Liturgy of the Hours and communal prayer.
The prayer is traditionally associated with the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, celebrated on October 4, and is particularly appropriate for use throughout the month of October. It may also be prayed as part of a novena to Saint Francis, either in preparation for his feast day or at any time when seeking his intercession for peace in one's family, community, nation, or the world.
Those who wish to deepen their understanding of the prayer are encouraged to read it alongside the authentic writings of Saint Francis, particularly his Letter to All the Faithful, his Admonitions, and the Earlier Rule, all of which reflect the same spirit of evangelical poverty, charity, and joy that animates the Peace Prayer. Meditating on the Canticle of the Creatures alongside this prayer can also yield profound fruit, as both texts celebrate the goodness of God poured out through created instruments.