Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Latin, Pope Innocent III (1161-1216), or (more probably) Archbishop Stephen Langton* (1150-1228). This is the Sequence* used at Pentecost from the Middle Ages onwards, sometimes known as ‘The Golden Sequence’. It is widely regarded as ‘one of the masterpieces of Latin sacred poetry’ (JJ, p. 1212). It was written in ten 3-line stanzas, the first two lines of each stanza rhyming, the final line rhyming through the stanzas: Veni, sancte Spiritus, Et emitte coelitus Lucis tuae radium. Veni pater pauperum, Veni, dator munerum, Veni, lumen cordium. This text is published in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus II. 35, where it is attributed to Robert II, King of...

If you have a valid subscription to Dictionary of Hymnology, please log in to view this content. If you require a subscription, please click here.

Cite this article