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Eucharistic hymn

Sacris Solemniis

St. Thomas Aquinas's hymn for Matins of Corpus Christi — whose penultimate stanza, the Panis Angelicus, is among the best-loved of all Eucharistic verses.

The prayer

Panis angelicus fit panis hominum; dat panis caelicus figuris terminum: O res mirabilis! manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis.

"Thus Angels' Bread is made the Bread of man today; the Living Bread from heaven with figures doth away: O wondrous gift indeed! the poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed." — These lines, the Panis Angelicus, form the penultimate stanza of the Matins hymn Sacris Solemniis.

Where it comes from

The dated sources the library holds, oldest first — in their own words.

  1. 1,246
    The feast of Corpus Christi

    First kept at Liège in 1246, the feast of Corpus Christi is extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264 (the bull Transiturus); St. Thomas Aquinas composes its Office — the hymns for the hours and the sequence for the Mass.

  2. 1,246
    In the Office of the feast

    Sacris Solemniis is the hymn appointed for Matins of the feast.

  3. 1,264
    The Catholic Encyclopedia Catholic
    1907–1914
    “The opening words of the hymn for Matins of Corpus Christi and of the Votive Office of the Most Blessed Sacrament, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas.”
    Source