Prayer for Peace
Traditional prayer of the Church. · The rights holder named on the source
Bless someone else by sharing this prayer.
Free to copy and share. Please credit lightofsaints.com.
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;
and 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.
Meaning in brief
This prayer asks the Lord to make us instruments of his peace, bringing love, pardon, hope and light where there is hatred, conflict and darkness (cf. Mt 5:9). It also invites us to want to console, to understand and to love more than to receive, in keeping with the words "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
Intentions and hope
The faithful pray it for peace within themselves, in their families, in their communities and in the world, and also before a difficult meeting or conversation. What we may hope for is a heart more open to forgiving and serving, not a particular result we can be sure of.
When and how to pray
- Pray it in the morning as an intention for the day, or in the evening as you look back over the day that has passed.
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross and take a moment to become still.
- Say the prayer slowly; pause at the line that speaks most to your situation right now.
- The prayer can also be sung together as a hymn, for example on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi (October 4) or on the World Day of Peace.
- Close with the Lord's Prayer or the Glory Be.
Where it comes from
History
The oldest traceable form of this prayer is an anonymous French text from the early twentieth century, printed in La Clochette, the bulletin of the League of the Holy Mass (La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe) in Paris. The League was founded by Father Esther Bouquerel in 1901. No author's name was given for the prayer; Bouquerel may have written it, but this has not been proven. [2]
The prayer is not found in the authentic writings of Saint Francis of Assisi (died 1226). According to Franciscan Media, no serious scholar, Franciscan or otherwise, counts it among Francis's own writings. [2]
In 1916, in the middle of World War I, the prayer was printed in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, still without being attributed to Francis. It reached Rome through a lay peace association, Souvenir Normand, which sent it to Pope Benedict XV. [2][3]
Around 1918–1920, a French Franciscan priest printed the prayer under the title "Prière pour la paix" on the back of a holy card bearing a picture of Saint Francis. The card did not name Francis as the author, but the picture helped connect the prayer with him. The attribution to Francis and the first English version appeared in the 1920s; the English version was published in January 1927 in the Quaker magazine Friends' Intelligencer. [2][3][5][6]
During and after World War II, the prayer spread widely as the "Prayer of Saint Francis." Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York helped make it popular. [3]
Sources & version
Text: The rights holder named on the source. Checked word for word against the source on 2026-10-30.
- Prayer of St. Francis - Diocese of Brooklyn
Text taken from dioceseofbrooklyn.org
Prayer text © The rights holder named on the source; quoted with attribution and a link (owner decision K2, ADR 0067).
- A Look at the Peace Prayer of St. Francis
Published by Franciscan Media
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Origin of the Prayer (St Francis prayer)
Published by Margaret Thatcher Foundation
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- 100 Tahun Doa Damai Fransiskus Assisi
Published by OFM Indonesia
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- Spoiler Alert: St. Francis Of Assisi Did Not Write The 'Prayer Of St. Francis'
Published by Patheos (Deacon's Bench)
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
- What is the Prayer of St. Francis? Origin and Meaning
Published by Christianity.com
Cited as a factual source; the source text remains its publisher's.
Free to copy and share. Please credit lightofsaints.com. Copyright