Make Me a Channel of Your Peace [with lyrics for congregations]

Описание: "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" is an adaptation by Sebastian Temple of a prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi, but these words never appear in any of his writings.

As far as we know, the first appearance of the prayer occurred in France in 1912 in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell), published in Paris by a Catholic association known as La Ligue de la Sainte-Messe, "The Holy Mass League,” founded by a French priest, Father Esther Bouquerel (1855-1923). The prayer bore the title of "A Beautiful Prayer to Say During the Mass” and was published anonymously. The author could possibly have been Father Bouquerel himself, but the identity of the author remains a mystery. The prayer was sent in French to Pope Benedict XV in 1915. This was soon followed by its 1916 appearance, in Italian, in the Osservatore Romano.

Around 1920, the prayer was printed by a French Franciscan priest on the back of an image of St. Francis with the title “Priere pour la paix” ("Prayer for Peace”), but without attribution to the saint. Between the two world wars, the prayer circulated in Europe and was translated into English. One such translation appeared in 1936 in Living Courageously, a book by Kirby Page (1890-1957), a Disciples of Christ minister. Page attributed the text to St. Francis of Assisi.

This arrangement is by Martin Neary and is performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir.