Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me,
and bid me come to thee,
that with thy saints I may praise thee
forever and ever.
Amen.
CATHOLIC 14TH CENTURY AD
The Anima Christi
Also known as Soul of Christ ยท Anima Christi Sanctifica Me
Other forms
Latin (Anima Christi)
Anima Christi, sanctifica me.
Corpus Christi, salva me.
Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
Passio Christi, conforta me.
O bone Iesu, exaudi me.
Intra tua vulnera absconde me.
Ne permittas me separari a te.
Ab hoste maligno defende me.
In hora mortis meae voca me,
et iube me venire ad te,
ut cum sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
About this prayer
The Anima Christi is one of the most widely recited Catholic prayers said after receiving Holy Communion. Its themes are entirely centered on the body and blood of Christ received in the sacrament: each line addresses a different aspect of Christ's incarnate humanity and asks for its specific saving action on the soul of the petitioner.
The prayer is structured as a series of short petitions, each beginning with a part of Christ (his soul, body, blood, the water from his pierced side, his passion) followed by a single-verb request (sanctify, save, inebriate, wash, strengthen). The cumulative effect is a complete address to the whole Christ, asking the whole Christ to act on the whole person of the one praying.
The prayer first appears in manuscripts in the early 14th century AD, with the earliest dated witness in a manuscript at Avignon dated 1330. Its authorship is unknown. Traditional attributions to Pope John XXII or to Saint Ignatius of Loyola are not supported by the manuscript evidence: John XXII granted indulgences for the prayer's recitation, which is how the attribution to him began, but the prayer predates his pontificate. Ignatius placed the Anima Christi at the opening of his Spiritual Exercises in 1548, which is how the attribution to him began, but again the prayer predates him by more than two centuries.
When it's said
Most commonly recited after receiving Holy Communion at Catholic Mass. Also used as a private devotion at any time, particularly during periods of personal prayer or in moments of spiritual difficulty. Some Catholic religious orders use it as part of their daily office. Ignatius of Loyola placed it as the opening prayer of the Spiritual Exercises, which has made it central to Jesuit spirituality.
Notes on the text
The translation given here is the standard English translation as it has appeared in Catholic prayer books from the 19th century onward. The phrase 'Blood of Christ, inebriate me' uses 'inebriate' in its older sense of 'fill,' not the modern sense of intoxication; the Latin verb 'inebria' carries the meaning of 'flood with' or 'fill abundantly,' an image of the soul saturated with grace. The Anima Christi's deep liturgical use comes from its position in the Mass: after receiving Communion, the worshipper has Christ physically present and the prayer is the soul's response. This intimate first-person address to each aspect of Christ's body has made it one of the most personally devotional of the great Catholic prayers.
Common questions
Did Ignatius of Loyola write the Anima Christi?
No. Ignatius of Loyola placed the Anima Christi at the opening of his Spiritual Exercises in 1548, which led to the long-standing assumption that he wrote it. The manuscript evidence shows the prayer was already in circulation in the early 14th century AD, more than two centuries before Ignatius was born. The author is unknown.
Why does the prayer ask the blood of Christ to 'inebriate' the soul?
The Latin word is 'inebria,' which in medieval ecclesiastical Latin means 'fill abundantly' or 'flood with,' rather than the modern English sense of intoxicate. The image is of the soul saturated with grace, in the way a sponge is saturated with water. This usage was common in medieval Christian Latin and appears in several other devotional texts of the same period.
When is the Anima Christi said?
Most commonly immediately after receiving Holy Communion at Catholic Mass, as the soul's first prayer in the presence of Christ received sacramentally. It is also used in private devotion at any time, and is the opening prayer of Saint Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises (1548), which has made it central to Jesuit and broader Catholic spiritual practice.
Source
Anonymous, 14th century AD. The prayer is found in numerous medieval Latin manuscripts from the early 1300s onward and was widely circulated in lay devotional books across Europe by the 15th century. Pope John XXII granted indulgences for its recitation in 1330. Saint Ignatius of Loyola included it as the opening prayer of the Spiritual Exercises (1548), which gave it a permanent place in Jesuit and broader Catholic devotion. English text from Father Francis X. Lasance, The Blessed Sacrament Book (1913), pp. 412-413. Public domain.
Last reviewed: June 2026 against primary source.