The "Anima Christi" (Latin for ‘Soul of Christ’) is a
medieval
origin.
History
For many years the prayer was popularly believed to have been composed by Saint
Spiritual Exercises and often refers to it. In the first edition of the Spiritual Exercises Ignatius merely mentions it, evidently supposing that the reader would know it. In later editions, it was printed in full. It was by assuming that everything in the book was written by Ignatius that it came to be looked upon as his composition. On this account the prayer is sometimes referred to as the Aspirations of St. Ignatius Loyola.[1]
However, the prayer actually dates to the early 14th century and was possibly written by
In the mid-19th century the prayer was translated and published as the English hymn Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast by
hymnals
.
Indulgence
The 2004
Enchiridion Indulgentiarum grants the partial indulgence to the faithful of Christ who prays the Anima Christi after having received Communion.[3]
Musical adaptations
Jean-Baptiste Lully composed a motet called Anima Christi, and musicians such as Giovanni Valentini have performed it. Liszt made two settings of it, both for male voices and organ, in 1874 [published in the Breitkopf Franz-Liszt-Stiftung, volume V/6 (1936)].
There is a contemporary Catholic
composition by Marco Frisina. Lutheran adaptions include those by Heinrich Schütz (SWV 325) and Johann Theile.
Notes
^ ab One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Frisbee, Samuel Hanna (1907). "Anima Christi". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.