Pange Lingua: St. Thomas Aquinas’s Hymn for Corpus Christi in Latin and English

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The Pange Lingua (“Sing, my tongue”) is the great Eucharistic hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi. It sings of the mystery of Christ’s Body and Blood, his birth from the Virgin, the Last Supper and the change of bread and wine, and it ends with the two verses known as the Tantum Ergo, sung at every Benediction. It is also sung on Holy Thursday, as the Blessed Sacrament is carried to the altar of repose. Below is the hymn in Latin and English, its meaning, and when it is sung.

The Pange Lingua in Latin

Pange, lingua, gloriosi
corporis mysterium,
sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
rex effudit gentium.

Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intacta Virgine,
et in mundo conversatus,
sparso verbi semine,
sui moras incolatus
miro clausit ordine.

In supremae nocte coenae
recumbens cum fratribus,
observata lege plene
cibis in legalibus,
cibum turbae duodenae
se dat suis manibus.

Verbum caro panem verum
verbo carnem efficit,
fitque sanguis Christi merum;
et si sensus deficit,
ad firmandum cor sincerum
sola fides sufficit.

Tantum ergo sacramentum
veneremur cernui,
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui,
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.

Genitori Genitoque,
laus et iubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio.
Procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio.

Amen.

The Pange Lingua in English

The translation of Edward Caswall, as sung for generations in Catholic parishes (St. Gregory’s Hymnal):

Sing, my tongue, the Saviour’s glory,
Of His Flesh the myst’ry sing;
Of the Blood all price exceeding
Shed by our immortal King,
Destined, for the world’s redemption,
From a noble womb to spring,

Of a pure and spotless Virgin
Born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
Stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
Then He closed in solemn order
Wondrously His Life of Woe.

On the night of that Last Supper,
Seated with His chosen band,
He the Paschal victim eating,
First fulfills the law’s command;
Then, as Food to His Apostles
Gives Himself with His own Hand.

Word made Flesh, the bread of nature
By His word to Flesh He turns;
Wine into His Blood He changes:
What through sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
Faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! The sacred Host we hail;
Lo! O’er ancient forms departing,
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the Everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high,
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might, and endless majesty. Amen.

The meaning of the hymn

  1. “Sing, my tongue”: the hymn invites us to praise the mystery of Christ’s glorious Body and precious Blood, shed for the world’s redemption.
  2. The Incarnation: given to us and born for us from a pure Virgin, Christ lived among us to sow the seed of the Word.
  3. The Last Supper: on the night of the supper, after keeping the Passover with his apostles, he gave himself to the Twelve as food, with his own hands.
  4. Transubstantiation: the Word made flesh, by his word, makes true bread his Flesh and wine his Blood. The senses fail, but “faith alone suffices.”
  5. Adoration (Tantum Ergo): bowing low, we adore so great a Sacrament; the old law gives way to the new rite, and faith supplies what the senses cannot grasp.
  6. Doxology: praise, glory, honor and blessing to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

St. Thomas wrote the hymn around 1264, when Pope Urban IV asked him to compose the Mass and Office for the new feast of Corpus Christi. Its opening imitates an older hymn of the Cross by Venantius Fortunatus, also beginning Pange lingua.

When is the Pange Lingua sung?

  • On Holy Thursday, during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. See Holy Thursday.
  • On Corpus Christi, at Vespers and in Eucharistic processions. See Corpus Christi.
  • At Benediction, where the last two verses, the Tantum Ergo, are sung before the blessing. See the Tantum Ergo.
  • At Eucharistic adoration and holy hours.

Frequently asked questions

What does Pange Lingua mean?

“Sing, (my) tongue.” The full first line, Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium, means “Sing, my tongue, the mystery of the glorious Body.”

What is the difference between the Pange Lingua and the Tantum Ergo?

The Tantum Ergo is the last two verses of the Pange Lingua. At Benediction only those two verses are usually sung.

Who wrote the Pange Lingua?

St. Thomas Aquinas, about 1264, for the feast of Corpus Christi.

More Eucharistic hymns and prayers

Texts and sources

  • Latin: Latin Wikisource, “Pange lingua,” public domain.
  • English: Edward Caswall’s translation as printed in St. Gregory’s Hymnal (1920), quoted in Project Gutenberg #62988, public domain.