Come, Holy Spirit Prayer: Words, Latin, Meaning and Other Prayers to the Holy Spirit

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“Come, Holy Spirit” is the Church’s short, ancient prayer asking the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts. Catholics pray it before study, meetings, decisions and the reading of Scripture, and at the start of many prayer services. Here it is in its traditional form:

Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of thy love.

V. Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created.

R. And thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, Who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolations, through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Older prayer books say “Holy Ghost” and newer ones “Holy Spirit”; both name the same divine Person. Below you will find the Latin text, what the prayer means, the great hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, the Pentecost Sequence, and a prayer of consecration to the Holy Spirit.

The prayer in Latin (Veni, Sancte Spiritus)

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
V. Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.

Oremus. Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti, da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

The versicle and response come from Psalm 104:30 (103:30 in the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate). The closing prayer is the ancient collect of the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit.

What the prayer means

  • “Fill the hearts of thy faithful.” We ask the Spirit to do in us what he did for the apostles at Pentecost, when “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4).
  • “Kindle in them the fire of thy love.” The Spirit appeared as tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). The Catechism explains that fire “symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit’s actions” (CCC 696).
  • “Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created.” The Spirit is the Creator Spirit who gives life. He can make us new.
  • “Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.” What the Spirit begins in one heart he wants to spread to the whole world.
  • “That we may be always truly wise.” The closing prayer asks for wisdom, the first of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and for the joy of his consolation.

The Catechism says that “the Church invites us to call upon the Holy Spirit every day, especially at the beginning and the end of every important action,” and that “the simplest and most direct prayer is also traditional, ‘Come, Holy Spirit'” (CCC 2670–2671).

The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus

Veni Creator Spiritus (“Come, Creator Spirit”) is one of the most famous hymns of the Church, sung at ordinations, at the election of a pope, at Confirmation and at Pentecost. It is attributed to the ninth-century monk Rabanus Maurus. For the Latin text, its meaning and the indulgence, see Veni Creator Spiritus. This English version is from Father Lasance’s With God (1911):

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come,
From Thy bright, heavenly throne;
Come, take possession of our souls.
And make them all Thine own.

Thou Who art called the Paraclete,
Best gift of God above;
The living spring, the living fire.
Sweet unction and true love.

Thou Who art sevenfold in Thy grace,
Finger of God’s right hand,
His promise, teaching little ones
To speak and understand.

Oh! guide our minds with Thy blest light.
With love our hearts inflame;
And with Thy strength, which ne’er decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.

Far from us drive our hellish foe,
True peace unto us bring;
And through all perils lead us safe
Beneath Thy sacred wing.

Through Thee may we the Father know,
Through Thee, th’ eternal Son,
And Thee, the Spirit of them both —
Thrice-blessed Three in one.

All glory to the Father be,
And to His risen Son,
The like to Thee, great Paraclete.
While endless ages run.
Amen.

The Pentecost Sequence (Veni, Sancte Spiritus)

The Golden Sequence is sung before the Gospel on Pentecost Sunday and is the only sequence required at Mass besides Easter’s. It is usually attributed to Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, around 1200. Again from With God (1911):

Holy Spirit! Lord of light!
From Thy clear celestial height,
Thy pure, beaming radiance give:

Come, Thou Father of the poor!
Come, with treasures which endure!
Come, Thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best.
Visiting the troubled breast,
Dost refreshing peace bestow:

Thou in toil art comfort sweet;
Pleasant coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal! light divine!
Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,
And our inmost being fill.

If Thou take Thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay;
All his good is turn’d to ill.

Heal our wounds — our strength renew;
On our dryness pour Thy dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on those who evermore
Thee confess and Thee adore,
In Thy sevenfold gifts descend.

Give them comfort when they die;
Give them life with Thee on high;
Give them joys which never end. Amen.

A consecration to the Holy Spirit

Pope St. Pius X attached an indulgence to this prayer of self-offering in the early twentieth century:

O Holy Spirit, divine spirit of light and love, I consecrate to Thee my understanding, heart, and will, my whole being for time and eternity. May my understanding be always submissive to Thy heavenly inspirations, and to the teaching of the Catholic Church, of which Thou art the infallible Guide; may my heart be ever inflamed with love of God and of my neighbor; may my will be ever conformed to the divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life and virtues of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and Thee be honor and glory forever. Amen.

Short prayers to the Holy Spirit for daily needs

These prayers were written for this guide.

Before study or an exam:

Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten my mind.
Help me to understand, to remember and to think clearly,
and to use what I learn for good. Amen.

Before a decision:

Holy Spirit, Spirit of counsel,
show me the way you want me to go.
Give me the courage to choose it and the peace to trust you. Amen.

Before reading Scripture:

Come, Holy Spirit, who inspired these words.
Open my heart to hear what God is saying to me today. Amen.

For a meeting or a group:

Come, Holy Spirit, be with us as we gather.
Guide our words, unite our hearts,
and help us to seek only what is good. Amen.

When to pray “Come, Holy Spirit”

  • before classes, homework and exams
  • at the start of parish meetings and prayer groups
  • before reading the Bible or making a meditation
  • before Confession, to see your sins clearly
  • before an important decision or conversation
  • during a novena to the Holy Spirit, from Ascension to Pentecost, the original novena of the apostles and Mary in the upper room (Acts 1:14)
  • in preparation for Confirmation

Frequently asked questions

Is it “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit”?

Both are correct English names for the third Person of the Trinity. “Ghost” is the older English word for spirit. Modern Catholic texts use “Holy Spirit.”

Who wrote the “Come, Holy Spirit” prayer?

The invocation is an ancient antiphon of the Latin Church, later used with the Pentecost liturgy. Its author is unknown.

What is the difference between “Veni, Sancte Spiritus” and “Veni Creator Spiritus”?

Veni, Sancte Spiritus (“Come, Holy Spirit”) names both the short prayer above and the longer Pentecost Sequence. Veni Creator Spiritus (“Come, Creator Spirit”) is a separate hymn, sung at ordinations and other solemn occasions.

Can I pray to the Holy Spirit directly?

Yes. The Holy Spirit is God, and Christians pray to him, as well as to the Father through the Son in the Spirit (CCC 2670).

More prayers and guides

Texts and sources