Veni Sancte Spiritus

The opening words of the medieval Latin Golden Sequence, “Come Holy Spirit,” sung before the gospel on Pentecost. It is considered a masterpiece of Latin sacred poetry and has been ascribed to various authors, including Archbishop Stephen Langton and Pope Innocent III. It was probably written in the twelfth century. It appears in The Hymnal 1982 in two translations, “Come, thou Holy Spirit bright,” by Charles P. Price (Hymns 226-227) and “Holy Spirit, font of light,” by John Webster Grant (Hymn 228). The translation of Edward Caswell from Hymns Ancient and Modern appeared in The Hymnal (1940). The BCP permits this hymn, without specifying any particular version thereof, as an alternative to Veni Creator Spiritus in the ordination rites (pp. 520, 533, 544). It serves there as a congregational invocation of the Holy Spirit before the prayer of consecration and laying on of hands. See Sequence; see Veni Creator Spiritus.