We adore you

Whenever Francis saw a church, even if it was distant, he knelt down and gave praise to God, with the following words that he passed on to his friars:

We adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, here

and in all your churches in the whole

world, and we bless you, because by

your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

This short prayer has been used by Franciscans for many centuries whenever they step in, and out of a church.

Over time it was adapted to a more standard version of the prayer into the popular devotion known as the Stations of the Cross. Franciscans spread this devotion in Europe and later on to America . This brief prayer of St. Francis became the main prayer for this devotion.

Nowadays the prayer is shortened to “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because, by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”

It is said at the beginning of each Station and is usually prayed while genuflecting... The next time you pray the Stations of the Cross, remember Francis' passionate love of Jesus.