Prayer of St Pius X for Priests

Prayer traditionally attributed to St Pius X (pope from 1903 to 1914), a great promoter of the reform of the clergy and of catechesis. Diffused in prayer cards and devotional manuals by the Pontifical Pius Latin American College and reproduced in priestly manuals with imprimatur.

O Jesus, eternal and high Priest, keep your priests within the shelter of your most Sacred Heart, where none can touch them.

Keep unstained their anointed hands, which daily touch your sacred Body; keep undefiled their lips, daily tinged with your precious Blood; keep pure and unworldly their hearts, sealed with the sublime mark of your priesthood.

Let your holy love surround them and shield them from the world’s contagion; bless their labours with abundant fruit; and may the souls to whom they minister be their joy and consolation here, and their everlasting crown hereafter. Amen.