St. Francis DID NOT Write "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace"

While finishing the book, "Saint Francis of Assisi" by Ivan Gobry, the author finished the book with a piece of information that, to me, was a tad startling... Saint Francis of Assisi never wrote the "Make Me A Channel of Your Peace" prayer!  What!?

Here is an excerpt from the book explaining what happened.

"The very widespread and very popular prayer that begins, 'Lord, make me an instrument of your peace', is usually entitled 'Prayer of Saint Francis' or is followed by the note, 'Prayer attributed to Saint Francis'.

In fact, it is not by Saint Francis, and over the course of the centuries it was never attributed to Saint Francis. It quite frankly dates back to the twentieth century and was composed by an anonymous author, one who was no doubt familiar with the saint's life and writings. It appeared for the first time in 1912 in a simple bulletin in Normandy, La Clochette, and then was reprinted several months later in a magazine, again in Normandy, Les Annales de Notre-Dame de Tinchebray, obviously without a by-line. In January of 1916, while war was ravaging Europe, the directors of a lay association, le Souvenir Normand, went to Rome to present this text to Pope Benedict XV for the cause of peace, under the title of 'A Simple Prayer'; again, without naming an author. Until that time, therefore, no one thought of attributing it to Francis of Assisi. Now, at around that same time (1916? 1917?), a Capuchin father from Rheims, Fr. Étienne (Stephen), reprinted the prayer on the back of a holy card depicting Saint Francis, without in any way suggesting that it was his composition. But some of those who had copies of this image spontaneously interpreted it in this sense: on the back, the text; on the front, the author. And the multitude followed."(1)

Today, many Catholic-in-name-only politicians enjoy quoting the prayer, perhaps to keep adding "Catholic points" to their platforms.(2)(3)(4) In reality it's rather pathetic, as a few syrupy lines cannot wash away the innocent blood of a billion murdered babies. (5) God help us all, especially those who know better and refuse to work tirelessly for an end to all abortion, first and foremost in all of society. For abortion is the most grievous sin, aside from Sodomy(6), that we have made into a Satanic Sacrament(7)(8), and even those who attend Mass regularly will not touch it for fear of the angry mob. God have mercy on our cowardice.

As Catholics, let us be sure that we are not only living authentically Catholic (this means, not only what came out of the Church in the 60's and 70's) but also to not put too much stock into whatever over-used, syrupy, kumbaya song that we have been force fed in the Novus Ordo for the past 60 years.(9) 

St. Francis of Assisi ora pro nobis.

(1) Ivan Gobry, "Saint Francis of Assisi", page 308-309

(2) "Pelosi takes the helm in triumph". Los Angeles Times. 5 January 2007.

(3) http://www.jenaleenardella.com/blog/2012/09/praying-for-the-nation

(4) https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/12/15/joe-biden-saint-francis-prayer-239521

(5) http://www.numberofabortions.com/

(6) https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-are-sins-that-cry-to-heaven-for-vengeance-and-sins-against-the-holy-spirit

(7) https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/former-satanist-i-performed-satanic-rituals-inside-abortion-clinics/

(8) https://www.crisismagazine.com/2019/in-the-culture-of-death-abortion-is-a-sacrament

(9) https://archive.ccwatershed.org/video/10686215/?return_url=/liturgy/