What does "Te Deum" mean?

"Te Deum" are the opening Latin words of the hymn, "Te Deum laudamus" — "We praise Thee, O God." Like many ancient prayers, it is named after its first line. It is also called the Ambrosian Hymn for its traditional association with St. Ambrose.

Who wrote the Te Deum?

Its author is uncertain. Tradition credited Sts. Ambrose and Augustine — a legend says they composed it together at Augustine's baptism — and later St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Nicetas of Remesiana were proposed. Scholars agree only that it dates to the fourth century.

When does the Church pray the Te Deum?

In the Liturgy of the Hours it concludes the Office of Readings on Sundays outside Lent, during the Octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on solemnities and feast days. It is also sung in thanksgiving on great occasions — the election of a pope, a canonization, the end of a war — and on New Year's Eve.

Is the Te Deum in the Bible?

No — it is a composed hymn, not a passage of Scripture. But it is woven from Scripture: the "Holy, Holy, Holy" echoes Isaiah's vision of the throne of God (Isaiah 6:3), and the closing versicles are drawn from the Psalms.

Why do the last verses sound different from the rest?

The closing versicles and responses — from "Save Thy people, O Lord" through "let me never be put to shame" — were added later and taken from the Psalms. They are considered optional; the hymn proper ends at "Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory."

The Te Deum (We Praise Thee, O God)

Q: Is there an indulgence for praying the Te Deum?

Yes. The Church grants a partial indulgence to the faithful who recite the Te Deum in thanksgiving, and a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, when it is recited publicly on the last day of the year, December 31.

"We praise Thee, O God." The Church's ancient hymn of thanksgiving — sung after her greatest blessings — in Latin and English.

Some prayers ask. The Te Deum gives thanks — and it does so on the grandest scale the Church knows. When a pope is elected, when a saint is canonized, when a war ends or a year draws to its close, this is the hymn she sings. Older than most of the cathedrals it has echoed in, the Te Deum laudamus — "We praise Thee, O God" — gathers heaven and earth into one act of praise and hands it to you to pray.

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The Te Deum

The hymn

O God, we praise Thee, and acknowledge Thee to be the supreme Lord. Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee. All the Angels, the heavens and all angelic powers, All the Cherubim and Seraphim, continuously cry to Thee: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory. The glorious choir of the Apostles, The wonderful company of Prophets, The white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee. Holy Church throughout the world acknowledges Thee: The Father of infinite Majesty; Thy adorable, true and only Son; Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. O Christ, Thou art the King of glory! Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When Thou tookest it upon Thyself to deliver man, Thou didst not disdain the Virgin's womb. Having overcome the sting of death, Thou opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sitest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father. We believe that Thou willst come to be our Judge. We, therefore, beg Thee to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood. Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur. Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur. Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates; Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae. Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus, Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia, Patrem immensae maiestatis: Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum. Tu Rex gloriae, Christe. Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum. Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris. Iudex crederis esse venturus. Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

The versicles and responses (added later; optional)

V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance! R. Govern them, and raise them up forever. V. Every day we thank Thee. R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yes, forever and ever. V. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day. R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us. V. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee. R. O Lord, in Thee I have put my trust; let me never be put to shame.V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae. R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum. V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te. R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi. V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire. R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri. V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te. R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

What the Te Deum is

The Te Deum is one of the oldest hymns of the Church still in daily use — a great song of praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity. Like most ancient prayers it takes its name from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus: "We praise Thee, O God." It is not a petition born of need but an overflow of gratitude, sweeping from the angels who cry "Holy, Holy, Holy" around the throne, through the apostles, prophets and martyrs, to the confession of Christ as King of glory — and only at the end does it turn to ask that we be numbered among His saints.

Where it came from

The Te Deum dates to the fourth century, and tradition long tied it to the great Latin fathers. A famous legend holds that St. Ambrose and St. Augustine improvised it together, verse answering verse, on the night Augustine was baptized — which is why it is still called the Ambrosian Hymn. Later scholarship also proposed St. Hilary of Poitiers and, most persistently, St. Nicetas of Remesiana as its author. Modern hymnologists leave the question open: the hymn is almost certainly late-fourth-century, but its writer is uncertain. What is not in doubt is its antiquity and its endurance — it was already written into the earliest monastic rules, including the Rule of St. Benedict, and the Church has never stopped singing it since.

How and when to pray it

In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Te Deum crowns the Office of Readings on Sundays outside Lent, throughout the Octaves of Christmas and Easter, and on solemnities and feast days — the Church's most joyful mornings. Beyond the daily office, it is her hymn for the great public thanksgivings:

at the election of a pope and the consecration of a bishop;
at the canonization of a saint and the profession of religious vows;
after the close of a council or the safe end of a war;
and on the last night of the year, December 31, in thanksgiving for the year past.

The Church attaches an indulgence to it: a partial indulgence for those who recite it in thanksgiving, and a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, when it is sung or recited publicly on the last day of the year. You need no special occasion, though. Pray it after a great blessing, at the end of a hard day survived, or simply to lift your gratitude above your own small concerns.

Why it matters

Modern prayer curdles easily into a list of wants. The Te Deum is the discipline against that — praise offered because God is God, not because we need something from Him. Its very shape is a creed: it adores the Father of infinite majesty, confesses the true and only Son who "didst not disdain the Virgin's womb," names the Holy Spirit the Comforter, and only then turns to petition — help Thy servants, number them with Thy saints, let me never be put to shame. For the man learning to give thanks before he asks, there is no better school than the hymn the whole Church has sung for sixteen hundred years. Altar. Arms. Allegiance.