Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid
The Veni Creator. The church has sung this at ordinations for roughly a thousand years.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
Ninth century Latin, and one of the few hymns with a genuinely unbroken record of use. It has been sung over people being ordained, over councils sitting down to argue, and over anyone about to begin something they are not equal to.
Which is the character of it. This is not a hymn about having the Spirit. It is a hymn about needing the Spirit and saying so out loud before you start.
Pentecost, and any beginning that deserves to be taken seriously.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Attributed to Rabanus Maurus (c. 776-856); Latin 'Veni, Creator Spiritus' | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Translation | John Dryden (paraphrase), 1693 | Public domain |
| Tune | ALL EHR UND LOB · Kirchengesangbuch, Strassburg, 1541 (no composer named on hymnary), 1541 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only)
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.