Christ the King Prayer
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 with his encyclical Quas Primas. In the years after the First World War, as nations tried to organize life without God, he wanted to proclaim that Christ reigns over every person, every family, and every nation, and that true peace is found only in His kingdom. Today the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, is celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Sunday before Advent begins.
Pray the collect of the feast on Christ the King Sunday, at Eucharistic adoration, or whenever you want to renew your allegiance to Jesus as King of your heart and home. The ancient acclamation Christus vincit is often sung at the end of Mass or Benediction on this day.
The Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, who in Thy beloved Son, the King of all things, hast willed to restore all things: mercifully grant that all the families of nations, torn apart by the wound of sin, may be brought under His most gentle rule. Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui in dilecto Filio tuo, universorum Rege, omnia instaurare voluisti: concede propitius, ut cunctae familiae gentium, peccati vulnere disgregatae, eius suavissimo subdantur imperio. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Christus Vincit
Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ commands! Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!
Scripture for the Feast
"And he hath on his garment, and on his thigh written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Apocalypse 19:16) "And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42-43)
The Gospel of the feast in many years recalls St. Dismas, the Good Thief, who recognized the crucified Jesus as King. Ask the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, as well.
See also: Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Divine Praises, Te Deum, and Advent Wreath Prayers.
Sources: Collect from the Mass of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 (Missale Romanum), public domain; English translation by Daily Catholic Prayers. Christus vincit is from the ancient Laudes Regiae. Scripture from the Douay-Rheims Bible.
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