Te Deum laudámus: te Dóminum confitémur. Te ætérnum Patrem omnis terra venerátur. Tibi omnes Ángeli, tibi cæli et univérsæ potestátes: Tibi Chérubim et Séraphim incessábili voce proclámant: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestátis glóriæ tuæ.
Te gloriósus Apostolórum chorus, Te Prophetárum laudábilis númerus, Te Mártyrum candidátus laudat exércitus. Te per orbem terrárum sancta confitétur Ecclésia, Patrem imménsæ maiestátis; Venerándum tuum verum et únicum Fílium; Sanctum quoque Paráclitum Spíritum.
Tu Rex glóriæ, Christe. Tu Patris sempitérnus es Fílius. Tu, ad liberándum susceptúrus hóminem, non horruísti Vírginis úterum. Tu, devícto mortis acúleo, aperuísti credéntibus regna cælórum. Tu ad déxteram Dei sedes, in glória Patris. Iudex créderis esse ventúrus.
Te ergo quǽsumus, tuis fámulis súbveni, quos pretióso sánguine redemísti. Ætérna fac cum sanctis tuis in glória numerári.
We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee. The white-robed army of Martyrs praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee: The Father of an infinite majesty; Thine adorable, true, and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting.
The Te Deum — "Thee, O God, we praise" — is the Church’s supreme hymn of thanksgiving, sung whenever she has cause for great rejoicing. A beloved legend holds that St. Ambrose composed it spontaneously, verse alternating with St. Augustine, on the night of Augustine’s baptism in 387; for this reason it is often called the Ambrosian Hymn. Modern scholars more probably ascribe it to Nicetas of Remesiana around the year 400, but either way it is among the most ancient hymns in continuous use, older than most of the liturgy that surrounds it.
Its structure is a great ascent of praise. It begins with the whole creation and the angelic choirs adoring the Father, taking up the Sanctus of the Seraphim ("Holy, Holy, Holy," from Isaiah 6:3). Then the Apostles, Prophets, and Martyrs, and the whole Church throughout the world, confess the Blessed Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The hymn then turns wholly to Christ the King of Glory, praising the great works of the Redemption: that He did not "abhor the Virgin’s womb," that He conquered death and opened heaven, that He sits at the Father’s right hand and will come as Judge. Only then does it dare to ask: "help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood."
In the Divine Office the Te Deum crowns Matins on Sundays and feasts outside penitential seasons. Beyond the Office it is sung on the great occasions of the Church and the world: after the election of a pope, at a canonization, at the close of a council or a jubilee, in thanksgiving for peace or deliverance. A plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions, to those who recite it publicly on the last day of the year, thanking God for all His mercies. (The hymn concludes with a series of versicles — "Save thy people, O Lord… In thee, O Lord, have I hoped: let me never be confounded" — which are not reproduced here.)
We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee.
The white-robed army of Martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee:
The Father of an infinite majesty;
Thine adorable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting.
Te Deum laudámus: te Dóminum confitémur.
Te ætérnum Patrem omnis terra venerátur.
Tibi omnes Ángeli, tibi cæli et univérsæ potestátes:
Tibi Chérubim et Séraphim incessábili voce proclámant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestátis glóriæ tuæ.
Te gloriósus Apostolórum chorus,
Te Prophetárum laudábilis númerus,
Te Mártyrum candidátus laudat exércitus.
Te per orbem terrárum sancta confitétur Ecclésia,
Patrem imménsæ maiestátis;
Venerándum tuum verum et únicum Fílium;
Sanctum quoque Paráclitum Spíritum.
Tu Rex glóriæ, Christe.
Tu Patris sempitérnus es Fílius.
Tu, ad liberándum susceptúrus hóminem, non horruísti Vírginis úterum.
Tu, devícto mortis acúleo, aperuísti credéntibus regna cælórum.
Tu ad déxteram Dei sedes, in glória Patris.
Iudex créderis esse ventúrus.
Te ergo quǽsumus, tuis fámulis súbveni, quos pretióso sánguine redemísti.
Ætérna fac cum sanctis tuis in glória numerári.
We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud, the Heavens and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts;
Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee.
The white-robed army of Martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee:
The Father of an infinite majesty;
Thine adorable, true, and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in glory everlasting.