Composed by templars in jail falsely accused of heresy, the prayer “might be said by anybody finding himself in a moment of despair and difficulty.”

In 2008, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published a 700 year old prayer composed by members of the Order of the Knights Templar while they were “unjustly imprisoned” by King Philip IV of France – who had falsely accused them of heresy to pay off his debts with their wealth.

The prayer appeals to the Virgin Mary to free the order “despite all the lies that have been thrown at us by liars” and guide the order’s enemies toward “truth and charity.”

According to Barbara Frale, author of the article and researcher who studied the documents from the Vatican Secret Archives with the prayer, it “may said by anybody finding himself in a moment of despair and difficulty.” The documents also showed that “the accusations of heresy were groundless.”

Interested in learning what happened to the wealth of the Knights Templar? Click here to find out.

An Ancient Prayer of the Knights Templar

“May the grace of the Holy Spirit be present with us. May Mary, Star of the Sea, lead us to the harbor of salvation. Amen.

Lord Jesus, Holy Father, eternal God, omnipotent, omniscient Creator, Bestower, kind Ruler and most tender lover, pious and humble Redeemer; gentle, merciful Savior, Lord! I humbly beseech The and implore Thee that Thou may enlighten me, free me and preserve the brothers of the Temple and all Thy Christian people, troubled as they are.

Thou, O Lord, Who knowest that we are innocent, set us free that we may keep our vows and your commandments in humility, and serve Thee and act according to Thy will. Dispel all those unjust reproaches, far from the truth, heaped upon us by the means of tough adversities, great tribulations and temptations, which we have endured, but can endure no longer.

Omnipotent, eternal God, who hast so loved the blessed John the Evangelist and Apostle, that he reclined upon Thy bosom at the Last Supper, and to whom Thou revealed and showed the Mysteries of Heaven, and to whom, while suspended on the Holy Cross, for the sake of our redemption, Thou commended Thy most Holy Mother and Virgin, and in whose honor our Order was created and instituted; through Thy Holy mercifulness, deliver us and preserve us, as Thou knowest that we are innocent of the crimes that we are accused of, so that we may take possession of the works, by which we may be guided to the joys of Paradise, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

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