St. Patrick’s Breastplate is one of the great hymns of the church, sung especially for Saint Patrick’s Day, on Trinity Sunday, and at baptisms, confirmations, and ordinations. It is an Old Irish prayer of protection called a lorica, and the text is attributed to St. Patrick or his followers in early Celtic monasticism. Literally, lorica is the Latin term for body armor, thus the title “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate.” Cecil Alexander translated the prayer into an English hymn in 1889, and since then, it has also been known by its first line: “I bind unto myself today.”

Musically, this is one of the more challenging hymns to sing, not only because it is long but also because it contains multiple tunes: ST PATRICK for “binding verses,” but then DIERDRE for the “Christ be with me” verses. Some who encounter the hymn for the first time find it disorienting or even objectionable, but others receive this very strangeness as a part of its appeal and its power. This is an ancient prayer that reverberates across time, a witness to the strength of the Trinitarian God in every generation.