The Sign of the Cross is the first prayer most Catholics learn. In a few words and one simple gesture it professes faith in the Most Holy Trinity and in Christ who saved us by His Cross.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Holy Trinity, icon by Andrei Rublev (c. 1411–1425), Tretyakov Gallery. Public domain.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
With the right hand, touch the forehead at “the Father,” the breast at “the Son,” and the left and then the right shoulder at “the Holy Spirit.” End with “Amen.” Make it slowly and reverently at the beginning and end of prayer, when entering or leaving a church, before and after meals, and in temptation or danger.
Its words name the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, three divine Persons in one God. Its shape traces the Cross on which Jesus redeemed the world. Each time we make it, we renew the faith of our Baptism, which was given “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Christians have signed themselves with the Cross since the earliest centuries. The Catechism teaches that we begin our day, our prayers and our activities with it, dedicating them to God and asking His grace in temptation and difficulty (CCC 2157).
In the Latin Church, Catholics touch the left shoulder and then the right. Eastern Catholics and the Orthodox touch the right shoulder first. Both customs profess the same faith.
