The so-called “Prayer of St. Francis” (you know the song, “make me a channel of thy peace”) isn’t St. Francis at all. According to this excellent account, the text was first published in France in 1912 as a “Peace Prayer.” The English translation didn’t appear until 1936, and this was the first time it was attributed to St. Francis (without source support). The song (among the top ten) was composed by Sebastian Temple (1928-1997)

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