Papal Hymn

according to one of my sources, Vatican II Hymnal published in 1974 by the Seattle Archdiocese, the author (or translator?) was the "Rt. Rev. Msgr. Hugh T. Henry, Litt.D." and it is "Copyright 1908, J. Fischer Bro." As set in that hymnal to music by H. G. Ganss, the last two lines of each stanza are reduplicated.

Long live the Pope!
His praises sound
Again and yet again:
His rule is over space and time:
His throne the heart of men:
All hail! The Shepherd King of Rome,
The theme of loving song:
||: Let all the earth his glory sing
And heav'n the strain prolong. :||

Beleaguered by
By the foes of earth,
Beset by hosts of hell,
He guards the loyal flock of Christ,
A watchful sentinel:
And yet, amid the din and strife,
The clash of mace and sword,
||: He bears alone the Shepherd Staff,
The champion of the Lord. :||

His signet is the fisherman's
No scepter does he bear
In meek and lowly majesty
He rules from Peter's chair
And yet from every tribe and tongue
From every clime and zone
||: 600* million voices sound
The glory of his throne :||

Then raise the chant,
With heart and voice,
In Church & school & home:
"Long live the Shepherd of the Flock!
Long live the Pope of Rome!"
Almighty Father bless his work,
Protect him in his ways,
||: Receive his prayer, fulfill his hopes,
And grant him length of days! :||

*The 1974 Vatican II Hymnal reads "300 million", and I gather today's canonical figure is "A thousand million". The "600 million", a compromise, is from another of my sources.

BTW, what if anything (other than popishness) does this song have to do with Palestrina's "Tu es Petrus" mass? Or to the "Inno e Marcia Pontificale", the national anthem of the Vatican City State (music by Gounod)?

Haruo

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