Ave crux spes unica
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Ave Crux Spes Unica is a Latin pious expression or motto meaning "Hail to the Cross, our only hope." The expression has a long history in Catholic piety and is motto occasionally used by bishops and Catholic institutions. It is the motto of the Congregation of Holy Cross and of Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Cardinal Archbishop of Houston.
[edit] Origins
The origins are thought to be a stanza of an ancient Roman hymn to the True Cross of Christ dating back to the 6th Century, Vexilla Regis Prodeunt. The ninth stanza is as follows:
- O Crux ave, spes unica,
- hoc Passionis tempore!
- piis adauge gratiam,
- reisque dele crimina.
which roughly translates:
- O hail the cross our only hope
- in this passiontide
- grant increase of grace to the pious
- and remove from him his sins.
As a stand alone motto the expression can appear as Ave Crus Spes Unica or as in the original hymn, O Crux ave, spes unica, meaning essentially the same.
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