Prayer and Catholic Life
What is the Sign of the Cross?
A simple prayer that professes the Trinity and remembers Christ's saving Cross.
The short answer
The Sign of the Cross is both a prayer and a bodily gesture. As Catholics say, 'In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,' they trace a cross over the body. The words profess faith in the Trinity, and the gesture recalls that Jesus saved us through the Cross.
A closer look
The Sign of the Cross begins in Baptism. We are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and marked as belonging to Christ. Each time we make the sign, we renew that baptismal identity and place our thoughts, heart, and actions under God's care.
Catholics use it to begin and end prayer, at Mass, before meals, when entering a church, in moments of temptation or fear, and when asking God's blessing. To make it, touch the forehead, the chest, the left shoulder, and the right shoulder while saying the Trinitarian words, then conclude, 'Amen.'
Open the Bible
Scripture to explore
The Church's teaching
Catechism and Church witness
Bring it into prayer
A moment with God
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I belong to you. Keep my mind, heart, and actions close to Jesus, and help me carry my cross with faith and love. Amen.