“The clerics’ starting gun … Itinerarium Clericorum” read in Latin, an mp3 audio file available for priests.

I just concluded a driving road trip that chalked up over 3400 miles.  There were a few perilous moments and one or two that were, frankly, frightening.  One involved a human who shouldn’t be allowed to drive and the other the weather, when it rained stupid hard.

It was/is the tradition before making journeys or pilgrimages for clerics to recite the Itinererarium Clericorum prayers, which involve an antiphon, the Benedictus as in Lauds, some responses (because you usually wouldn’t travel alone on lonely dangerous byways) and several beautiful collects.  You can read the whole thing in Latin and English HERE.

In Latin, itinerarium, n. as an adjective (-us, -a, -um) means “of or belonging to a journey or march, itinerary”.

However, as a neuter noun it is both an “account of a journey” and also, and this is what it means here, “a signal for marching”.

So, the title of the prayer, which is ideally recited by more than one so that responses can be made, “The clerics’ starting gun”, so something like. A strong indicator that this is the proper meaning is that, at the end of the prayer, there is the “Procedamus in pace. In nomine Christi, Amen” as before stepping off in processions

I made an mp3 recording of the prayers, in case there are clerics out there who would like to say it but perhaps are unsure about pronunciation and accents.  It moves along pretty quickly, but that’s okay.

Fathers!  If you would like the audio file, I’d be happy to send it to you.  I’ve done this in the past with the all the prayers for exorcisms (intended for exorcists) of both chapters 2 and 3.

Fathers! Drop me a line HERE.  Put ITINERARIUM in the subject line.