Vespers

Today is the Feast of the Holy Cross. On Saturday evening the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers) had solemn vespers in their church here in Rome, the Basilica of San Giorgio in Velabro.

The vespers concluded with a Ritual Blessing of the Four Directions.
The congregation sang the following in Greek, Latin and English between each of the blessings:
Holy God, Holy and mighty one,
Holy and immortal one, have mercy on us.
As we turned to the East
(in Indonesian)
Jesus, our Savior, the people of the East have seen the glory of your cross shining through the witness given by Francis Xavier, Andrew Kim and companions, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. May the radiant light of your Holy Cross bring joy and peace to all nations of the East.As we turned to the South
(in French)
Jesus, our Savior, the people of the South have seen the glory of your cross shining through the witness given by Augustine of Hippo, Benedict the African, and the martyrs of the Congo. May the radiant light of your Holy Cross bring joy and peace to all nations of the South.As we turned to the West
(in English)
Jesus, our Savior, the people of the West have seen the glory of your cross shining through the witness given by Rose of Lima, Elizabeth Ann Seaton, Oscar Romero, and Isaac Joques. May the radiant light of your Holy Cross bring joy and peace to all nations of the West.As we turned to the North
in Portuguese)
Jesus, our Savior, the people of the North have seen the glory of your cross shining through the witness given by Francis of Assisi, Helena of the Cross, Maximilian Kolbe and Odelia. May the radiant light of your Holy Cross bring joy and peace to all nations of the North.