(Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") is the penultimate stanza of the hymn "" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.
The strophe of "" that begins with the words ("bread of angels") has often been set to music separately from the rest of the hymn. Most famously, in 1872 César Franck set this strophe for tenor voice, harp, cello, and organ, and incorporated it into his '.
Other hymns for Corpus Christi by Saint Thomas where sections have been separately set to music are "" (the last two strophes begin with "") and "" (the last two strophes begin with "").
The text was set as a motet by several Renaissance composers including João Lourenço Rebelo. In the seventeenth century, Marc-Antoine Charpentier set H.243 in 1670âÂÂ75. Later romantic era settings include those by André Caplet, Saint-Saëns, and, best known of all, the setting by César Franck.