A Blessing for Climbers and Their Equipment. A translation of the Benedictio Instrumentorum ad Montes Conscendendos which the late Pope Pius XI approved and had inserted in the Rituale Romanum has been received from our member Anderson Bakewell, S.J.:

Bless, we beseech Thee, O Lord, these ropes, ice-axes, pitons and other instruments; so that those who will use them on the rough cliffs of the mountain in ice, snow and storms may be preserved from any fall or danger, may successfully reach the summit and safely return to their own, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Protect, O Lord, through the intercession of blessed Bernard, whom Thou hast given as a patron to those who dwell and travel in the Alps, these servants of Thine; and grant that as they ascend these heights they may be made strong to reach the mountain which is Christ, through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.