The Hymn to Saint Fermin: The Prayer to the 'Morenico' That Protects the Runners

The voice that breaks the silence on Cuesta de Santo Domingo

There are prayers born in the quiet of a cloister and others that spring from the heart of an entire people. The hymn to Saint Fermin belongs to this second lineage. It was not composed at a theological desk, but rather, according to tradition, began to be chanted spontaneously around 1962, when the runners wanted to put words to the moment of fear and hope that precedes the bull run. Before that, the encierro started without further ado; but popular piety, which always finds a crack to slip into everyday life, ended up imposing its prayer.

The setting is always the same: the steep Cuesta de Santo Domingo in Pamplona, and a small niche opened in the wall containing the image of the saint. There, at 7:55, 7:57, and 7:59 every morning in July, the runners raise a rolled-up newspaper toward the statue and sing the same supplication three times. It is not an official liturgical act, but one of those expressions of popular piety that the Church recognizes and loves as a true spiritual treasure of the believing people. In those few seconds, the noisiest fiesta in the world falls silent in sacred awe.

Full Text of the Hymn to Saint Fermin

A San Fermín pedimos,
por ser nuestro patrón,
nos guíe en el encierro
dándonos su bendición.

Entzun arren, San Fermin,
zu zaitugu patroi,
zuzendu gure oinak
entzierro hontan otoi.

The song to Saint Fermin is proper to Pamplona and is sung in Spanish and Basque; it has no official version in other languages and is transcribed as it is sung.

And after each of the three invocations, the crowd shouts in unison: «¡Viva San Fermín! ¡Gora San Fermin!».

Reflection and Meaning

They call the saint «el morenico» (the dark-skinned one), because of the dark patina that time and candle smoke have left on the 15th-century wooden carving venerated in the church of San Lorenzo. That affectionate nickname reveals something profound about the faith of the people: they do not pray to an abstract idea, but to someone close, to a familiar face looked in the eyes before risking one's life on the street. Here beats the heart of all Catholic doctrine on the saints: they are not competitors of Christ, but older brothers who, «by being more closely united to Christ, knit the whole Church more firmly in holiness» (CCC 956). Asking Saint Fermin to «guide us» takes nothing away from God; on the contrary, it is trusting in the communion of the saints, where the prayer of some sustains others.

It is providential that this prayer is born at the edge of a race. Scripture uses precisely that image to speak of the Christian life. Saint Paul writes: «Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus» (Hebrews 12:1-2), surrounded—he says—by a cloud of witnesses who go before us. The runner of Santo Domingo, without fully realizing it, enacts what the Apostle preached: no one runs alone. That is why he raises the newspaper toward the image, like someone saying «you go ahead». The prayer does not ask for danger to disappear, but for guidance and blessing in the midst of it; it is not a magical formula to avoid falling, but an act of trusting surrender.

The Catechism teaches that the prayer of intercession «knows no bounds» (CCC 2635) and that prayer is, above all, «the living relationship of the children of God with their Father» (CCC 2565). The hymn to Saint Fermin, so brief, contains that entire relationship: recognition of the patron, humble petition, and final praise. It is theology condensed into four verses. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a great singer of intercession, reminded us that we turn to the saints not because God needs them, but because our smallness is encouraged by knowing we are accompanied; and that is exactly what happens when thousands of throats sing in unison before the roar.

Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium (122-126), described popular piety as «a true locus theologicus» and «an active evangelizing force». The hymn proves it: in the midst of a secularized and international fiesta, an instant of public prayer bursts forth in which believers and onlookers fall silent before the sacred. There lies the seed of the Gospel. For whoever prays it today, the fruit is clear: learning to begin each day—the encierro of our rushing, fears, and labors—by placing it in the hands of God through the intercession of the saints. For if we ask for guidance to run a hundred meters of cobblestones, how much more so to run the entire race of life.

Eight seconds of prayer, three times

The hymn to Saint Fermin is probably the briefest and most widely attended prayer in Spain: it lasts about eight seconds and is sung three times—at seven-fifty-five, fifty-seven, and fifty-nine—on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, minutes before the bulls are released.

It is sung with a rolled-up newspaper held high, looking toward the saint's niche, and alternates between Spanish and Basque. What it asks for is exactly what one would ask for at that moment: blessing and protection in the race. That it is short does not make it lesser: it is a prayer of imminent danger, the oldest genre in existence.

The hymn is sung in Spanish and Basque, and the two versions alternate during the encierro.

When it is sung

• From July 7 to 14, every morning before the encierro.
• At the procession on July 7, the feast day of the saint.
• At the events of the peñas and at the farewell of the Pobre de mí.

You may also be interested in Virgen del Pilar, the guardian angel.

In the store: saint mugs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is exactly sung before the encierro?

A brief petition for blessing and protection to the saint, sung three times—at 7:55, 7:57, and 7:59—on the Cuesta de Santo Domingo, alternating between Spanish and Basque.

Why is a rolled-up newspaper raised?

It is the custom of the runners: it is raised toward the niche of Saint Fermin while singing. It has no liturgical meaning; it is a tradition of the encierro.

Who was Saint Fermin?

Tradition holds him as the first bishop of Pamplona, evangelist, and martyr in Amiens. He is popularly called «el morenico» because of the color of the statue.

When is his feast day?

July 7, the day of the procession, within the San Fermín festivities running from July 6 to 14.

Sources

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 956 and 957 (the intercession and communion of saints).
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2565 and 2635 (prayer as filial relationship and intercession).
• Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-2; First Letter to the Corinthians 9:24-25 (the Christian life as a race).
• Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, sermons on the intercession and veneration of saints.
• Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 49-50 (the saints and the pilgrim Church).
• Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (2013), nos. 122-126 (the evangelizing force of popular piety).

About the Author

Miguel Ángel Torres is a member of the Effetà Community and head of youth ministry in the Diocese of Madrid. He combines his ordinary work with the animation of youth groups and the integration of faith into contemporary culture. He writes from the conviction that popular piety and daily prayer are seeds of evangelization in today's world.