IHS: Meaning of the Monogram of Christ

Three letters in a halo of rays, often with a cross above them: the IHS is found on medals, on rosaries and, following an old counsel, above the front door. Several explanations of the meaning of IHS are in circulation, and the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 calls most of them wrong. This guide explains where the letters come from, why St Bernardine of Siena displayed them on a wooden tablet, how they became the emblem of the Jesuits and when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.

What does IHS mean?

IHS means Jesus. The three letters are a monogram of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. According to the older explanation they are the first letters of the Greek spelling ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, so the H originally stands for the Greek eta. Whoever reads IHS therefore reads the name of the Lord.

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 describes IHS as “a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ”. In art it often stands within a halo of rays; sometimes a cross appears above the H and three nails below it. Towards the end of the Middle Ages the IHS became an emblem, just as the Chi-Rho had been in the time of Constantine.

It is not the sequence of letters that is venerated. The Catholic Encyclopedia says so plainly: the Church honours the name of Jesus not because some hidden power lies in its letters, but because it recalls all the benefits we receive through the Redeemer, just as we honour the Passion of Christ by honouring his cross.

Where do the letters IHS come from?

The letters IHS come from early Christian inscriptions. There the holy names, the nomina sacra, were abbreviated by contraction: IC and XC or IHS and XPS for Iesous Christos. In the Middle Ages these Greek abbreviations continued to be written in Latin texts as well.

In the course of time the true sense was lost, and a misreading of IHS led to the spelling “Jhesus” (Catholic Encyclopedia, article IHS, 1910). The article on the Holy Name of Jesus from the same year explains the letters somewhat differently: in the Middle Ages the name was written IHESUS, and the monogram contains its first and last letters. Both explanations lead to the name Jesus.

The encyclopaedia also mentions an early example: a gold coin of the 8th century with the legend DN IHS CHS REX REGNANTIUM, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings”. The monogram became more popular after the 12th century, when St Bernard of Clairvaux preached devotion to the name of Jesus.

“… that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth and under the earth …”

Phil 2:10, our translation from the Vulgate (German in Joseph Franz von Allioli, Die heilige Schrift, vol. 6, 4th edition, Landshut 1859)

Does IHS mean “Iesus Hominum Salvator”?

“Iesus Hominum Salvator”, Jesus, Saviour of men, is a later interpretation of the letters IHS, not their origin. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 expressly calls it mistaken, as also the reading “Hierosolymae Salvator”, Saviour of Jerusalem. Originally the letters are the beginning of the Greek name Jesus.

What this interpretation says is true; only the letters do not mean it. That Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the human race, the Church prays on the feast of his Name itself: constituisti humani generis Salvatorem, “thou didst appoint him Saviour of the human race”.

A second misinterpretation links IHS with the words of Constantine. When the Jesuits placed three nails beneath the H, the explanation arose that the nails had originally been a V and that the monogram meant In Hoc Signo Vinces, “In this sign thou shalt conquer”. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls this, too, an invented explanation. The IHS has in common with the Emperor’s Chi-Rho only that both abbreviate the name of the Lord.

What has St Bernardine of Siena to do with IHS?

St Bernardine of Siena made the IHS known in Italy in the early 15th century. The Franciscan carried the monogram, painted within a halo of rays on a wooden tablet, displayed it at the end of his sermons and counselled that it be placed over city gates and house doors.

Bernardine was born on 8 September 1380 at Massa in the territory of Siena and died on 20 May 1444 at Aquila. His new way of proclaiming the name of Jesus brought him an accusation before Pope Martin V in 1427: he was said to be introducing a new devotion that exposed the people to the danger of idolatry. St John Capistran defended him in St Peter’s. The Pope acquitted Bernardine, encouraged him to preach in Rome and, according to the account in the Catholic Encyclopedia, himself took part in a procession in which the monogram was carried. The tablet is venerated in Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome.

Nicholas V canonised Bernardine on 24 May 1450. His feast stands on 20 May in the 1962 calendar. The collect of the Mass speaks of his love for the name of Jesus: Domine Iesu, qui beato Bernardino Confessori tuo eximium sancti nominis tui amorem tribuisti, “O Lord Jesus, who didst bestow on blessed Bernardine thy Confessor an exceeding love of thy holy name”.

Why do the Jesuits bear the IHS?

The Jesuits bear the IHS because St Ignatius of Loyola, as Superior General, adopted the monogram in his seal in 1541. Thus it became the emblem of the Society of Jesus. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Jesuits placed a cross above the H and three nails beneath it.

Pope Paul III had confirmed the Society of Jesus with the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae on 27 September 1540. Its motto is Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, “for the greater glory of God”, abbreviated A.M.D.G. The collect on the feast of St Ignatius, on 31 July in the 1962 calendar, also speaks of the “greater glory” of the divine Name: ad maiorem tui nominis gloriam propagandam. The Introit antiphon of this Mass is the same as on the Feast of the Holy Name: In nomine Iesu omne genu flectatur.

The sources do not agree on whether the cross and nails originate with the Jesuits. The article on the Holy Name of Jesus attributes both to the Jesuits, the article on the Monogram of Christ only the cross above the middle letter. The article on IHS describes the form with cross, nails and rays without attributing it to the Jesuits. Bernardine’s tablet showed the monogram within a halo of rays.

When is the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus?

In the 1962 calendar the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus falls on the Sunday between 2 and 5 January; if no Sunday falls between them, on 2 January. It is a feast of the second class and recalls that the Child received the name Jesus at his circumcision.

The Gospel of the feast is Luke 2:21: when after eight days the Child was to be circumcised, he received the name Jesus, which the angel had given before he was conceived. The lesson from the Acts of the Apostles (4:8 to 12) closes with the words of St Peter: Nec enim aliud nomen est sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri, “For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved”.

Deus, qui unigenitum Filium tuum constituisti humani generis Salvatorem, et Iesum vocari iussisti: concede propitius; ut, cuius sanctum nomen veneramur in terris, eius quoque aspectu perfruamur in caelis. Per eundem Dominum.

O God, who didst appoint thine only-begotten Son to be the Saviour of the human race and didst command that he be called Jesus, mercifully grant that we who venerate his holy name on earth may also enjoy the sight of him in heaven. Through the same Lord.

Collect of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, Missale Romanum 1962; our translation

Whoever devoutly invokes the Most Holy Name of Jesus gains, according to the collection Preces et pia opera of 1952 (no. 113), an indulgence of 300 days. Whoever says the invocation daily for a month gains a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions: confession, Communion, a visit to a church or public oratory and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father. Immediately after it the collection gives the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus (no. 114).

Mentioned in this article Holy Face of Christ Rosary Jasper beads on a black cord, a centrepiece with the Holy Face of Christ and the IHS on the back. View the rosary

Frequently asked questions about the meaning of IHS