O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord!
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
Attributed to John Francis Wade (1711–1786)
Translated by Frederick Oakeley (1802–1880) and others
JOHN FRANCIS WADE made his living copying manuscripts by hand. Wade became famous for his artistic calligraphy, and he had a knack for copying music as well. Scholars have debated whether Wade merely copied this Christmas hymn or whether he actually wrote it. But recent scholarship indicates that he did, in fact, write the hymn.
It was originally written in Latin as “Adeste Fidelis.” Wade was a Roman Catholic, and all services in the church were conducted in Latin. In 1750 he slipped this hymn into a manuscript he was copying for the English Roman Catholic College in Lisbon, Portugal. Over thirty years later, in 1785, it was sent to the Portuguese chapel in London. The Duke of Leeds heard it sung there and included it in the repertoire of his own singing group. It soon became known around the world.
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
Luke 2:15-16
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