Christmas Songs | O Come All Ye Faithful

“At a time when the church was literally at war [with itself], only someone who truly believed in the holiness of Christ could have written a carol that would bring all Christians together to the same place each Christmas—bowing before Christ the Lord!” 

This is how the author of Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas, Ace Collins, describes the character, passion and faith of the Catholic Cleric who is the author of what some critics call the “greatest carol ever written.” 

How the Catholic Cleric, John Wade, came to write “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is a story filled with adventure! John Wade was a man of God, caught squarely in the middle of a Holy War in 1745.

At the age of thirty-five, Wade’s life was quite literally on the line, as strife between the Catholic Church and the Church of England swelled to an all-time high. Many practicing Catholics were forced to take their faith underground. Many others, including priests, fled Britain all together to avoid prison or death—John Wade among them.

Wade made his way to France, and while there he was given an important job.  Since many Catholic Church records were lost during the conflict with England, Wade was tasked with researching and identifying historical church music. He was instructed to carefully record it so that it would be preserved for future generations. 

Little could he have realised at the time just how profound, long-reaching and valuable his work would be to those future generations.
Wade was a calligrapher and a skilled musician. Through his work he not only saved historical church songs, he was able to organise and distribute them to Catholic churches throughout Europe.

Through beautifully detailed drawings and manuscripts, the priest reintroduced many forgotten songs to the masses.

As he reclaimed old pieces, he was inspired to create new ones. Around 1750 Wade put the finishing touches on a piece of music he entitled, “Adeste Fideles,” which in English is translated O Come, All Ye Faithful. A decade later, Wade completed and put lyrics to his melody.

The song grew in popularity all over the world for over one hundred years, before finally landing in the U.S. It was adopted by many Christian churches before 1900, and it was at the centre of the caroling movement that swept the country at that time.

It was first recorded in 1905 by the Peerless Quartet, at a time when radio had yet to introduce music to the masses. Thousands of copies of the carol were sold. 

In a medium where very few Christian songs found universal favour, O Come, All Ye Faithful remained the most beloved holiday bop for years.