John Francis Wade, 18th century

Adeste Fideles — O Come, All Ye Faithful

The Christmas hymn of adoration

LatinEnglish

Adeste, fideles,
laeti triumphantes,
venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte
Regem angelorum:
venite, adoremus, venite, adoremus,
venite, adoremus Dominum.

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.

Deum de Deo,
lumen de lumine,
gestant puellae viscera.
Deum verum,
genitum non factum:
venite, adoremus…

God of God,
Light of Light,
lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
very God,
begotten, not created:
O come, let us adore him…

Cantet nunc io
chorus angelorum,
cantet nunc aula caelestium:
Gloria, gloria
in excelsis Deo!
venite, adoremus…

Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
glory to God
in the highest:
O come, let us adore him…

Ergo qui natus
die hodierna,
Iesu, tibi sit gloria:
Patris aeterni
Verbum caro factum:
venite, adoremus…

Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
born this happy morning;
Jesu, to thee be glory given;
Word of the Father,
now in flesh appearing:
O come, let us adore him…

SourceJohn Francis Wade, 18th century · The Christmas hymn of adoration

The history of this prayer

The Adeste Fideles is the best-known Latin Christmas hymn. Its oldest known form is in manuscripts by the Englishman John Francis Wade, a Catholic music copyist who lived in exile in France after the Jacobite rising of 1745; the manuscripts date from the 1740s and 1750s. Whether Wade wrote the words and tune or copied them from an earlier source is not known.

In the late eighteenth century the hymn was sung at the chapel of the Portuguese embassy in London, which is why the English long called it the “Portuguese Hymn”. The English translation sung everywhere, “O come, all ye faithful”, is by Father Frederick Oakeley (1841), given here for the four original stanzas.

The four original stanzas follow the Nicene Creed — “God of God, Light of Light, begotten, not created” — and end with the Prologue of Saint John: the Word of the Father made flesh.

In Church Latin, “Regem angelorum” is said “RAY-jem an-jay-LOR-um”.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote Adeste Fideles?

Its oldest form is in the manuscripts of John Francis Wade, from the 1740s–1750s. It is not certain whether he was the author or only the copyist.

What does Adeste Fideles mean?

“Be present, ye faithful” or “come, ye faithful”: the call to go to Bethlehem and adore the Child.

Why was it called the “Portuguese Hymn”?

Because in the eighteenth century it was sung at the chapel of the Portuguese embassy in London, where English Catholics heard it.

More prayers: Hymns

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