Category: Hymn of the Month

The City of David is Sleeping

In summer of 2023, I was approached by Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project to engrave five original manuscripts by a religious Sister of Mercy. He recounted a wonderful anecdote about meeting her in 1987, when she was quite elderly but was still able to communicate.

This hymn write-up is about Sister Mary Ignatia Giblin (1910-1990) and her composition for the sacred Christmas song The City of David is Sleeping.

Elizabeth Joan Giblin was born to her parents Thomas and Flora Giblin (neé Lecraw) on November 16, 1910 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She entered the Sisters of Mercy at Mt. St. Rita on July 2, 1927 and made her perpetual vows at St. Xaviers in Providence, Rhode Island on March 12, 1933.

While a novitiate, Sister Mary Giblin was a student of Mother Mary Alexis Donnely, R.S.M., a well-known Catholic composer who published three hymnals and various pieces for different occasions. Many of her compositions were published in a series of hymn pamphlets by McLaughlin and Rielly.

Sister Mary Giblin had various assignment throughout the Catholic Schools of the Providence Diocese teaching 1^st and 2^nd grades. She began teaching music at St. Xavier’s Academy in 1935. She earned a Bachelor of Education degree in music in 1937 and a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Rose’s College in 1942. Then in 1945, she was assigned to St. Mary School in Pawtucket where she taught music.

During the summer months of June and July 1945 she underwent a major operation at St. Joseph’s Hospital and recuperated at St. Francis Xavier Convent. By September of the same year she was back teaching music at St. Mary School, a position she held for several years.

In September 1952, she was assigned to St. Michael School in Providence teaching music at the school and convent. In 1953, almost a year later to the date, she was assigned to Sacred Heart Convent where she taught the fourth grade until 1964.

In the spring of 1964, she underwent an operation for a malignancy at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and spent the better part of the year receiving treatments and recuperating. She retired in 1972 tutoring part time at the Mt. St. Rita Health Center. In the same year, ill health confined her to the Mercy infirmary. She remained there until her death on November 23, 1990.

At her funeral, one of her pupils reflected on her life. All of us who were associated with Sister Mary Ignatia can look back on her and on her special gift of music and fondly recall how she shared that gift with so many people. Her greatest joy was to create music: to play the organ for Mass or Benediction, to direct operettas,… to rewrite or reword songs for sing-a-longs that added so much joy to a sister’s jubilee celebration, to bring smiles to the faces of little children, to encourage young musicians who were struggling as they began to learn how to play the piano, or those taking voice lessons who tried so hard – according to the instructions – to breathe from the diaphragm and always to use head tones.

Throughout most of her active years in ministry, she was known for her love of music and her ability to pull music talent from even the most unlikely sources. For one whose life was so filled with song, we may also say that her songs became prayers. For she fingered her rosary constantly and always appreciated and responded when someone spent a few moments with her in prayer.

The music which follows was transcribed from original manuscripts provided by Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project.

The following musical arrangements were made by David E. Sylvester, a long-time organist and friend of Peter Meggison. David started playing the organ at St. Mary’s Church in Pawtucket at a young age when Sister Mary Ignatia was a teacher, although he didn’t have her in school when he was a student there. David and I exchanged emails shortly after I transcribed his arrangements, and he was quite impressed stating Outstanding job on the music! He conveyed to me that all of his choir’s loved to sing this sacred Christmas song.

The City of David is Sleeping, edited, and arranged by Gilbert Prentiss (1927-2008), was published by McLaughlin and Reilly Co., in 1968. It also appeared in piano songbooks of the 1960s and 1970s.

The photo below is courtesy of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Archives in North Carolina.

A comment on the photograph. The date of the photo is not known but is probably around 1929 when Sister Ignatia was a Novice. Few photographs exist of the Sisters but clearly there were times when groups were photographed. Sisters were not usually allowed to have photographs taken until the late 1960s, which makes this photograph incredibly special.

While researching this sacred Christmas song, I came upon a newspaper article found in The Thompsonville Press, a Connecticut newspaper. This particular edition was published on December 31, 1914 in the social column In Neighboring Places. The article describes the Christmas morning services at St. Mary’s Church in Longmeadow where a Miss Gertrude Hughes sang a solo The City of David is Sleeping.

This confirms anecdotal evidence conveyed to me that the City of David appeared in some old hymnals and that the composition by Sister Mary Giblin is original.

Sister Mary Ignatia also composed music for the following hymns. Look for these and other fine hymns in future write-ups.

Ave Maria (May 1944, Ascension Day)
God of Love (a Thanksgiving hymn)
Jesus When in Cruel Anguish
My God, My Life, My Love (August 1944, while on retreat)

Reflection

Having the opportunity to transcribe Sister Mary Ignatia’s original manuscripts allowed me to be the first to hear her music in a long time. I was immediately captivated by The City of David Sleeping. It is absolutely beautiful, it is simple and easy to learn, and most of all, it tells the wonderful story of Christmas. It brought back memories of the of kind of music that I would sing with St. Mary’s Choir in Akron, Ohio. Take a moment to read the verses and reflect on them, and I’m sure you’ll agree.

The music of Sister Mary Ignatia Giblin, R.S.M., like those who came before her, Sister Mary Xavier, S.N.D; Sister Mary of St. Philip, S.N.D.; Sister M. B., R.S.M; and Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly, R.S.M, have been forgotten by all but a few vintage organists and hymn researchers.

I think it’s important to remember their contributions and to sing their hymns and sacred songs once more.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project who made available to me a new recording of Sister M. Ignatia’s The City of David is Sleeping.

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If you liked this write-up on Sister Mary Giblin’s sacred Christmas song, please take a moment to read about these other fine hymns and sacred songs that are very appropriate for the Christmas season.

Let a Pious Prayer Be Said

Father Jeremiah Cummings, D.D. (1814-1866) wrote the words of this hymn. He was from a family of Northern Irish Protestants who came to the United States and settled in what is now Washington D.C. (ca. 1782). After his birth, his mother converted to Catholicism, and this led to an estrangement with her family. His father died when he was a young boy, and soon afterwards the family moved to New York City. Although they were penniless, he desired to study for the priesthood. Arrangements were made and he became a student of Bishop John Dubois (1764-1842), third bishop of the Diocese of New York and attended Bishop Dubois’s seminary in Nyack.

Through the good graces and the interest of Father J. P. McGerry of the New York Archdiocese, he was accepted at the College of the Propaganda, Rome, in 1834. Little is known about Father McGerry except for a curious entry found in Archives of the Pontifical College in Rome. Entry 21, page 371, gives a brief account of a handwritten letter by Father McGerry to Dr. Paul Cullen written on March 10, 1834 in which he asks for help in the case of a boy of 11 years who is anxious to become a priest but whose parents have not the means to pay the necessary fees. He writes,

I have a boy, the son of a very distinguished convert who is anxious he should study for the Church. The boy is eleven years old and very talented. The mother of the boy since her conversion has been by the gambling and sporting of her husband very much reduced in circumstances. All the family are converts but the husband. The oldest daughter entered a Nunnery at sixteen and is now a professed Sister in the Convent of the Visitation at George Town, District of Columbia. If you aid me to get a place in the Propaganda for the boy alluded to, Jeremiah Cummings, on reduced terms, you will do me a favor and a great good, I hope, to Religion. If not, let me know if there is a place for him, and what will be the lowest terms upon which he can be received.

Jeremiah Cummings successfully completed his studies and gained the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was ordained on January 3, 1847 and returned to New York City. He was for a brief time assigned as a priest at the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

In 1848, Bishop John J. Hughes (1797-1864) the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, appointed him pastor of the new St. Stephen’s Parish where he oversaw the building of the church and school. Father Cummings had a great fondness for music, and soon took charge of the choir. Oftentimes as was the case, well-known singers from the Metropolitan Opera House joined the choir. Through his influence the choir gained the esteem of the people who came from all over the city to Sunday High Mass. St. Stephen’s Church became one of the largest Catholic parishes of the day with over 28,000 parishioners.

In addition to his priestly duties, Father Cummings found time to author a couple books including Italian Legends published in 1858, and Spiritual Progress published in 1865. He contributed articles to Appleton’s Encyclopedia and Brownson’s Quarterly Review.

He published a hymnal of his own compositions, SONGS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Two editions were published, the first was published by J. O’Shea in 1860, and the second edition by J. & D. Sadlier in 1862. Father Cummings hymnal is significant in the annals of Catholic hymnals as being in his own words, the first of its kind, and until 1860, the only Catholic collection of original hymns by an American author. (Click on any image to enlarge)

In the 1860 July issue of the Brownson’s Quarterly Review which was mistakenly identified by J. Vincent Higginson as the 1863 Brownson’s Review in his History of American Catholic Hymnals Survey and Background, the editor gives an account evaluating the hymns as All the Songs, with one exception, are by Dr. Cummings, and though not all of equal merit, they all indicate poetry of a high order, and breathe the true spirit of Catholic faith and piety. The music by Signor Speranza is simple, yet rich , and we shall be much mistaken if several of his airs do not become naturalized and enter into the list of our national airs .

The editor’s remark that All the Songs, with one exception, are by Dr. Cummings, deserves mention because future publishers of English and American Catholic hymnals including DOM Ould’s Book of Hymns with Tunes, Dr. Terry’s Westminster Hymnal, the Holy Name Hymnal, the De La Salle Hymnal, and the American Catholic Hymnal would mistakenly identify the author of certain hymns as other than by Father Cummings.

This fact was brilliantly illustrated in a paper that appeared in the 1915 July issue of The Catholic Historical Review – A Forgotten American Hymnodist by Monsignor Hugh Thomas Henry (1862-1946). Three hymns were specifically mentioned in this paper:

Great God, whatever through Thy Church
O brightness of Eternal Light
Hail, Virgin of Virgins

The Hymnals

The hymn Let A Pious Prayer Be Said appeared in only a few Catholic hymnals. These are the CANTICA SACRA published in 1865 and 1880; the YOUTH’S MANUAL FOR CHURCH AND SCHOOL, 1885 and 1908 editions; HYMNS USED BY THE PUPILS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME, 1921 and 1948 editions, SELECTED HYMNS ca. 1930s, and THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL, 1958. Sometimes the hymn is listed as Dirge or A Dirge and others by the first line of text.

The CANTICA SACRA, or Hymns for the Children of the Catholic Church, first appeared as a word only edition in 1865, and the texts was compiled by Bishop John B. Fitzpatrick of Boston. This was followed by the musical edition with all original tunes compiled by Father John H. Cornell of Boston College and published by Patrick Donahoe in 1865. The hymnal contains hymns by Father Cummings, Father Faber, Father Caswall, and some translated hymns by St. Alphonsus Ligouri.

A third edition of the CANTICA SACRA was then published by Thomas B. Noonan & Co., of Boston in 1880. In this edition, attributions are given to J. Frank Donahoe, organist at Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston and the Sisters of Notre Dame, for their musical arrangements. A few of the tune are of German origins for example Holy God, we praise thy name. The musical editions do not include the hymn Let a Pious Prayer Be Said, probably because it was listed as a miscellaneous hymn.

The YOUTH’S MANUAL FOR CHURCH AND SCHOOL is a small collection of hymns, prayers, and Catechism, first published in 1885 by J. L. Spalding, then again in 1908 by Thomas J. Flynn & Company of Boston. The hymn section of this hymnal, a word only collection, is often referred to as the Cantica Sacra and contains three parts.

The first part is captioned Hymns for the Children of the Catholic Church and is essentially a reprint of the hymns found in the CANTICA SACRA. The second part contains Miscellaneous Hymns, there are about twenty, which do not appear in the musical edition. The third part is captioned Hymns, there are thirty-eight and they are not numbered but indicate the music can be found in other collections. For example, the hymn Children of the Heavenly King, refers to Rohr’s Catholic Melodies, page 61.

HYMNS USED BY THE PUPIL’S OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME is significant because the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who originally came from Belgium in 1840, were among the first of the religious order of nuns to established schools and academies in the United States beginning in Cincinnati, Ohio. These vest-pocket word-only hymn collections were published in 1920 and again in 1948 by The Angel Guardian Press. In the 1920 edition, the hymns are listed numerically. The 1948 edition, which is essentially a reprint of the 1920 edition, corrected the listing of hymns to be alphabetical and included the hymn number and page number.

A good number of the Sisters of Notre Dame wrote hymns for the school children and a demand for the hymns used by the Sisters grew as students graduated and moved to other parts of the country. Carrying these hymns in their hearts, the students passed them on to future generations. Eventually, publishers like W. C. Peter’s, the Oliver Ditson Company, and McLaughlin & Reilly published collections of these hymns in hymnbooks. Though many of the hymns by the sisters have fallen silent, a few still remain and are popular among Catholics today.

On an aside, among the other religious order of nuns who established schools and academies across the United States were the Sisters of Mercy arriving in 1843, and the Sisters of St. Joseph arriving around the same time.

SELECTED HYMNS is a small word-only book of hymns that was probably developed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Archdiocese of Boston according to hymnologist Peter Meggison producer of The Devotional Hymns Project. There is no date of publication or name of the editor, however, the hymns refer to existing hymnals of the day for the music such as St. Basil’s, the Chapel Hymnal S.N.D., the Standard Catholic Hymnal, Berge’s New Catholic Hymn Book, Father Curry’s Hymnal, the Sacred Heart Hymnal, and others.

Some of the hymns, list publishers or authors like R.S. Morrison Pub.: Presser Co., Phil.; A Sister of St. Joseph; Clarence E. Reed – White Smith Music Company; Mellyn and Horgan; Rev. M. O’Flaherty, and others simply as Manuscript. It has been an interesting challenge to try and date this little hymn book to say the least. Most of the hymnals referred to in this collection were published before or around the 1930s.

THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL is one of the most important contributions to Catholic hymnody published during the 20^th century. The contents of THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL were suggested and approved by 118 Catholic Chaplains in the Armed Forces during World War II. The Chaplains replied to a survey conducted by McLaughlin & Reilly Company, a premier Catholic music publishing company of the 20^th century period. The survey requested the titles of the hymns best known by service men and women that resulted in spontaneous congregational singing during chapel services. The first edition was published in 1944 with later editions in 1949, 1958 and 1968.

The hymn also appeared in a 1927 Hymn Pamphlet published by McLaughlin & Reilly, Co. It is the same melody but arranged for four voices by J. G. H. I could not find any information on this composer with the exception of his arrangements for Father Curry’s hymn Good Night, Sweet Jesus which include an SATB and a Tenor I-II – Bass I-II.

The Melodies

John M. Loretz, Jr. (1840-1912), organist at St. Peter’s Church, Brooklyn, New York composed the melody for this hymn, shown at the begining of this write-up, and as far as I can determine it is the only melody for this hymn. His initials J.M.L., are found throughout Father Cummings hymnbook. According to the Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians (1889) Vol. 2, page 484:

He was born in Mühlhausen, Alsace in 1840, and came to the United States as a child. In 1857, he went to Paris, France and studied at the Paris Conservatorie. He returned to the United States in 1860 and made his début as a pianist for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Society. He was a conductor at the Park Theatre in New York, and bandmaster in the United States Navy. Some of his works include The Pearl of Bagdad, an opera, given in the Brooklyn Lyceum in 1872; he composed several Symphonic overtures; Masses; Episcopal Church services, Sonatas, and other music for pianoforte.

The music found in THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL shown earlier in the hymnal section was arranged by Edward Grey. Edward Grey (Gray), Johann Hornung, Nino Borucchia, and G. Agostini are all pseudonyms for Father Joseph Toussaint Oliva Portelance, O.F.M. (aka Father Ange-Marie Portelance, O.F.M.)

Joseph Portalance was born on November 8, 1900 in Montreal, Canada. His baptismal name was Joseph Toussaint Oliva. His father’s name was Toussaint and his mother’s name was Geneva according to the Canada Census, 1901. He entered the novitiate on September 24, 1922 (St. Joseph Province) and took temporary vows on September 30, 1923, and his solemn vows on September 30, 1926. He entered the priesthood on June 29, 1947. His Franciscan name was Ange-Marie Portelance. Father Portelance also lived on the Friary in Brookline and was an employee of McLaughlin & Reilly. He compiled and edited THE CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL (1944 thru 1958), composed numerous motes, masses, and other music for the Catholic Church. Through 1946 – 1950, he was Professor of Music at St. Francis Collage Biddeford, Maine. From the University of New England Digital Commons, St. Francis College History Collection (1949-1950) I located the following excerpt:

During our four years, the benevolent Fr. Ange-Marie Portelance, a graduate of the Reale Academia Filarmonica Romana, has been in charge of the choir and Glee Club. A baritone himself, he teaches vocal art, piano and also directs the school orchestra.

In June 2021, I learned from the archivist for the Franciscan Order – Holy Spirit Province, that he was dismissed from the Order on May 16, 1956. The records give no reason for his dismissal and the Order does not stay in touch with members once they leave.

For a while it seemed that details on Father Portalance had come to an end and I had almost given up hope of ever finding anything more when I came across an obituary for Joseph T. Olivain. The details of this individual are to similar to those of Father Portelance to ignore them. I leave it to the reader to decide if it be the same person.

The hymn Let a Pious Prayer Be Said was used as a recessional hymn at funerals from the 1920s through 1940s as evidenced by these newspaper clippings from the Andover Townsman in Andover, Massachusetts, and The Boston Globe of Boston, Massachusetts.

Reflection

The verses of this hymn remind me of the teachings of the Catholic church about Purgatory (CCC 1030-32), and the importance of offering prayers for the dead, Let a pious prayer be said, especially the Eucharist sacrifice. We can also offer works of penance, almsgiving, and indulgences all on behalf of the dead, that their sufferings soon may cease, and thus purified, until cleansed, attain the beatific vision of God. Show them mercy, grant them rest, in the city of the blest.

As part of my reflection, I want to include an article I found in The Catholic Free Press Vol. 65, No. 44, for October 28, 2016. It was written by Sister Paula Kelleher, SSJ, who recalls this hymn while remembering her family and friends. It is beautiful reflection and worth a few minutes of your time to read.

This is a wonderful hymn to sing for the Feast of All Souls, for a funeral, or for any memorial or intention of the dead. May we always remember our departed loved ones in our prayers and may those in most need of God’s mercy be given pardon and granted everlasting life.

Thank you to Peter Meggison producer of The Devotional Hymns Project who granted permission to link to a new recording of this wonderful hymn by an ensemble of singers from the Boston area.

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O Queen of the Holy Rosary

Emily Mary Shapcote (née Steward) wrote the words to this hymn in 1882 and it first appeared in ST. DOMINIC’S HYMN-BOOK published in 1885 by Burns and Oates and was sold throughout England and America.

The history books have little to say about Emily, her early life, and her journey to Catholicism. She was born in Liverpool, England in 1828 and married the Rev. Edward Gifford Shapcote in 1856. He was a graduate of Corpus Christi College one of the constituent colleges of Cambridge University and the late curate of St. George’s-in-the-East. He was an English minister in the Church of England and a missionary in Africa. Emily joined the Catholic Church in 1866 and her husband joined a few years later in 1868.

Emily was a hymn writer with several hymns to her credit and is the author of several books including Legends of the Blessed Sacrament published in 1877; Among The Lilies published in 1881, and Mary: The Perfect Woman published in 1904. She co-authored a hymn collection with her sister and aunt – HYMNS FOR INFANT CHILDREN published in 1852 by Joseph Masters of London. Those marked E being by Emily Shapcote, those marked A by her aunt, Mary Steward, and those marked C by her sister, Eleanor Steward. A third edition with accompanying tunes was published in 1872, and was edited by the Rev. John B. Dykes, Vicar of St. Oswald’s in Durham, England.

In 1873, Emily translated the Latin prayer Salve Mundi Salutare (O Saviour of the world, I cry to Thee) A Rhythmical Prayer to the Sacred Members of Jesus Hanging upon the Cross. This prayer is attributed to St. Bernard and is still popular today. A detailed look into the origins of this prayer can be found at the Hymnology Archive.

Emily died in 1909 while residing in the city of Torquay. Torquay is a seaside resort town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England.

In addition to ST. DOMINIC’S HYMN-BOOK above the hymn Queen of the Holy Rosary appeared in the following Catholic hymnals: SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1887 thru 1935 compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame; CATHOLIC HYMNS, 1898 compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer (1857-1910); THE BOOK OF HYMNS WITH TUNES, 1913 compiled by Dom Samuel G. Ould, O.S.B., (1864-1939); ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL, 1918 thru 1958 compiled by The Basilian Fathers; DIOCESAN HYMNAL, 1928 compiled by Cleveland, Ohio’s Archbishop Schrembs (1866-1945); CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL, 1905 and 1933 compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer; AVE MARIA HYMNAL, 1936 compiled by Father Joseph J. Pierron (1875-1949); the ST. CECILIA HYMNAL, 1928 thru 1960 compiled by J. Alfred Schehl (1882-1959); HOLY NAME HYMNAL, 1947 compiled by Father James J. McLarney, O. P., (ca. 1900s-1969); and MEDIATOR DEI HYMNAL, 1955 compiled by J. Vincent Higginson (1896-1994) ( a.k.a. Cyr de Brant).

The Melodies

The first verse of the hymn began Queen of the Holy Rosary, the O being added to fit some of the melodies. Ten different melodies have been located for this hymn from Catholic hymnals listed above.

One of the first melodies to appear in American Catholic hymnals was composed by a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur from the Philadelphia Community and was published by the Oliver Ditson Company of Boston in 1887. During this time period the Oliver Ditson Company had become one of major music publishing houses and had offices in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The identity of the Sister who composed the melody is unknown. This is not at all uncommon because in those days’ authorship was not given to the individual but to the whole community. This melody continued to appear in later publications of the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1907 and 1935; also the ST. PAUL HYMNAL, 1915; HYMNS USED BY THE PUPILS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME, 1921 and 1948; the LAUDATE CHOIR MANUAL, 1942.

A second melody appeared in CATHOLIC HYMNS compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer and published in 1898 by Cary & Co., in London and by the Frederick Harris Co., in Toronto, Canada. This collection of hymns is considered to be a musical edition of the ST. DOMINIC’S HYMN-BOOK noted above. Augustus Edmonds Tozer (1857-1910) was a convert to Catholicism and received his Doctorate from Oxford University and was named a Knight of St. Sylvester for his work in the reform movement in England. J. Hallett Sheppard (1835-1879) composed the melody, and little is known about this composer except that he died on January 11^th of consumption in 1879 at the age of forty-three. His daughter, Teresa Madeleine Hallett who was only six months of age died a month earlier on December 30^th.

A third melody appears in THE BOOK OF HYMNS WITH TUNES compiled by Dom Samuel Gregory Ould, O.S.B., (1864-1939) published in 1913 by Cary & Co., London and by the Edward Schuberth & Co., of New York. This is one of the most important Scottish hymn collections of the early twentieth century. Samuel Gregory Ould is a convert to Catholicism and joined the Church of Rome in 1879. He is best known for his CANTIONES SACRAE: MUSICAL SETTINGS OF THE ROMAN LITURGY published by Novello and Company of London, in 1899. William Sewell (1861-1942) composed the melody. He served as the organist of the Redemptorist Church of St. Mary’s, Clapham for twenty-five years and he composed a Mass setting for St. Philip Neri while he was in charge of music at Birmingham Oratory as well as other Mass settings. He was co-editor of THE BOOK OF HYMNS WITH TUNES in collaboration with Dom Gregory Ould. William was also a convert to Catholicism and joined the Church of Rome in 1885.

The fourth melody which has become traditional to the hymn is from the WIRTEMBERGISCHEN KATHOLISCHEN GESANGBUCH, 1784. The tune name is known as ELLACOMBE. The melody has been used for various hymns and appeared in American hymnals as early as 1872. However, the first American hymnal to use this tune for O Queen of the Holy Rosary was the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL, 1918. The hymn continued to appear in later editions including the NEW ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL published 1958.

Archbishop Joseph Schrembs, D.D., of Cleveland, Ohio composed the fifth melody, and it was arranged by Msgr. Peter Griesbacher (1864-1933), the melody appeared in the DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART TWO – DEVOTIONAL HYMNS published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York in 1928. Archbishop Schrembs was the fifth Bishop of Cleveland and served from 1921 to 1945. He was named Archbishop by Pope Pius XII on March 29, 1939. Very few musicians and parishioners remember Archbishop Schrembs important contribution to Catholic hymnody. Below is a brief synopsis of his contributions.

He was a musician and lover of sacred music and composed several hymns. He was instrumental in producing manuals of Gregorian Chant and Catholic editions of music text books for elementary schools. He also envisioned a plan for Church music reform that would begin with young children. He compiled two Diocesan Hymnals and the Eucharistic Hymnal between 1926 and 1935. The hymns embodied in the Eucharistic Hymnal were taken from The Diocesan Hymnal, Books One and Two. Archbishop Schrembs was the Protector of Priests’ Eucharistic League in the United States and Promoter of the Eucharistic Congress in 1935 when the Seventh Eucharistic Congress met in Cleveland.

The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Peter Griesbacher (P.G.) was responsible for a large number of the harmonization’s of the hymns found in the Diocesan Hymnal, Books One and Two. He was a German born music composer and ordained a priest in 1886. He edited a number of publications of Catholic church music and has composed numerous mass settings, a number of cantatas, various choral works, and organ manuals.

Victor Hammerel composed or arranged the sixth melody which is found in the CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer and published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York and The Vincent Music Co., of London. The first printing of this collection was in 1905 and a second printing in 1933. Victor Hammerel was choirmaster for a time at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament and organist at St. John’s Church both within a few miles of each other in Providence, Rhode Island. He composed a number of mass settings, choral works, and hymn collections including HYMNS TO THE SACRED HEART AND HOLY NAME OF JESUS, 1898; DEVOTIONAL HYMNS TO OUR LADY, 1900; TWENTY-TWO CHRISTMAS AND EASTER CAROLS, 1900. This melody also appeared in the PAROCHIAL HYMNAL, 1951 compiled by Father Carlo Rossini for the hymn Queen of the Holy Rosary.

A seventh melody can be found in the AVE MARIA HYMNAL, 1936 compiled by Father Joseph J. Pierron and published by The Bruce Publishing Company with offices in New York, Milwaukee, and Chicago. The melody is attributed to Michael Haydn (1737-1806). The AVE MARIA HYMNAL saw several editions with the first edition published in 1929 and the last edition in 1941. The hymnal is a collection of English and older German melodies. Joseph Pierron was ordained a priest in 1905 and studied music in Europe for three years. He held assistant positions in various parishes and pastorship in several churches throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In November 1949, he went to Boys Town, Nebraska to serve as music director for Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home. Father Pierron was editor of the Caecilia magazine in 1930, and composed several hymns, hymn collections, and authored several articles on music.

Hans Newsidler (ca. 1508-1590) composed the eighth melody. This melody is often attributed to Michael Praetorius (1571-1621); however, it is his harmonization of the melody that should be properly credited to him. The melody is identified as Ich Will Ein Neues Singen in editions of the SONGS OF SYON published in London by Schott & Co. This collection of Anglican hymns was compiled by the Rev. George R. Woodward, M.A., (1848-1934) and saw four editions between 1904 and 1923. The melody appeared in the ST. CECILIA HYMNAL compiled by Joseph Alfred Schehl (1882-1959) and published by the Frederick Pustet Co., Inc., with offices in New York and Cincinnati. The hymnal achieved five editions between 1928 and 1960, and was the Official Hymnal for the Schools of the Archdioceses of Cincinatti. Joseph Schehl was a famous composer, choirmaster, and musician from Cincinnati. He dedicated more than sixty years to his musical career and served as organist-choirmaster for forty-seven years at St. Lawrence Parish, Prince Hill, Cincinnati. He composed eight mass settings, various motets, and several volumes of organ music.

Stefano Constantino Yon (1876-1956) composed the ninth melody, and it is found in the HOLY NAME HYMNAL, 1947 compiled by Father James J. McLarney, O. P., and published by McLaughlin & Reilly Co., of Boston. The Holy Name Society consists of thousands of chapters in the United States and remains active in Catholic parishes even today. Constantino Yon or as he was sometimes referred S. Yon, or S. Constantino, was the organist and choirmaster of St. Vincent Ferrer’s Roman Catholic Church in New York, a position he held for almost forty years. He was a composer of hymns and other sacred music, and his choir would perform annually at the Christmas parties given by Cardinal Spellman for the children of New York’s Foundling Hospital. Constantino was a teacher of voice and piano and gave lessons at his home, in his studio in Carnegie Hall as well as the Academy of Mount St. Vincent and Elizabeth Seton School in Yonkers. Pietro A. Yon, the famous organist of St. Patrick’s Cathedral of New York and best known for his choral work Gesù Bambino (When blossoms flowered ‘mid the snows) was Constantino’s younger brother.

The source for the tenth melody may be the MAINZ GESANGBUCH of 1661 or 1870. It is from this collection of German songs that the melodies for To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King and the Stabat Mater (At the Cross Her Station Keeping) are found. Another source is the CATHOLIC YOUTH’S HYMNAL compiled by Benjamin Hamma (1831-1911) and published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York in 1891. Benjamin Hamma was a German composer and teacher with a number of hymns, choral pieces, and Mass settings to his credit. This melody is used in other Catholic hymnals for the hymns I’ll Sing a Hymn to Mary and I’ll Sing to Thee, O Mary. An examination of these arrangements did not reveal a composer’s name and it was found that only a few measures from each arrangement appear to be the same, suggesting a common melody which has been altered over time.

Reflection

There are two melodies that I learned while singing in St. Mary’s Choir (1977-2010), the traditional melody (Ellacombe) found in St. BASIL’S HYMNAL, 1918 and the melody found in the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1907 by the Sisters of Notre Dame, captioned Our Lady of the Rosary. In the poetic imagery we can clearly see that our Pater’s and Ave’s recited with each bead we say are likened to roses in garlands, very poetic indeed since the beads of the rosary are strung together like a wreath. The help and grace we receive from praying the rosary are not to be trifled with or scoffed at, for the rosary has brought many souls to Christ.

As I was taught, each decade of the rosary is a journey in the sacred life of Jesus and every bead like a step toward Calvary. In singing this hymn, I have come to believe the author intended the words We gather to thine honor, buds white, and red and gold as symbols of the mysteries themselves. The Joyful mysteries are white roses, and Sorrowful mysteries are red roses, and the Glorious and Luminous mysteries gold roses.

It’s amazing to me that some of our best devotional hymns were written by converts to the Catholic Faith. At St. Mary’s when I sang in the choir, we would sing this hymn before Mass, at Offertory or as a second recessional. The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, let us sing this hymn once again during the month of October in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary and make it part of our parish repertoire.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison producer of the Devotional Hymns Project for allowing me to link to the choir of Blessed Sacrament Church in Providence, Rhode Island. Five of the melodies listed above are beautifully woven together producing a wonderful and truly uplifting recording.

Also, to Noel Jones, AAGO in granting permission to link to A Catholic Book of Hymns with 295 time-honored traditional Catholic hymns, including two arrangements of O Queen of the Holy Rosary. This is a wonderful collection of hymns with text approved, having the IMPRIMATUR from the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, which make them perfectly suited for Mass and devotions.

Listed below are computer generated sound files. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener a good sense of what the hymn sounds like. All the hymns are in the public domain. Music directors, organist, and choirmasters, if you use any of these selections in your Sunday or weekly music programs and you make a recording, contact the author and I will feature your recording and choir in the What’s New section of the website.

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Immaculate Mary

The author of this hymn is not known. The verses that we sing today are thought to be a translation of a French hymn originally authored by Abbot Jean Gaignet (1839-1914) in the 1870s. An interesting article appeared in the Catholiques en Vendee, a diocesan bulletin of Luçon, France in 2015. In summary the article recounts the events of the 140^th anniversary of the Vendée pilgrimage to Lourdes and how the Abbot Gaignet authored the hymn.

Abbot Jean Gaignet was a professor at the Major Seminary of Luçon when he wrote the Salut d’arrivée, a sort of greeting to Mary. This hymn was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and consisted of eight verses intended for Vendée pilgrims going to the Grotto of Lourdes. The hymn became an immediate success and was loved by all the faithful. The Bishop of Luçon then asked Abbot Gaignet to write a long version which would describe all the apparitions of the Virgin at Lourdes and would accommodate the lengthy procession of pilgrims.

Accordingly, he wrote sixty-eight verses which recount all the apparitions of the Lady of Lourdes. The Salut d’arrivée or Arrival Greeting then became the le chapelet de Notre-Dame de Lourdes, meaning, the rosary of our Lady of Lourdes. This composition received the Imprimatur of the Bishop of Luçon and the Bishop of Tarbes.

Each country and culture have produced their own version of the verses. These variations can be found in different regions of a country, its population, from town to town, from village to village, or across a span of time. (see below) Some follow the apparitions of Lourdes while some are expressions of our devotion to Mary Immaculate, and still others are petitions or a combination of all three.

French, Massabieille 1870s

La terre à Marie

disait le salut

La Vierge bénie

Soudain apparut

Chorus

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!

Une enfant candide,

Au souffle du ciel

Regarde timide

Au roc Massabiel

(Chorus)

Celeste et bénigne,

La Dame à l’enfant

Sourit et fait signe

De son front brillant

(Chorus)

Bernadette émue

A genoux tombait

L’enfant ingénue

Prit son chapelet

(Chorus)

Plus twenty-three more verses

Source: Les Echos De Massabieille Chants Populaires De Lourdes, 1872

England & U.S., 1898 – 1950s

Immaculate Mary!

Our hearts are on fire,

That title so wondrous

Fills all our desire !

Chorus

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!

Ave, Ave, Maria!

We pray for God’s glory,

May His Kingdom come

We pray for His Vicar,

Our Father, and Rome.

(Chorus)

We pray for our Mother,

The Church upon earth,

And bless, sweetest Lady,

The land of our birth

(Chorus)

O Mary! O Mother!

Reign o’er us once more

Be all lands* thy dowry

As in days of yore.

(Chorus – *England)

Plus twelve more verses

Source: Catholic Hymns, 1898

1950s – Today

Immaculate Mary,

Your praises we sing,

You reign now in heaven

With Jesus our King

Chorus

Ave, Ave, Ave, Maria!

Ave, Ave, Maria!

In heaven the blessed

Your glory proclaim

On earth we your children

Invoke your fair* name

(Chorus – *sweet)

We pray for our Mother,

The Church upon earth

And bless, Holy Mary,

The land of our birth

(Chorus)

No more verses

Source: Breaking Bread, 2023

Despite the wide spectrum of verses, what remains traditional to the hymn are the Ave’s. And yet, even among the Ave’s there are differences. In some countries and cultures we have a refrain of six Ave’s, while in our missalettes and pew missals today we have only five Ave’s. There also exists somewhat of a controversy regarding the musical accent given to the Ave.

On an aside, it has been suggested that the hymn text we sing today for Immaculate Mary was taken from or is a replacement for another hymn Hail, Virgin of Virgin’s Thy Praises We Sing, written by Father Jerimiah Cummings in 1860 for the Feast of the Assumption. This hymn appeared in his hymn book SONGS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Only in the first line of text can it be shown that there is any similarity. Like many of the hymns that honor Our Blessed Mother, Hail, Virgin of Virgin’s was removed and largely forgotten except by a few hymn researchers, hymnologist, and vintage organist. To learn more about this wonderful Marian hymn click on the links in this paragraph and visit The Devotional Hymns Project website and listen to a newly commissioned recording.

The earliest appearance of the hymn in English that we know as Immaculate Mary is found in the PAROCIAL HYMN BOOK published in 1897. It is captioned a Hymn in honor of our Lady of Lourdes, and the first line of text is Immaculate Mother, we come at thy call. This hymn book was compiled by Father Anatole Police, S.M., a Marist priest. He published two earlier editions of the PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK in 1881 and 1883 while living in London. The hymn Immaculate Mary or Immaculate Mother does not appear in these earlier editions. Father Police came to Boston in the spring of 1891. (Click on any image to enlarge)

Immaculate Mary also appeared in CATHOLIC HYMNS published in 1898 in London, England. This hymnal was compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer. This collection of hymns was identified by J. Vincent Higginson (aka Cyr De Brant) to be a musical edition of ST. DOMINIC’S HYMN BOOK, with three editions published between 1885 and 1887. St. Dominic’s Hymn Book is a collection containing many older texts by Father Faber, Father Caswall, Father Aylward, Father Stanfield, and others. The hymn Immaculate Mary does not appear in the 1885 edition of St. Dominic’s Hymn Book referenced above. Augustus Edmonds Tozer (1857-1910) was a convert to Catholicism and received his Doctorate from Oxford University and was named a Knight of St. Sylvester for his work in the reform movement in England. His CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL published later was helpful in church music reform in both England and America.

These early hymn books published by Father Police and Augustus Tozer are particularly significant to the hymn we know today as Immaculate Mary. Both hymns are set to the Lourdes Pilgrim Tune, with similarities in the verses and musical variations in the Ave’s.

Father Police’s version of the hymn quickly faded from the Catholic repertoire whereas, Augustus Tozer’s Immaculate Mary, our hearts are on fire with its five Ave’s would become the standard in Catholic hymn books until the 1950s.

In the 1950s, the hymn text was revised to Immaculate Virgin, thy praises we sing. This revision first appeared in the CANTATE OMNES hymnal published by the Catholic Choirmasters’ Guild of Buffalo, New York in 1952.

Later, in THE PEOPLE’S HYMNAL compiled and edited by The Hymn Committee of The Theological College in Washington D. C., published in 1955 we learn why the lyrics were changed and the reasoning behind it. Below is an excerpt from the Introduction of that hymnal.

Catholic devotion, as the Church takes care to emphasize, should represent, not what we would wish to feel, but what we actually feel. There is no need for saying our hearts are on fire when really thy are not. This device exalts the emotions at the expense of reason. The whole tradition of Catholic devotion opposes the fabrication of an external devotion with poetic conceits and painfully drawn figures of speech which does not in the least represent our interior dispositions.

The hymn must express, not what makes its subject so sweet or beautiful alone, but what makes it so holy, magnificent, and lovable, so worth singing to and about. THE PEOPLES HYMNAL strives, therefore, to avoid every meretricious pretense of emotion, and replace this all-too-common hymnology with compilation of hymns meant to arouse a mature, honest, and integrally human response.

In preparation for my HYMN OF THE MONTH, and as part of my research, I conduct a hymn survey from my own collection of Catholic hymnals. You can read more about my methods of research in a special write-up Conducting Hymn Research. This list often times is quite lengthy and to keep page scrolling to a minimum, I have been providing a link to the survey. However, this time I decided to present the survey based on the first line of text from the hymn covering a time period from the hymns first appearance in 1897 to the present day. And so…

The hymn Immaculate Mother, we come at thy call, and low at thy altar, Before thee we fall appeared in the following Catholic hymnals:

The PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK, published in 1897 Boston, and compiled by Father Anatole Police, S.M.
The DE LA SALLE HYMNAL, published in 1913 and compiled by the Brothers of Christian Schools of New York.
The DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART 2, published in 1926 and compiled by Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland, Ohio.

The hymn Immaculate Mary, our hearts are on fire, That title so wondrous fills all our desire! appeared in the following Catholic hymnals:

CATHOLIC HYMNS, published in 1898 London, and compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer.
The CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL, published in 1906 and 1933, compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer.
The CROWN HYMNAL, published in 1913, compiled and edited by Father Leslie J. Kavanagh and James M. McLaughlin. Father Kavanagh was elevated to Monsignor in 1919 and James McLaughlin was partners with James A. Reilly of McLaughlin & Reilly music publishing company.
The BOOK OF HYMNS with TUNES, published in 1913 London and New York, and edited by Father Samuel G. Ould, O.S.B. and William Sewell.
The ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL from 1918 thru 1953 and compiled by the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, Canada.
The ST. MARY’S HYMNAL, published in 1924 and 1944-1950 New York, compiled by Christian Zittel.
SELECT HYMNS, published in the 1930s, text only and references the CROWN HYMNAL.
The GLORIA HYMNAL, published in 1933, was compiled by the Basilian Fathers.
The ORDINARY OF THE MASS and a COMPLETE MANUAL OF HYMNS, published in 1933 Philadelphia, text only.
SING TO THE LORD – A COLLECTION OF CATHOLIC HYMNS AND PRAYERS, published in 1946 Boston, and compiled by Archbishop Richard Cushing, D.D., introduction of a new refrain in English in addition to the traditional Ave’s.
The HOLY NAME HYMNAL, published in 1947 and compiled by Father J. J. McLarney, O.P., uses the same English text for the refrain as well as the traditional Ave’s as found in SING TO THE LORD.
The MANUAL OF HYMNS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, published in 1948 was compiled and edited by The Voshardt Press, text only. The hymns are taken from St. Basil’s, St. Gregory, Cantate Domino, Catholic Church, and the American Catholic Hymnal.
The JUBILEE HYMNS BOOK II, published in 1949 Toronto and edited by Father James E. Ronan. Father Ronan was later elevated to Monsignor.
The MONASTARY HYMNAL, published in 1954 Boston and compiled, edited, and arranged by Achille P. Bragers.
The MEDIATOR DEI HYMNAL, published in 1955 by the Gregorian Institute of America and compiled by Cyr De Brant – a pseudonym for J. Vincent Higginson.
The PARISH HYMNAL, published in 1957 by the Gregorian Institute of America.
The CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL, published from 1944 thru 1968 compiled by Edward Grey and Edward Curry.
The ST. ANDREW HYMNAL, published in 1964 and authorized by the Archbishop’s of Scottland for the use in the Scottish Dioceses.
The CATHOLIC HYMNAL & SERVICE BOOK, published in 1966, part of the Benziger Editions with approval by the Commission on Church Music, Archdiocese of New York.
The CATHOLIC BOOK OF HYMNS & CHANTS, published in 2020 by the Sacred Music Library.

The hymn Immaculate Virgin, thy praises we sing, Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King, and Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing, Who reignest with Christ, our Redeemer and King appeared in the following Catholic hymnals:

The CANTATE OMNES published in 1952, was compiled and published by the Catholic Choirmasters’ Guild from Buffalo, New York
The PEOPLE’S HYMNAL, published in 1955, compiled by The Hymn Committee of The Theological College in Washington, D.C., printed by World Library of Sacred Music
The NEW ST. BASIL HYMNAL, published in 1958, was compiled by the Basilian Fathers and printed by Willis Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio
The BVM HYMNAL, published in 1961, is the Official Hymn Book of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Dubuque, Iowa. Distributed by the Gregorian Institute of America.
The ADOREMUS HYMNAL, published in 2011, compiled by the Adoremus Society of the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, with approval by the Committee on Divine Worship United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The hymn Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing, You reign now in splendor with Jesus Our King and Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing, You reign now with Jesus, Our Savior and King appeared in the following Catholic hymn books.

OUR PARISH PRAYS AND SINGS, published in 1973 by the Liturgical Press, St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota.
The CATHOLIC HYMNAL – Hymns for Liturgical Celebration, published in 1974 by Our Sunday Visitor.
GLORY & PRAISE, published in 2001 by Oregon Catholic Press.
The CHORAL COMPANION, published in 2006 by World Library Publications.
GATHER HYMNAL 3^rd edition, published in 2011 by the Gregorian Institute of America

The Melodies

In my quest to find the origin of the melody, I came across a few interesting stories. One story indicates the melody comes from the mountainous region of Southwestern France known as the Pyrenees, and it was brought back to Luçon, France by the French Catholic priest Abbot Jean Gaignet (1839-1914). In this account, Abbot Gaignet went on a retreat after learning two of his brothers were killed in the Franco-German war of 1870. While there he heard the melodies and brought them back when he returned to his priestly duties. This Pyrenean melody became the traditional melody we know today as the Lourdes Pilgrims’ Tune.

Another story takes us to the small town of Berlaar, Belgium where it is said the melody was composed by Constant Verhulst (1838-1923) in 1857, for a Feast of Mary in Berlaar, a year before the apparitions of Lourdes. After the apparitions, a nun in Berlaar wrote the words to a song te Lourdes op de bergen meaning in Lourdes on the mountain to the tune of Constant Verhulst. I haven’t been able to verify that Constant Verhulst composed the melody but only that the song uses the traditional Lourdes Pilgrim tune.

A different story suggests the melody was borrowed from a hymn composed by Fr. Louis Lambillotte, S. J., in 1842, and references his CHOIX DE CANTIQUES SUR DES AIRS NOUVEAUX, but does not indicate which hymn. Father Lambillotte (1796-1855) was a French Jesuit priest who composed several melodies that are still used today including: On This Day O Beautiful Mother; Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest; ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother; Panis Angelicus; Mother Mary, at Thine Altar, and many more.

Somewhat of controversy exists regarding the famous refrain Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! In my small collection of French hymnals, the refrain contains six Ave’s. In the United States, five Ave’s in the refrain has been the standard for over 120 years. The origin of the five Ave’s can be traced back to Tozer’s CATHOLIC HYMNS, 1898. He was the first to alter the refrain of melody by giving the Latin Ave its proper accent. Some feel this revision removes the folk quality of the French Avé.

Reflection

I grew up singing Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing, You reign now in splendor with Jesus Our King. I will probably always remember it with those words. But I also like the words of the hymn that was used by my parents and grandparents Immaculate Mary, our hearts are on fire, That title so wondrous fills all our desire!

I presented the reasoning why the words were changed, but I question whether there was any wisdom in that choice. Afterall, the apostle’s on the road to Emmaus declared, We’re not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32).

I wonder if the apostle’s hearts were really on fire or if they chose to exalt their feelings at the expense of reason.

Father Anatole Police, S.M.

I recently received new information from the archivist for the Society of Mary, U. S. Province on Father Anatole Police, S.M., who compiled and edited the PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK here in America and in England between 1881 and 1897. Father Anatole Police was born in 1834 in the diocese of Bayeux (Calvados), France. He professed his vows in 1861 and was ordained in the same year at Belley, France. He spent twenty-six years at St. Anne’s in London, England and the last seven years of his life at Our Lady of Victories in Boston. MA.

His French colleagues considered him more English than French. He completed the work on the upper Church of Our Lady of Victories at the death of Father Firmin Coppin (1838-1891). Father Anatole was an accomplished musician and was responsible for the acquisition of the original organ, a Hook and Hastings Opus #1531 that was installed in 1892. The original organ would be replaced by a Casasvant Opus #1484 in 1933. Nothing was retained of the Hook and Hastings organ except for the pipe work and its entire case. The Casavant organ was still in use in 1986.

The work on the upper church of Our Lady of Victories began in the spring of 1891, but at the same time, Father Coppin, although only 53, became seriously ill and had to allow Father Police who had recently arrived from London, to take charge. The work of construction on the upper church went on through the summer and was finally finished in November. But Father Coppin was not there to see it. A month before, on October 16, 1891, he died.

Father Police, who had been in charge during the illness of Father Coppin, remained as administrator until the new pastor arrived. This would be Father Descreux, who came in August, 1892. After the arrival of Father Descreux, Father Police stayed on as assistant for another six years, till his death in 1898 at the age of almost 64.

Father Police was an outstanding musician and editor of the American PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK which was published in 1897. He also was the editor of the Manuel de Cantiques et Chants Religieux published in Boston in 1893 and it is thought that this is a French edition of the Parochial Hymn Book. In my examination of this French collection I found a few hymns with popular melodies. For example:

Regina Coeli composed by M. Labat. This arrangement of Regina Coeli appeared in the St. Basil Hymnals from 1891 thru 1918. I sang this with St. Mary’s Choir in the 1980’s.
Another hymn, L’AMOUR DU COEUR DU MARIE uses the same melody as the hymn To Jesus’ Heart All Burning, with fervent love for all men composed by Wm. J. Maher.
Adeste Fideles, although the French hymn is captioned CE PETIT ENFANT EDT NOTRE DIEU, ADORONS LE which loosely translates to This Little Child is Our God, Lets Worship Him.
The Ave Maris Stella, with Latin text and a melody by Father Louis Lambillotte, S.J.
LA PENTECÔTE, ESPRIT-SAINT, DESCENDES EN NOUS, to the melody for Come Holy Ghost, Send Down Those Beams.
There is a section of Benediction hymns and Litanies common to most Catholic hymnals of that time period with Latin text and traditional melodies.

Father Police was widely known in Boston for his devotion to the ministry of confessions, and for his establishment of the English-speaking confraternity of the Third Order of May. He was loved by his parishioners, and all who knew him. His winsome ways encouraged co-operation in the task of embellishing the newly constructed upper church. During his brief year as administrator many finishing touches were added.

The exterior statues of Our Lady of Victories were put on the facade, donated by Caroline Aubry. The statues of Our Lady of Victories and most others in the upper church were imported from France. In 1892, the three altars were erected in the upper church: the main altar being donated by Mr. Louis P. Ober; that of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Mr. Lomer Lahaise; and that of the Sacred Heart by Mrs. John Dean.

Father Police died in April of 1898, at the Carney Hospital in Dorchester, MA, at the age of nearly 64, He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in the Clergymen’s section as Anatole Palici in Malden, MA.

Sadly, Our Lady of Victories Church was permanently closed in 2016.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project for the post cards of Our Lady of Victories which show the original Hook and Hastings Organ, the upper church and the lower basement church.

Jesus, Teach Me How To Pray

The words of this hymn were written by a Sister of Mercy from the Convent of Charleville, County Cork, Ireland. We know her only as Sister M. B. Her hymn first appeared in EASY HYMNS AND SONGS compiled by Father Henry Formby and published by Burns and Lambert of London in 1853. A musical edition of this collection was also published, and one would be extremely fortunate to have a copy. The melody found in the musical edition is a Suabian Air. (Click on any image to enlarge)

Information provided by the archivist of the Charleville convent indicates there were two sisters from that period that might be the author. From the Charleville Community there is Sister Mary Baptist Keating (1823-1863). Catherine Keating was born in Cahir, County Tipperary in Ireland to her parents Patrick and Cathrine in 1823. She entered the convent on September 26, 1855 and was professed April 13, 1858. From the annals of the Charleville convent provided by the archivist we are given the following account:

Sister Mary Baptist Keating was remarkable for many virtues, but for two in particular, to a degree uncommon even in religious communities. These were confidence in God and charity. She seemed never to waver in a steady faith that she would go to heaven when she died and straight. No lecture from the most ascetic writer, no meditation on the purgative way from the keenest Jesuit that ever addressed us in retreat, were able to shake for an instant that deep-rooted confidence or to throw one shade of fear over her face. Her charity was equally remarkable, no matter who was accused, saint or sinner in much or in little. Sr. M. Baptist always had their excuse ready, and we fancied that her features had a look of pain until politeness allowed her to reply and offer her excuse and this was generally so natural and simple that one felt quite satisfied with it.

The circumstances of her last moments were also remarkable. About an hour or two before she died, she called Rev. Mother to her and desired her to put her arm under her head that she might feel she was there for her and that she might die soon. Rev. Mother did so and whispered, Have you the same confidence in your good God that you always had? O, the very same, she said, the greatest confidence. In a little while after we thought she was dying and put the candle in her hand and knelt. After a while she opened her eyes and said, smiling, I thought too I was dying but I won’t for a little while – the moment I see God I’ll die. She allowed Rev. Mother to withdraw her arm but soon motioned her to post again and, Rev. Mother remembers she said, Stay there. I will surely die now. My Jesus… She stretched her feet, closed her mouth and eyes, and died. Sister Mary Baptist Keating died on March 25, 1863 and is buried at the Convent Cemetery in Charleville.

Another likely candidate is Sister Mary Francis Bridgeman (1813-1888), she was a pioneer of the Sisters of Mercy in the Crimea who made many foundations in Ireland and abroad and was forever writing, she is from the Kinsale Community. From the annals of the Kinsale convent we are given the following account:

She began her nursing experience at a Limerick cholera hospital during the 1832 epidemic, and by 1854, she had considerable experience caring for the sick and the poor. She kept an account of her experiences, recording the conditions under which they travelled to the Crimea, the state of the hospitals they worked in, their relationships with the soldiers, medical and military authorities.

All of the sisters mentioned above were acquainted with one another from their time during the Crimean War (1853-1856), as all of them were nurses. The Sisters of Mercy achieved great success as nurses and were recognized by the military commanders for their compassion toward the wounded and their cleanliness of the hospitals during the war effort. Sister Frances Bridgeman, later Mother Francis Bridgeman would work closely with another famous nurse of the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale.

Some of Sister M. B.’s poems became Catholic hymns. Nearly all of them are for children including a Christmas hymn – Heart of the Holy Child, and I Am a Little Catholic, this last hymn would later become, I Am a Faithful Catholic with music attributed to Mozart. She also authored the popular Christmas hymn Oh! Sing a Joyous Carol, which is still being sung today. For now the true identity of Sister M.B. must remain a mystery.

On an aside, another Sister of Mercy from the Charleville Convent who is listed in the index of the hymn book above is Sister M. J. She has been identified as Sister Mary Joseph Croke (née Isabella Croke). She was born in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland in 1825. She was also a nurse during the Crimean War (1854-1856) and kept a journal during the war with entries amounting to over 160 pages. Isabella was a convert to Catholicism and entered the Sisters of Mercy on August 15, 1847, was received on February 22, 1848, and made her vows on April 10, 1850. She wrote poetry, and several became hymns and appeared in Father Formby’s collection of hymns, HYMNS FOR THE YEAR published in 1867, and Westlake’s POPULAR HYMN AND TUNE BOOK published in 1868.

This short narrative on Sister Mary Joseph Croke is taken from the article Sister Mary Joseph Croke – Another Voice from the Crimean War by Mary Ellen Doona.

You might also notice in the index a hymn to St. Patrick by Sister Agnes. The hymn would later become known as Hail, Glorious St. Patrick written by Sister Mary Agnes McSweeny after Ireland had been ravaged by a famine in 1850.

In 1842, Elizabeth (Eliza) McSweeney entered the Convent of Mercy of the Sisters of Mercy in Charleville, Co. Cork, Ireland. She was a member of this community until she left on a mission in the summer of 1866 to Bathurst in Sydney Australia. Sister McSweeney was one of seven nuns to go to Bathurst along with her cousin Sister Mary Ignatius Croke.

The journey to Australia took three months at sea. Sister McSweeney loved teaching First Holy Communion classes, visiting the sick, the poor and the homes of her students as well as visiting the prisoners in the Bathurst jail. She was known for her remarkable abilities and was well versed in French and English literature, church history and skilled in poetry. Sister McSweeney died at the age of 81 in 1905 and is buried at the convent cemetery in Bathurst.

EASY HYMNS AND SACRED SONGS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN was a small sized text collection of Catholic hymns compiled by Father Henry Formby (1816-1884). The following biographical details on Father Henry Formby are taken from the Biographical Dictionary of the English Catholics, Vol. 2. pages 309-313, by Gillow, Joseph, 1850-1921.

Henry Formby was born in 1816, the son of Henry Grenehalgh Formby, second son of Richard Formby, of Formby Hall, Lancaster, Esq. He was educated at Clitheroe Grammar School, and from there to the Charterhouse School, and ultimately was admitted into Brasenose College, Oxford. Brasenose College is a constituent college of Oxford University. He received a Master of Arts and took Orders in the Church of England and was appointed vicar of the Ruardean village in Gloucester.

His parish was quite large, and he petitioned to have the parish divided but his plan was opposed by his bishop. This was during the Tractarian Movement which he followed with keen interest. Greatly influenced by the conversion of his friend John Henry Newman, he chose to resign his position in the Church of England and was received into the Catholic Church, at St. Mary’s College, Oscott, January 24, 1846. He passed his theology studies at Oscott and was ordained a priest by Bishop Wareing (1791-1865) the first Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Northampton, on September 18, 1847.

For a number of years he served at St. Chads, Birmingham, and at Wednesbury. During the later part of his life, about twenty years, he resided at the Dominican Priory of St. Peter, Hinckley, Leicester where he assisted in preparing the novices for the priesthood.

Father Formby was a prolific writer publishing more than forty volumes of Catholic catechetical material. One such example was a three-part series of Catholic Hymns and Songs for the use of Catholic Schools and Families published in 1853. This collection was sold by Burns & Lambert of London as one volume and carried the Imprimatur of Cardinal Wiseman. Part I of this collection is captioned Catholic Hymns. Part II: Sacred Songs, and Part III: Descriptive Songs. Each part has a list of contents, authors, and index of first lines. At the time of publication many of the authors, including Father Faber, Father Caswall, Cecilia M. Caddell, Sister M. J., and Mary E. Leeson were still living and many of the hymns had never before been published.

In another example, Father Formby published several Bible story books, a series of publications carefully illustrated for use by Catholic families and schools.

Father Formby was the leader in England in producing illustrated catechetical materials for all age groups but most especially the children. He died during a visit to Colonel Worswick who resided at Normanton Hall on March 12, 1884, at the age of sixty-seven. He is buried at St. Joseph’s College, Mill Hill.

The hymn Jesus, Teach Me How to Pray, appeared in a period that produced many hymns for children. Some of Sister M. B.’s hymns found their way into American hymnals including the CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL, 1905 compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer; the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1887, 1907 and 1935 compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame; CROWN HYMNAL, 1913; CLEVELAND DIOCESAN HYMNAL, 1926; OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL, VOL. II, 1927 compiled by the Sisters of Mercy from the Providence, Rhode Island Community and THE ST. FRANCIS PARISH HYMNAL, 1954. A complete list of hymnals can be downloaded clicking on the following link Jesus Teach Me How to Pray – Hymnal Survey

The Melodies

I found twelve different melodies that have been composed for this hymn. Several of the composers and sources have been identified including Frank N. Birtchnell (1860-1941); Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847); a Suabian Air; a Sister of Mercy; a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur; Arthur De Meulemeester; a melody from Muenster’s 1866 Gesangbuch, and a melody by Bishop Schrembs (1886-1945) of Cleveland, Ohio. There are four melodies that I could not identify. (Click on any image to enlarge)

The first melody to be used for Jesus, Teach Me How To Pray, is identified as a Suabian Air. It is found in the musical edition of EASY HYMNS AND SACRED SONGS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN compiled by Father Henry Formby in 1853. It also appears in the CROWN OF JESUS MUSIC compiled by Henry F. Hemy (1818-1888) and published by Thomas Richardson & Sons of London in 1864, and the CROWN HYMNAL, compiled by Msgr. Leslie J. Kavanagh and James M. McLaughlin and published in 1913 by Ginn & Company of Boston.

Monsignor Kavanagh was the Superintendent of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and James M. McLaughlin was the organist at St. Mary’s Church in Boston, Massachusetts. James McLaughlin was also Editor of the School Music Department at Ginn & Company, and later Director of Music in the Boston Public Schools, joined with James A. Reilly to form McLaughlin & Reilly Music Company. McLaughlin & Reilly became one of the largest publishers of Catholic Music in America until the 1970s.

The second melody appeared in the PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK’s of 1883 and 1897 compiled by Father Anatole Police, S.M., The Parochial hymn books were published in Dublin, London, and New York. Father Police came to Boston, sometime during the 1890s, and issued the American version in 1897. The Parochial hymn books contained many of his own hymn tunes with references to other hymn collections such as Oratory Hymn Book, the Holy Family Hymn Book, Hymns for the Year, and of the Rev. J. Furniss’ Sunday School Manual; a selection from the Rev. Fr. Stanfield’s and the Rev. W. Maher’s Hymn Books; besides a large proportion of French, Italian, and German melodies.

This melody also appeared in the ST. PAUL HYMNAL of 1915 compiled by the Diocese of St. Paul, Minnesota. None of the hymn books identify the composer.

The next melody is found in the LAUDATE PUERI published in 1886 by the Sisters of Notre Dame of Cleveland, Ohio. This community of sisters came from Coesfeld, Germany to Cleveland in 1874, at the request of Bishop Richard Gilmour (1824-1981), who was approached by Father F. Westerholt, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Cleveland who wished to have the sisters come and teach at St. Joseph’s School. The composer’s name is not given but many of the tunes were taken from Gesangbuchs of Trier, Cologne, Mainz, and Joseph Mohr’s Cecilia. The LAUDATE PUERI is one of the early German oriented collections that used English text with German melodies.

The fourth melody is found in the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK published in 1887, 1907, and 1935 by Oliver Ditson Company. This collection of hymns was compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur from the Philadelphia Community. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur first arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1840s and quickly spread across the United States establishing convents, schools, and academies.

When trying to identify Sisters who wrote hymns or composed music, difficulties arise. It was the custom in many religious communities not to give credit to individuals but the whole community. In some rare cases, authorship has been known in a verbal tradition and passed down by Sisters who knew the author or composer. In other cases, authorship has been meticulously reconstructed by hymn researchers. In addition, a photograph of an individual Sister is somewhat rare and yet some photographs were taken, usually in groups. It wasn’t until after the 1960s that this custom began to change.

There is one Sister out of all the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who is generally considered the leader in the publication of all the American hymns and songs found in hymn collections. Her name was Sister Aloysius (Josephine) Dorman (1835-1913). I have written about Sister Dorman in a previous the hymn write-up. To learn more, I invite you to read about this wonderful musician by clicking on the following link. Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest.

This melody also appeared in the St. Joseph’s Hymnal compiled by the Sisters of St. Joseph from Nazareth, Michigan published in 1930. Both the 3rd and 6th editions.

Frank N. Birtchnell (ca. 1900) composed the fifth melody. This melody appeared in CATHOLIC HYMNS compiled by Augustus Edmonds Tozer (1857-1910) and published by Carry & Co., of London, and The Frederick Harris Co., of Toronto, in 1898. It would also appear in another collection by Tozer in 1905 and 1933, the CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL, published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York City.

Augustus Tozer was a convert to Catholicism and received his Doctorate from Oxford University and was named a Knight of St. Sylvester for his work in the reform movement in England. His CATHOLIC CHURCH HYMNAL published later was helpful in church music reform in both England and America.

Frank Birtchnell along with Moir Brown, compiled and edited the NOTRE DAME HYMN TUNE BOOK. This hymn collection was published in 1905 by the Rockliff Brothers, LTD., of Liverpool, England. Several hymn tunes by both men can be found in this collection.

A sixth melody appeared in the HOLY FAMILY HYMN BOOK compiled by Father Francis J. Butler, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston in 1904, and published by Thomas J. Flynn & Co. The hymn book contains the words and music of the Hymns found in Butler’s Holy Family Series of Catholic Catechisms, together with the music for Vespers and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Butler’s Holy Family Series of Catechisms was a three-part series for Communion Class, Confirmation Class, and an Advanced Class. In the Preface of the hymn book, it states that The hymn book was compiled mainly for the benefit of Sunday Schools and especially of those schools in which the Holy Family Series of Catechisms was used. The melodies are not new but are approved by long experience as suitable for large bodies of young people. Gratitude is given for the assistance of the Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph’s Academy, Brighton. In this collection, the editors provide several melodies for some of the hymns, and a few indicate the composers name.

The next melody appeared in the NOTRE DAME HYMN TUNE BOOK compiled by Frank N. Birtchnell and Moir Brown and published in 1905 by Rockliff Brothers, LTD., of Liverpool, England. The melody is attributed to Mendelssohn. I believe this to be Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1874) although the hymn book does not give any additional information. Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor.

The eighth melody appears in three separate hymnals. The PSALLITE, 1907 and 1923; HYMNS FOR THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR, 1908; and the SURSUM CORDA, 1925. Information regarding the composer is only vaguely hinted at in the SURSUM CORDA which indicates that Singenberger’s organ book and Mohr’s Caecilia along with other good books on the market were used as resources for the melodies. The PSALLITE ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT edited by Father Ludwig Bonvin, S.J. (1850-1939), gives specific details indicating that the melody was taken from Johann Singenberger (Herder’sche Verlagshandlung, Freiburg i. Br.) collection.

Arthur De Meulemeester (1876-1942) composed the melody found in the ST. CECILIA’S HYMN BOOK published in Dublin, Ireland by Cahill & Company, Limited in 1911. Arthur De Meulemeester compiled, edited, and arranged the hymn book. He was the organist and choirmaster at the Redemptorist Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Belfast for most of his life.

This same melody appeared in the third edition of the REDEMPTORIST HYMN BOOK WITH MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENTS published by Burns, Oates & Washbourne in 1955. The first edition was published in 1947, and the second edition in 1951.

Bishop Joseph Schrembs (1866-1945) composed the tenth melody. He was the Fifth Bishop of Cleveland, Ohio from 1921 to 1945. It appears in the Diocesan Hymnal Part 2 published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York City in 1928. Bishop Schrembs compiled the Diocesan hymnals which consisted of three books.

Part 1 – Communion and Confirmation Hymns, 1926
Part 2 – Devotional Hymns, 1928
Part 3 – Eucharistic Hymns, 1935

Bishop Schrembs was elevated to the office of Archbishop in 1935 and was the Promoter of the Seventh National Eucharistic Congress and Protector of the Priests’ Eucharistic League in the United States.

His melody was harmonized by Monsignor Peter Griesbacher (1864-1933). The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Peter Griesbacher was responsible for a large number of harmonization’s of the hymns found in the Diocesan Hymnals. He was German born and ordained a priest in 1886. He edited a number of publications of Catholic church music and has composed some forty mass settings, a number of cantatas, various choral works, and organ manuals.

Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly, R.S.M., (1857-1936) composed the next melody and it appeared in OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL VOL. II, published by the Sisters of Mercy of Providence, R.I., in 1927. This is the third hymnal compiled by Sister Donnelly during her lifetime. She was recognized by her superiors to be musically gifted. From 1910 to 1916, she served as Reverend Mother of the Providence Community.

Her name and contributions have been forgotten in the history of Catholic musicians. She was a close friend of James A. Reilly, president of the Catholic Music Publishing Company, later McLaughlin & Reilly Company, one of the major publishers and distributor of Catholic music in America. She compiled three hymnals:

THE HOLY FACE HYMNAL (1891)
OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL (1899
OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL VOL. II. (1927)

Many of her compositions were featured in a series of hymn pamphlets which proved to be an enormous success for McLaughlin & Reilly and were sold continually during the company’s existence. You can learn more about Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly and listen to some of her compositions by visiting The Devotional Hymns Project website, and the HYMN OF THE MONTH: Jesus, Keep Me Close to Thee.

The last melody appeared in the LAUDATE CHOIR MANUAL originally compiled around 1904 by Father Joseph Hohe (d. 1925). The LAUDATE, a German centered collection of hymns with English text, continued as the official choir book for the Diocese Leavenworth, Kansas when in 1942, Bishop Paul C. Shulte (1890-1984) approved the revised edition prepared by Father Herman Koch and Father Andrew Green, OSB.

The melody is taken from the Gesang-und Gebetbuch, Muenster, 1866. The same melody is used for the German hymn Jesu, Jesu, Komm’ zu mir or the English version Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me also found in the LAUDATE. I could not locate a copy of the Gesangbuch to confirm the composers name.

Reflection

This hymn was extremely popular at St. Mary’s Parish, Akron, Ohio, where I grew up, especially during daily Mass for the school children and for First Communion. I remember singing this hymn with the choir on many occasions especially for First Communion. I joined St. Mary’s Choir in 1977 and this hymn continued to be used by the parish for nearly thirty years.

The melody I learned to sing is from the Sunday School Hymn Book compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame De Namur, the fourth melody above. When I started researching this hymn, I was not prepared to encounter so many melodies. It is difficult to say which melody is traditional to the hymn. The Suabian melody was the first melody children sang. But I think the melody that has endured out of all those presented here is by the Sisters of Notre Dame, but of course, I favor the melody I learned.

The hymn reminds me of when the apostles asked Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray. (Luke 11:1) This is a good hymn, with a simple melody which is characteristic of children’s hymns. I can’t tell you how many times I have knelt in prayer, at church or at home and invariably my thoughts are interrupted, or some distraction occurs. Sister M. B. must have been keenly aware of these distracting elements in a child’s life when she writes Suffer not my tho’ts to stray, Send distractions far away.

The fourth verse touches me deeply, Make me love Thy Mother Blest, Safe beneath her care to rest, As a bird within its nest, Sweet, Holy Child. It reminds of another verse from another hymn Mother of Mercy, Day By Day, when Father Faber writes, Get me the grace to love thee more, Jesus will give if thou wilt plead, And, Mother! When life’s cares are o’er, O, I shall love thee then indeed.

The hymn was written for children, but as I grow older, I see the wisdom of Sister M. B.’s words in my own daily life as I am sure you will. Take a moment to reflect on the verses and I think you’ll agree.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project for granting permission to use a newly commissioned recording of Jesus, Teach Me How to Pray, from the Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston.

Below is a play list of the melodies presented above. These are computer generated sound files. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener with a good sense of what the hymn sounds like. All the hymns are in the public domain. Music directors, if you use any of these selections in your Sunday or weekly music programs and you make a recording, contact the author and I may feature it in the What’s New section of the website.

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I Need Thee, Precious Jesus

This hymn was written by Frederick Whitfield (1827-1904) an Anglican clergyman, and it first appeared in hymn-sheets and leaflets in various languages in 1855, and later in his collection of SACRED POEMS AND PROSE, 1861. (Click on any of the images to enlarge).

Frederick Whitfield was born at Threapwood, Shropshire, England on January 7, 1829. He attended Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland in 1859 where he earned his Bachelor of Arts. He was ordained to the ministry in the Church of England in 1860 and from there held several positions in succession including curate of Otley, Vicar of Kirby-Ravensworth in Yorkshire, senior curate of Greenwich, and Vicar of St. John’s, Bexley. In 1875 he was sent to St. Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings. He married Sophia Butler, third daughter of Charles Salisbury Butler, Esq. She was born on March 24, 1844 and died at Bournemouth on March 27, 1883.

When the hymn, I Need Thee, Precious Jesus was first published the first verse which begins, I need Thee, precious Jesus, for I am full of sin, was omitted without his permission. By the time corrections were made and reprints issued the omitted version had come into common use and accepted as the original.

Rev. Frederick Whitfield was a prolific author with some thirty works to his credit including: Christ Our Life; Gleanings from Scripture; Voices from the Valley, and Well Springs of Life. Several of his poems became hymns including There is a Name I love to Hear; I have a Great High Priest Above; I saw the Cross of Jesus; Jesus, Thou Name of Power Divine; and I Need Thee, Precious Jesus. The Rev. Frederick Whitfield died at South Norwood on September 13, 1904 after a long and fruitful service in the Church of England. He was 77 years of age.

The verses found in Catholic hymnals were originally altered by a Sister of Notre Dame and they first appeared in the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1887. This collection of hymns was compiled by the Philadelphia Community of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

It was the custom in many religious communities not to give credit to individuals but the whole community and so it is extraordinarily difficult to determine which sister altered the words of this hymn and composed the music. In a previous HYMN OF THE MONTH write-up, there was one Sister out of all the Sisters of Notre Dame who is generally considered the leader in the publication of all the American hymns and songs found in the hymn collections. Her name was Sister Aloysius Josephine Dorman, S.N.D., (1835-1913).

Sister Aloysius was born in Washington, D.C., and entered the congregation at the pioneer Sixth St. Convent, Cincinnati in 1854. Throughout her active years she was a teacher of music and orchestration, publishing songs and hymns for the schools. She taught at Sixth St. Academy, Mount Notre Dame Academy, Reading, Ohio and for many years at Notre Dame Academy, W. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. Sister Aloysius Dorman died April 1, 1913 and is buried in the Notre Dame Cemetery in Hamilton, Ohio.

The Melodies

The hymn appeared in American, British, and Irish hymnals from 1887 thru 1954. A complete list can be found in my Hymnal Survey. The text of the hymn in some hymnals has been changed to favor the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For example, I Need Thee, Heart of Jesus, or I Need Thy Heart, Sweet Jesus. Other alterations appear too, the phrase A friend to soothe and pity is often replaced with A friend to soothe and sympathise. I invite you to read the verses found below and note how they changed over the life of the hymn. In addition to the melody by the Sisters of Notre Dame, there are nine other melodies composed for this hymn.

The first melody is identified as an Old French Carol, and it is found in the St. Cecilia Hymn Book, compiled by Aurthur De Meulemeester (1876-1942) and published in 1911. He was the Organist and Choirmaster at the Clonard Monastery of the Redemptorist Order in Belfast, Ireland a position he held for nearly fifty years.

The second melody was composed by Father L. Comire, S.J., and it appears in the American Catholic Hymnal published in 1913 and 1921. A reference to A Voice from The Tabernacle is given as the source for the words in this hymn. A Voice from The Tabernacle was a series of booklets published for children containing reflections and prayers in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament. I could find little or no information on Father Comire, S.J., except that several of his compositions including Close to Thy Heart and All Ye Choirs of Heaven appear in the hymnal.

A third melody was composed by Joseph G. Marcks (ca. 1900). He was a well-known organist, composer, and piano teacher in New York City. One of his students was George August Fischer of J. Fischer & Brother Music Co., The firm J. Fischer & Brother was once recognized as one of the largest publishers of Catholic Music in the world. Joseph Marcks served at the Holy Name of Jesus Church in 1889 and St. Thomas the Apostle’s Church in 1916. The third melody appears in the De La Salle Hymnal compiled by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (The Christian Brothers) of New York. This group of Brothers also compiled The Catholic Youth’s Hymn Book published in 1871 which saw several printings during the late 19^th century period.

A fourth melody is found in the St. Gregory Hymnal and Choir Book published in 1920 and later in the 1940s. This hymnal and choir book was compiled by Nicola A. Montani (1880-1948). He was a conductor, composer, arranger, and publisher of sacred music. He was the cofounder of the St. Gregory Guild and the Society of St. Gregory. The fourth melody which appears in the hymnal is taken from the Duchovny Spevnik Katholicky published in 1907, a Slovak Hymnal. The greater number of Slovak melodies that appear in the St. Gregory Hymnal were taken from the Duchovny Spevnik Katholicky collection.

The fifth melody is taken from Becker’s gesangbuch published in 1872 (Karl Becker 1804-1877) and is found in the St. Mary’s Hymnal published in 1924. This collection was compiled for the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio by Christian A. Zittel (ca. 1920). The hymnal serves as an anthology of traditional German-American hymnody with numerous melodies from German gesangbuchs of the late nineteenth century including the Cologne, Trier, and St. Gall.

About a dozen of the melodies are from collections by Joseph Mohr and other English sources such as the Roman Hymnal. A talented pupil of John Singenberger, Christian Zittel served as organist for fifty years at the Jesuit church, St. Mary’s, Toledo, Ohio. The St. Mary’s Hymnal was published in the same year that John Singenberger died. Christian Zittel helped to further the reform of church music initiated by Toledo’s Bishop Schrembs in 1915.

The sixth melody was found in the Manual of Select Catholic Hymns and Devotions, 1925 edition. This collection of hymns was originally published in 1885 by Father Philip Mary Colonel, C.SS.R, (1843-1925). The organ accompaniment below was provided by Peter Meggison, producer of The Devotional Hymns Project.

The life of Father Colonel is not easily assembled from the records, some of which are still in old German script. His father was French Catholic and his mother Alsatian Lutheran. After the death of his father the family moved to the United States and settled in New York City. The children attended Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists’ German ethnic parish on the Lower East Side, while the mother attended Lutheran services. It is not known when he emigrated to the United States, but at age 17, he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. His brother entered the Redemptorists’ order before him, and his sister become an Ursuline nun. On the day Philip was invested with the Redemptorist habit, his mother became a Catholic. He became a citizen of the United States in 1883.

He was recognized by his superiors to be a powerful preacher, a fatherly Confessor, a great teacher of the faith who was loved by all especially the children and possessed remarkable musical talents. He served in Redemptorist parishes in Annapolis (St. Mary’s), taught in Ilchester, Maryland, at the Redemptorist house of studies there, and served as well in Baltimore, Philadelphia (St. Peter the Apostle), New York (St. Alphonsus), Boston (Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mission Church), Rochester (St. Joseph’s), Buffalo (St. Mary’s, where he wrote most of his hymnal), and Pittsburgh (St. Philomena).

When Father Colonel died, he had already been at St. Joseph’s Hospital for ten days. His body was transferred to the Chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Many came to pay their respects to the oldest member of the Baltimore Province. He had been in the order longer than any other man and was a priest for 56 years and professed religious for 65. His funeral was attended by great crowds including the teaching sisters, altar boys, and everyone from church. Father Colonel’s body was then buried at Holy Redeemer Cemetery in the Redemptorists’ plot on March 4, the same day as Calvin Coolidge’s inauguration.

The melody was composed by Samuel Richard Gaines (S.R.G., 1869-1945). Samuel Gaines was an organist, choirmaster, conductor, a teacher of singing, a composer of both secular and sacred music and various works for organ and violin. Many of his compositions and harmonizations are featured in the Cleveland Diocesan hymn books and The Manual of Select Catholic Hymns – 1885 and 1925 editions. Some of his compositions include Come, Sweet Jesus (1885 Manual of Select Catholic Hymns; there may be others in this collection), Sweet, Mother Hear (1928 Cleveland Diocesan Hymnal Part 2 – Devotional Hymns), On This Day, O Beautiful Mother (1928 Cleveland Diocesan Hymnal Part 2 – Devotional Hymns), and few sacred hymns published in 1916 and 1918 respectively, The Holy Land and Hold Thou Me Up. Other works include: The night has a thousand eyes – a part song for mens voices, and Robin Goodfellow – madrigal for mixed voices and two flutes.

The seventh melody is found in the Sursum Corda – A collection of hymns for the use of Catholic Schools published in 1925. This collection was prepared at the request of the Venerable Mother Gerard, Provincial Superior of the Sisters of St. Francis, Stella Niagara, New York. The collection was intended to meet the requirements of the new edition of the prayer book Sursum Corda.

The organ accompaniments were arranged by Father Florian Zettel, O.F.M., (1879-1947). He was an organist at the Church of the Ascension in Portland, Oregon. Father Zettel retained those melodies that he considered suitable and added or supplanted wherever he found a change desirable. When suitable melodies could not be found, he introduced original ones. In the collection, new melodies are marked by a small star and melodies that have been slightly changed are marked by two small stars. Since no stars are indicated on the music the melody must be original, however, as with many Catholic hymnals of the same period, author and composer names are not given. In the Introductory Remarks at the beginning of the collection references are given to Singenberger’s organ book, Mohr’s Cecilia, the works by Father Peter Griesbacher, and others. The hymn is captioned I Need Thee, #102, with three verses or stanzas indicates that those verses were contained in the prayer book or a singer edition of the hymnal.

The eighth melody was composed by Frederick (Frederic) W. Helmsley (b. ca.1880). He was an organist at St. Wilfrid’s in Harrogate (Yorkshire), England. He was a teacher of music for piano, organ and composition. There is a characterization of Helmsley by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), which suggests that Frederick Helmsley was not a worthy composer to study under. Gerald Finzi was a well-known British composer who studied under Frederick Helmsley in his early musical career. Several of Frederick Helmsley’s compositions appear in A DAILY HYMN BOOK, published in 1932 and 1948 by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd.

The ninth melody is found in the Laudate Choir Manual, 1942. This diocesan hymnal was compiled by Father Joseph Hohe at the request of Bishop Thomas L. Lillis of Leavenworth, Kansas in 1904. Bishop Lillis initiated a program of liturgical reform in conformity of the recently promulgated Motu Proprio of Pope Pius X. A melody edition titled Laudate containing English hymns, music for the Mass, and other parish services was published in 1909.

The Laudate continued as the official choir book and in 1942 Bishop Paul Schulte approved the revised edition prepared by Father Herman Koch and Father Andrew Green, O.S.B. Also at this time the copyright was turned over to the McLaughlin and Reilly Company. The last edition was published in 1957. Father Hohe who originally compiled the hymnal died on January 20, 1925.

Reflection

The Choir of St. Mary’s in Akron, Ohio under the direction of Ralph Jordan sang this hymn using two arrangements. That of the Sunday School Hymn Book and from the St. Gregory Hymnal and thus I am familiar with both of these melodies, but my favorite melody is by the Sisters of Notre Dame.

The verses are very prayerful calling out to Jesus for friendship, I need Thee, gracious Jesus, I need a friend like Thee. How many of us have need of a friend like Jesus? Someone who really understands our needs, a friend to care for me. We petition Jesus to keep us near to Him, Jesus, keep me near to Thee, Close by Thee, all day. The first verse ends with a plea to Jesus to be patient with us, permit me not, e’en though I would, from Thy loved side to stray.

How tender are the words in the second verse, I need Thee, Heart of Jesus, a friend who truly feels each anxious care, and who knows our anxieties and sorrows, and all my sorrows share. He knows our difficulties, he knows the weight of the cross we bare and though I fall ten thousand times, I’ll fear not but confide, what a beautiful allusion to the Sacrament of Confession.

At St. Mary’s the choir would sing this hymn at Offertory, Communion, when there were devotions to the Sacred Heart, or as a prelude and usually to the melody found in the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK.

A special thank you to the Redemptorist Archives, Philadelphia for providing the photos of Father Philip Mary Colonel, C.SS.R., and the biographical details of his life.

Also, a special note of thanks to the Catholic Music Association of America forum members for their assistance in providing links to Frederick Helmsley.

This hymn has been forgotten by all except for a few vintage organists, hymnologist, and choir members like myself. This is a very beautiful hymn to sing especially in these days when we read about and hear of the need to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Ask your organist or choir director to sing this wonderful hymn at your next Mass.

Below are computer generated sound files of the melodies presented above. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener with a good sense of what the hymn sounds like. All the hymns are in the public domain. Music directors, if you use any of these selections in your Sunday or weekly music programs and you make a recording, contact the author and I may feature it in the What’s New section of the website.

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‘Tis the Month of Our Mother

Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly (1838-1917) is the author of this hymn. This poem that became a hymn was written when she was a young child or perhaps as a young adult. It did not appear in Catholic hymnals until around 1860. The hymn would appear many years later in a collection of her poems Crowned With Stars, published in 1881 by Notre Dame University, Indiana. The poem which became a hymn would go on to become one of the most beloved devotional hymns for the month of May being sung by church choirs, sodality groups, in May processions, home devotions, and schools. (Click on any image to enlarge)

Eleanor is also the author of more than thirty volumes of poetry, most of it from a Catholic perspective, and is the author of several works of fiction, as well as a biographer who wrote the memoirs of Father Felix Jospeh Barbelin, S.J, and Sister Mary Gonzaga Grace of The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent De Paul.

I have written before about Eleanor Donnelly’s life, so if you would like to learn more about her, please visit the HYMN OF THE MONTH write-up Daughter of a Mighty Father. I will briefly mention a few highlights. Eleanor was an educated woman and along with her sister could translate both French and German. She was known to have a full rich voice trained at its best with clear enunciation and a woman of charm. She was described as the Adelaide Procter of America by Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia and was honored by two Popes for her sacred poetry, especially to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She published a collection of original hymns to Sacred Heart in 1883 and 1912 and carefully chose the melodies for each of them.

Eleanor was born in Philadelphia, the sixth child of Dr. Philip Carroll and Catherine Gavin Donnelly. Her elder brother, Hon. Ignatius Donnelly, ex-Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, was the first to recognize his little sister’s poetic gift. She wrote her first poem when she was eight years old and published a hymn to the Madonna, in a child’s paper, at the age of nine. She was a contributor to several Catholic magazines and newspapers including the Ave Maria. By the turn of the twentieth century, the Ave Maria was the most popular English-language Catholic magazine in the world. The magazine was published on Sundays until 1970.

She was for a time chief editor of the magazine, Our Lady of Good Counsel, conducted by the Augustinian Fathers. In The Catholic Standard and Times, a Catholic weekly of Philadelphia with which she was connected for some time as associate editor, much of her work appeared, even as late as a month before her death. She spent her final years among the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart whom she dearly loved and died one April morning on the Feast of St. Catherine Siena, the name she took upon entering the Third Order of St. Dominic. The Sisters honored her by wrapping her in the Dominican habit that she so highly prized. Her contributions to Catholic literature and her publications are too numerous to mention.

As indicated above, the earliest appearance of the hymn is found in THE CATHOLIC VOCALIST, 1860 compiled by Henry T. Rocholl. THE CATHOLIC VOCALIST was a small periodical of sacred music consisting of litanies, anthems, motets, and hymns for churches, schools, and private families. This collection of sacred music highlights Marian hymns from THE SACRED WREATH.

THE SACRED WREATH and the first May devotions in the United States.

The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the oldest sodality in the United States as well as May Devotions fostered by members of the Jesuit Order, had a huge impact on religious practices of this country. The first May Devotions held in this country occurred at Georgetown University in 1830. The first American parish Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in Philadelphia in 1841 by Father Felix J. Barbelin, S.J., (1808-1869). Father Barbelin was beloved by the city of Philadelphia who regarded him as the Apostle of America. It was Father Barbelin who first made the singing of Catholic hymns popular in Philadelphia and also established what would become May Crowning’s and May Processions in this country.

Father Barbelin was born in Luneville, France, and came to the United States where he joined the Jesuit Order in 1831. As a young priest he desired to go west as a missionary to the Indians, but became pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Georgetown, and a professor at Georgetown College. In 1838, he became pastor of St. Joesph’s Church in Philadelphia where he served for twenty-five years. During his pastorship, he founded St. Joseph’s Hospital and in 1852, he was named president of St. Joseph’s College.

Father Felix Barbelin prepared the first Manual for the Sodality. This Manual contained the Office of The Blessed Virgin, the Office for the Dead, the origin and rules of the sodality, and various prayers. The Sodality gradually developed a collection of hymns. The hymns began as a small private collection that would eventually be published as THE SACRED WREATH in 1844 by Eugene Cummiskey.

THE SACRED WREATH saw several editions which included an appendix of hymns, these were added by Father Edward Sourin, S.J., in 1863 and 1867. Father Sourin was born in Philadelphia to Irish Catholic parents, both of whom died when he was still quite young. The children were placed in foster care and separated. Edward was the youngest and was adopted by Catholic friends, however his brother was less fortunate and was adopted by a Protestant family, he grew up and became a Methodist minister. Edward faired much better and was sent to St. Mary’s College, Emmittsburg. He excelled in his literary studies, became fluent in Latin, Greek, French, and wrote poetry with ease and grace.

In 1851, Father Sourin become an assistant at St. John the Evangelist Church in Philadelphia. He established a St. Mary’s Sodality in 1852 and became Vicar-General of the diocese. He was then appointed pastor of the Philadelphia Cathedral and joined the Jesuit Order in 1855. In 1859, he was once again pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church when the church was turned over to the Jesuits. Some of his poems became hymns and appeared in the Second Revised Edition of THE SACRED WREATH. These include O blest forever the mother; For all that seek her holy shrine; and possibly As the dewy shades of even. It is not known whether Father Sourin or another rearranged the hymn Mother Dear, O Pray for Me, by Issac Woodbury.

There is more that I could write about both of these humble priests but that is beyond the scope of this write-up. So, check back often to read my HYMN OF THE MONTH series where I’ll feature more details on these two priests in future hymn write-ups.

No music was provided by the editors of THE SACRED WREATH, but some hymns had their melodies indicated suggesting they could be sung to known airs. The Preface says these were chosen because they would be familiar to singers. The hymn, ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother first appeared in the appendix of the 1863 edition.

Copies of the 1863 and 1867 editions are extremely rare. A copy of the 1877 third edition is shown above, and the hymn is found in the appendix (see below) captioned Hymn to our Blessed Mother.

Other hymnals:

In addition to the Catholic Vocalist and the Sacred Wreath, the hymn ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother appeared in more than twenty hymnals. The hymn gained its widest use through the St. Basil’s hymnal rather than the original source or any other hymnal. A complete list of the hymnals can be downloaded by clicking on the link provided here. Tis the Month of Our Mother – Hymnal Survey

Melodies

The melody for this hymn, which has become the traditional melody, was composed by Fr. Louis Lambillotte, S.J., (1796-1855) a composer, publisher, and a leader in the restoration of Plain Chant. The melody is based on C’est le mois de Marie, meaning It’s the Month of Mary, a French sacred song to our Blessed Mother and can be found in Fr. Lambillotte’s 1842 and 1867 Choix de Cantiques, a collection of sacred hymns. I also found one other melody in the SURSUM CORDA hymnal prepared at the request of Ven. Mother Gerard, Provincial Superior at Stella Niagra, New York, and published in 1925.

Reflection

This is one of my favorite hymns and St. Mary’s Choir would often sing this hymn during the Marian months of the year and for the parish May Crowning. I was fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of choir members, many of my friends have long since departed for their final reward. In 1982, St. Mary’s Parish in Akron, Ohio held its annual May Crowning. A program was printed up for this special outdoor event which was attended by many parishioners.

I made a recording on a cassette tape of the hymns, and I saved the program which I now share with you. The cassette tape of the May Crowning has seen better days and frankly I am surprised it still plays at all. I extracted the hymn ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother’ and include it in the playlist below. With the exception of a handful of parishioners like myself, the hymns listed in this program will be new to many of the parishioners now attending St. Mary’s.

In the first verse of ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother, the hymn speaks of the blessed and beautiful days, and for St. Mary’s parishioners this is true, we just completed the installation of a brand-new roof for the church, a new school science lab was completed, a Marian meditation garden is about to be installed, and a downstairs bathroom in the church has been renovated, with many more projects and events scheduled to begin. So, indeed we have reasons for our lips and our spirits to glow with love and praise.

I think today we don’t sing hymns to our Blessed Mother as often as we should. I have observed musically speaking, that we pretty much keep to the seasons and if it’s not the season, we tend to forget about her. If the only time you told your own mother that you loved her was on her birthday, or Christmas, or Easter, I don’t think you would have a particularly good relationship with her. When I sang with the choir, we always had a Marian hymn to sing before Mass or during Mass. There was no special occasion or event, we sang the hymns, just because, because we love Our Mother.

Hymns are a most effective way for the congregation to express this love and so we should sing them more often; the verses also teach me about the doctrines of our faith. So, be spontaneous and ask your organist or music director to incorporate more Marian hymns into your Sunday Mass and you’ll see what a wonderful relationship you will have with your Mother and with her Son! Take a moment to reflect on these beautiful verses and look for the blessed and beautiful days in your life.

Be sure to read about the most widely used May Crowning hymn – Bring Flowers of the Rarest.

Copies of the Sacred Wreath from 1844 and 1877 and the photographs of Father Barbelin and Father Sourin, I am indebted to the Georgetown University Archivist. Many thanks to the Villanova Falvey University Librarian for helping with an interlibrary loan of the Sacred Wreath Second Edition.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison producer of the Devotional Hymns Project for allowing me to link to a recording by the Seraphim Singers at Holy Name Church, Boston.

Also, to Noel Jones, AAGO in granting permission to link to A Catholic Book of Hymns and Chants with nearly three hundred time-honored traditional Catholic hymns, including ‘Tis the Month of Our Mother. You can download A Catholic Book of Hymns & Chants FREE at www.sacredmusiclibrary.com

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Mary! dearest Mother!

Father Frederick Faber (1814-1863) wrote the words to this hymn. It is found in his book of HYMNS that was published in 1861 and captioned A Daily Hymn to Mary (For the Children of St. Philip’s Home). (Click on any image to enlarge)

Father Faber’s journey and conversion to Catholicism cannot be fully explained in this short write-up. I will briefly mention that his journey began when he was attending Oxford University. He was raised a Calvinist, and his religious ideas and views were clearly defined in his mind when he arrived at Oxford in 1832. During this time period a great movement which would become known as the Oxford Movement was underway. I wrote a summary of Father Faber’s journey from Calvinism to Anglicanism and finally to Catholicism in an earlier HYMN OF THE MONTH article over a year ago, if you would like to learn more about his conversion journey and his meeting with the Pope, please follow the link to Mother of Mercy, Day by Day.

I would like to focus just a little on Father Faber’s collection of hymn books. Father Faber authored one-hundred-fifty hymns, many of which were composed to music and several of which we still sing today including:

Faith of our fathers, living still
Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
Dear Angel Ever at my Side
Dear Guardian of Mary
Like the Dawning
O Come and Mourn With Me Awhile
There’s a wideness in God’s Mercy

Father Faber began writing hymns in 1848, a few years after his conversion to Catholicism in 1845. The first two hymns that he wrote took place while on a retreat in Yorkshire in the small sea-side town of Scarborough. The hymns were Mother of Mercy, Day by Day and Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All.

His first hymn book was published in 1849, under the title of JESUS AND MARY. The first edition contained forty-three hymns and was published in England and Ireland. It was very successful with one-thousand copies sold. In 1852, after the success of the first edition, a second edition of his JESUS AND MARY was published which added twenty new hymns. This second edition sold more than ten-thousand copies. This was followed in 1854 by a third edition, called THE ORATORY HYMN BOOK, and containing seventy-seven hymns.

In 1856, a collection called POEMS was published. These are not hymns as such, but are poems written by Father Faber on various subjects, places, things, and persons. Some are poems from his early years at Oxford University.

In 1861, a new collection titled HYMNS, was published with more than fifty new hymns. Father Faber wished his hymn collection to favor the Psalter, thus he chose the number one-hundred-fifty as the limit of his collection. The 1861 edition of HYMNS is where we find all one-hundred-fifty hymns in their original form. It must be pointed out that numerous copies of this collection under various titles including SELECTED HYMNS; HYMNS FROM FABER; FABER’S HYMNS with Illustrations, etc., were sold under the auspices of different publishers in England and America. The compilers of these hymn books have either with permission, or without, altered the language, meter, or choruses of his hymns, sometimes to suit their own taste, or to accommodate them to particular tunes.

In the Author’s Preface found in the 1861 London edition, it is pointed out that some of these compilers even changed the doctrine of the hymns, to which Father Faber was less than sympathetic. These editions can easily be identified by the absence of hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints, and Angels. Even so, Father Faber was glad that his compositions should be of any service and refused neither Catholics nor Protestants the free use of them. However, he strictly informed anyone wishing to use his hymns that no direct alterations should be attempted.

As an example, in the collection HYMNS from FABER, published in 1867 by the company Bridgeman and Childs, from Northampton, Massachusetts we can read in the Preface about such exclusions and alterations.

Father Faber’s hymns and poems continue to be reprinted even today. Original copies of some collections can still be found on eBay and other online vintage booksellers. Father Faber also authored of several books including:

All For Jesus
The Precious Blood;
The Foot of the Cross
Growth In Holiness
The Creator and the Creature
The Blessed Sacrament
Purgatory

Many of these are available through Amazon, and online Catholic Book publishers. I have read a few of these books and found them to be an excellent source of Catholic teachings and spiritual nourishment.

The hymn Mary! dearest Mother! appeared in several Catholic hymnals among them are ORATORY HYMNS with TUNES, 1878 arranged by William Pitts; THE PAROCHIAL HYMN BOOK, 1881 and 1883; WREATH OF MARY, 1883; the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL from 1888 thru 1925; CONVENT HYMNS with MUSIC, 1891; THE NOTRE DAME HYMN TUNE BOOK, 1905; ST. CECILIA’S HYMN BOOK (Dublin); AMERICAN CATHOLIC HYMNAL, 1913 and 1921; the STANDARD CATHOLIC HYMNAL, 1921; the Cleveland DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART 2, 1928; the ORDINARY OF THE MASS AND A COMPLETE MANUAL OF HYMNS, 1935; the ALVERNO HYMNAL, 1953; and a few others. My hymnal survey for Mary Dearest Mother is available for download.

The traditional text of the hymn with its chorus Oh We Pray Thee, loved Mary, fondly we entreat, first appeared in the WREATH OF MARY, compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame, and published by the Oliver Ditson Company in 1883, with the words attributed to a Sister of Notre Dame. The first and second verses are from Father Faber’s hymn, it is the third verse and the chorus that were written by a Sister of Notre Dame.

Identifying the Sister who composed the words of the third verse and the chorus is extremely difficult because of the custom that in religious orders attribution should be given to the community rather than the individual. It was only after Vatican II that this custom began to change. In many instances the identity was handed down by verbal tradition from one sister to another. In other instances, the identity has been carefully stitched together by hymn researchers.

The Melodies

I found seven different melodies that have been arranged or composed. The first melody considered traditional to this hymn and is found in the WREATH OF MARY, 1883. It is listed as a German Air.

I am aware of a few Sisters of Notre Dame who were hymn writers including Sister Mary Xavier who gave us the hymn Just for Today, plus several other hymns; Sister Mary of St. Philip who gave us the translation for O Come Divine Messiah; and Sister Mary of St. Joseph who gave us the hymn O Infant Jesus, but there is no evidence linking any of them to Mary! dearest Mother! So, the identity of this Sister remains a mystery.

The second melody is found in the ORATORY HYMNS with TUNES, 1878. It was composed by William Pitts (1829-1903), the son of an organ builder. He served as the organist at the Oratory in London for more than fifty years.

A third melody is found in the CONVENT HYMNS and MUSIC used by the Pupils of the Sisters of Notre Dame, published in Liverpool, England in 1891. This hymn collection was widely used in England, Ireland, and perhaps Australia. My copy shipped to me came from Dublin, Ireland. There is no Preface or Introduction to this collection which contains forty-four hymns. A handful are from Father Faber’s HYMNS.

The fourth melody was composed by Arthur De Meulemeester (1876-1942) and appeared in ST. CECILIA’S HYMN BOOK, published in Dublin, Ireland. He was the organist and choirmaster at the Clonard Monastery of the Redemptorist Order in Belfast (Ireland). He founded the St George’s Singing Choir which achieved great success under his leadership. In 1911, he compiled, arranged, and edited the St Cecilia’s Hymn Book, with two hundred sacred songs in English that was widely used. He was a prolific composer of sacred music, several Masses, and motets. He was decorated by Pope Pius X and received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award for his distinguished service to the Catholic Church.

A fifth melody appears in the AMERICAN CATHOLIC HYMNAL published by P. J. Kennedy & Sons of New York City in 1913 and again in 1921. This collection of Hymns, Latin Chants, and Sacred Songs for Church, School, and Home was compiled by The Marist Brothers. This hymnal contains more hymns from Catholic periodicals than perhaps any other for its time. About twenty are taken from the Messenger of the Sacred Heart, Ave Maria, Rosary Magazine, Voice, and Sentinel of the Blessed Sacrament.

These periodicals were quite popular during the late 19th and early 20th century periods, and often contained sacred poems that would be composed to music. In the 1913 edition, the composer indicated is M. H., and in the 1921 edition for the same hymn and tune it is listed as a French melody. The 1921 edition also contains a listing of authors, composers, and meters.

A sixth melody was found in the Cleveland, Ohio DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART TWO – DEVOTIONAL HYMNS. The Diocesan Hymnals were compiled by The Most Rev. Joseph Schrembs, D.D., (1911-1945), Bishop of Cleveland. Bishop Schrembs was elevated to Archbishop in 1935 and hosted the Seventh National Eucharistic Congress in Cleveland in the same year. The hymn collection was published by J. Fischer & Bro., New York in 1928.

The melody was composed by Bishop Schrembs and harmonized by Joseph Ignace Müller (1880-1950). He is one of several musicians acknowledged for harmonizations in the Diocesan Hymnals, and he is listed in the Catalog of Copyright Entries of 1942, for a Mass in Honor of St. Benedict. Joseph was an organist at St. John the Baptist Church in the Bronx, NY., in 1918. He died October 2, 1950 around age 70.

The last melody I found appeared in the ALVERNO HYMNAL AND CHOIR BOOK PART 3, published in 1953. The Alverno Hymnals were compiled by Sister Mary Cherubim Schaefer, OSF (1886-1977). Sister Cherubim was a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis. The Alverno Hymnal was published in three parts over the course of five years. They are:

1948 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 1 – Advent, Christmas, Holy Name, Epiphany, Holy Family
1950 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 2 – Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, The Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, Christ the King, and All Saints.
1953 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 3 – Hymns for Low Mass, to Our Lord, the Holy Eucharist, the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Guardian Angles, Holy Souls and SS Joseph, Francis of Assisi, Patrick, Anthony, and Cecilia.

The melody was composed by Father Joseph J. Pierron (1875-1949). He is best known for compiling the AVE MARIA HYMNAL in 1936. The AVE MARIA HYMNAL saw several printings with the first edition published in 1929 and the last edition in 1941. The hymnal is a collection of English and older German melodies. Joseph Pierron was ordained a priest in 1905 and studied music in Europe for three years. He held assistant positions in various parishes and pastorship in several prominent churches throughout Wisconsin. In November 1948, he was made director of Music at Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home in Boys’ Town, Nebraska where he served until his death in April 1949. Father Pierron was editor of the Caecilia magazine in 1930, and composed several hymns, hymn collections, mass settings, and authored several articles on music.

Reflection

Mary! dearest Mother! is a beautiful collection of daily invocations to the Blessed Mother for her help, her intercession, and her protection. Just as children love and implicitly trust in their mothers so we love and place our trust in her. We humbly seek her help to guide us to our Saviour and leave us at His feet.

Some will say that when we love our Blessed Mother this much that we place her above her Son! What nonsense, how can we love her more than Jesus loves her? As you sing the verses you are drawn into the poetic imagery of Father Faber’s hymn. How many times during our lives do we seem lost in earth’s dark night? How often does some anxiety overwhelms us, some fear because of the words or actions of others and oh! how our mind plays tricks on us when we cannot see, what is past or present, what is yet to be.

And so,

Jesus! hear Thy children

From Thy throne above.

Give us love of Mary,

As Thou wouldst have us love.

The melody I learned to sing is from the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL and is the traditional melody from the WREATH OF MARY.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison producer of the Devotional Hymns Project for allowing me to link to a recording of professional voices at St. Peter’s Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

Below are computer generated sound files. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener with a good sense of what the hymn sounds like. Music and choir directors, if you use any of these selections in your Sunday or weekly music programs and you make a recording, contact the author so I can feature it in the What’s New section of the website.

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God of Mercy and Compassion

Father Edmund Vaughan, C.SS.R., wrote the words to this hymn, and it first appeared in the HYMNS FOR THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY FAMILY published by Burns & Lambert of London in 1854. This small and rare collection of Catholic hymns is currently not available. The next earliest appearance is in THE HOLY FAMILY HYMNS, captioned Act of Contrition, No. 99. This collection of hymns was published in 1860 London by Richardson and Son with the approval of Cardinal Wiseman (1805-1865). The hymn book contained both words and music. (Click on any image to enlarge)

It is beyond the scope of this short write-up to do a detailed biography of Father Vaughan. However, with the help of the Australian and English Provincials, the effort of a priest assigned to help, the work of Father Samuel J. Boland, C.SS.R., (1922-2011) who has written of the Redemptorists in Australia, I have put together the bits and pieces in order to present to you the following narrative on the life of Father Vaughan. Photographs were supplied courtesy of St. Mary’s Monastery, London, and those from Father Boland’s book Faith of our Fathers: The Redemptorists in Australia 1882-1982 with permission from the Australian Provincial. The only photographs of Father Vaughan that appear in this write-up are from his time in Australia.

Edmund Vaughan was born at Courtfield, Herefordshire, England in 1827, the son of William Vaughan and his wife Theresa. He was the youngest of nineteen children and while still a young boy, he suffered the loss of both parents. He was brought up in the family of his eldest brother who inherited the Vaughan estate of Courtfield, Herefordshire. Father Vaughan comes from an exceptional Catholic family noteworthy in producing vocations to the church.

One of his brothers, William became the Bishop of Plymouth, England; and two of his nephews would later become bishops, Herbert who became a Cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster, and Roger Bede, who became the second Archbishop of Sydney. Two of his three sisters became nuns. Father Vaughan was educated at Stonyhurst College, and was a science teacher for a few years at St Mary’s College, Oscott near Birmingham, before preparing for the priesthood. He was twenty-two and in deacon’s orders when he joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, and spent a year of initiation at Saint-Trond near Liège, Belgium. In 1852, he took his religious vows and was ordained a priest becoming one of the first men from England to join the Redemptorists.

Among the early Redemptorists who knew Father Vaughan we have Father Robert Coffin, C.SS.R., (1819-1885) the first superior of the English Redemptorists. Father Thomas Edward Bridgett, C.SS.R., (1829-1899), a convert educated at Cambridge and became a gifted historian. Father John Furniss, C.SS.R., (1809-1865) who is best known for his gift of missions to children, and Father William Plunkett, C.SS.R., (1824-1900) who was the first Irish Redemptorist.

Father Vaughan was an exceptional orator, theologian, musician, and a teacher of science. He quickly devoted himself to missions following in the footsteps of St. Alphonsus Liguori who had founded the Order. Father Vaughan can be characterized as a man of great patience, understanding, and meticulous in details. His concern was not with crowds or criticism but the people. During the missions he had the people pray and he taught them to pray. He instructed them in the most essential truths of the Catholic faith, and in his sermons, he spoke plainly to the people without rhetoric or harshness. His aim was to restore in souls the practices and values of Catholic life. He was a man after the heart of St. Alphonsus Ligouri.

In time, and with experience in the missions, he was chosen to be superior of a foundation to be made in Scotland. In 1867, he established St. Mary’s Monastery in Perth, the first religious house to be established in Scotland since the days of King Henry VIII (1509-1547) and the Reformation.

It was during these early missions that Father Vaughan wrote hymns and he is recognized as the translator of the hymns of St. Alphonsus Ligouri. I have found twenty-two hymns written or translated by Father Vaughan with possibly more to be discovered. These hymns first appeared in English and American Catholic hymnals of the 1850s and 1860s.

During the early 1800s, Australia was for many in the world an unknown country slowly emerging from its convict days as a penal colony, and for those early pioneering Catholic clergy, traveling the great distances between the settlements made it nearly impossible to provide the pastoral care that was needed. Troubles for the Catholic Church in Australia were increasing too. The discovery of gold in the 1850s brought a rapid increase in more settlements, many of which were scattered to the remotest parts of the outback. Anti-Catholicism was on the rise, and the Education Acts of 1870s deprived Catholic schools of government aid. The isolation of settlements in the outback meant that for many Catholics there was no Mass, no Sacraments, or Catholic education for many years.

Between 1848 and 1867, Archbishop John Polding (1794-1877), Bishop James O’Quin (1819-1881), and Father Patrick Dunne (1818–1900) traveled to Europe and Ireland seeking Redemptorists foundations for Australia, and even though the Redemptorists had spread throughout Europe, the United States, and the West Indies, they were for the most part staffed by only a handful of priests. The possibility of such and undertaking for a land so far away and still virtually unknown was something the Superior General in Rome could not foresee happening anytime soon. Undaunted, the bishops continued to make several trips to Europe to appeal for help.

In 1880, Bishop James Murray (1828-1909) of Maitland was visiting and old friend in Ireland, Bishop Patrick Francis Moran (1830-1911) of Ossory who in a few short years would become Cardinal and Archbishop of Sydney. Bishop Murray had been in Ireland twelve years earlier when he observed the church filled with men twice each week for confraternity devotions. During this visit, he made a personal commitment to bring the Redemptorists back with him to Australia. From Ireland, Bishop Murray traveled to Rome with Bishop Moran when they met with Father Nicolas Mauron (1818-1893) the Superior General. They brought to his attention of the need for a foundation in Australia. This time, a consensus was reached, and the Superior General approvingly referred them to Father Coffin, who was the superior of the English Redemptorists. Bishop Murray satisfied that he now had approval returned home, for it was late in the year and his duties as bishop did not allow him to winter in Europe.

In 1881, Bishop Murray was back in England and wasted no time in approaching Father Coffin with a proposal that the Fathers take charge of a parish. Redemptorists often shy away from parish duties so that they can be free for missions, nevertheless, after some rather lengthy discussions and concessions it was agreed that the Fathers would take over a parish just for a time until a permanent monastery could be established. Bishop Murray made several parish suggestions but the one he felt would be most suitable was Singleton. Bishop Murray became a friend to the Redemptorists and was one of their most trusted advisers and supporters for as long as he lived.

Fathe Mauron, the Superior General was most agreeable to this new venture and in November of 1881 he called Father Coffin to Rome to discuss which Fathers would form the foundation in Australia. After careful consideration, Father Edmund Vaughan was chosen to be superior for the new foundation. Three other Redemptorists priests and two brothers were chosen to accompany Father Vaughan. They were Father Thomas O’Farrell (1898-1907), Father James Hegarty, Father Henry Halson, Brother Daniel Gleeson, and Brother Lawrence Watters.

The journey to Australia took several weeks, the pioneering group of Redemptorists left England on or about February 9 and traveled aboard the Orient steamer Sorata arriving in Sydney Harbor on March 31, 1882. The missioners brought with them a small picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that had been blessed by Pope Leo XIII. In this new land, the Fathers made the Mother of Perpetual Help their patron and her picture is found in Catholic churches throughout Australia and New Zealand.

When Father Vaughan arrived in Australia, he was already 54 years of age. The parish church in Singleton was small but adequate and nearby was a convent of the Sisters of Mercy with a school for girls. The presbytery or the home for the Fathers which had been built recently, was only large enough to accommodate two priest making living conditions somewhat challenging for the Fathers. The Fathers also quickly learned that the small parish entrusted to them was in debt, in need of repairs, and was serving as a school for boys during the week.

Within the first year of the Fathers arrival at Singleton and from some of their first meetings with the Australian Catholics, one thing stood out more than all the others. It was observed that there was a certain aridity in church services. It was determined that what was missing was music and singing. Father Vaughan set out to rectify the situation. He established a Society of St. Cecilia for the adults whose purpose it was to promote a reverent and beautiful celebration of the Liturgy. He also compiled the first Catholic hymn book in Australia which became THE AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC HYMN BOOK with first edition published in 1884. The collection contained some of the most popular English hymns, a few of his own compositions, and a number of his beautiful translations from St. Alphonsus. For the children’s Masses, he taught them to sing the hymns of Father Furniss. The hymn book was published in both Australia and New Zealand until 1944.

Within the first five years the missions had expanded into New Zealand and in the summer of 1886 the Fathers crossed into Southern Australian. Also during the first five years the number of Fathers increased to include five additional priests and one brother. The house in Singleton, originally built for two priest was no longer a suitable home for so many. Land was purchased in Waratah, New South Whales just outside of New Castle and about fifty miles southeast of Singleton. A new home was erected and built at a place known as Harbottle Hill which Father Vaughan would later rename Mount St. Alphonsus. By 1887, the Fathers had moved from the small house in Singleton to their new home.

Father Vaughan remained in Australia for twelve years and was affectionately known to his companions as the grand old chief. He was recalled to England in 1894 and was appointed Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist houses of both England and Ireland. He died in 1908 after many years of faithful service.

There is so much more that could be written regarding the Redemptorists in Australia and of Father Vaughan’s role in those early pioneering days. I will revisit the Australian missions in future write-ups, so look for them in the months ahead. Much of what I have written could not have been possible without the work of Father Samuel J. Boland, which I mentioned at the beginning of this write-up. I found his book on the Redemptorists in Australia to be a wonderful source of spiritual nourishment and enlightenment during the first part of this 2024 Lenten season.

The Melodies

The hymn God of Mercy and Compassion has appeared in nearly fifty Catholic hymnals including those from America, England, Ireland, and Scotland. As of this writing, it is not known if the hymn appeared in the Australian Catholic Hymn Book. Rather than list the nearly fifty hymnals, I have provided a list that you can download. God of Mercy and Compassion – Hymnal Survey

In his Handbook for American Catholic Hymnals, J. Vincent Higginson (aka Cyr de Brant), identified six melodies which includes the traditional French melody Au Sang Qu’un Dieu. In addition to these six melodies, I have found ten more for a total of sixteen melodies. This is perhaps the greatest number of melodies for any one hymn that I know of or have written about.

Some of the melodies not listed by Mr. Higginson were composed or arranged by Nicola Montani; Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly, R.S.M.; Bishop Schrembs/Alfred Kalnins; a Marist Brother – Brother M. J. (B.M.J.) a pseudonym for Brother Zephiriny; Bernhard Molique; Henri F. Hemy, and several others yet to be identified.

The following section on the melodies is quite lengthy. I grouped them by time period (ex. 1860s, 1900s, etc.) and kept the details as brief as possible although there are a few exceptions. In a few instances, I only have melody editions of the hymnals and I cannot provide accompaniments. To facilitate an easier layout and for readability, I used pages from later period hymnals rather than the organ manuals. (Click on any of the images to enlarge)

The traditional French melody Au Sang Qu’un Dieu is from an opera by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736), he is credited with adapting/ harmonizing the tune for one of his operas. The melody appears to have been adopted quite early in Catholic hymnals as evidenced in the HOLY FAMILY HYMNS, 1860 shown at the beginning of this write-up. It is the most widely used melody appearing in a third of all the hymnals I surveyed for God of Mercy and Compassion.

During the 1860s and into the early 1900s three melodies appeared in Catholic hymnals. One of the melodies that appeared early on was composed by Henri F. Hemy (1818-1888) and appeared in his CROWN OF JESUS MUSIC. This collection was published in four parts but also as one volume in 1864. The melody also appeared in the CROWN HYMNAL compiled by Father Leslie J. Kavanagh who was the Superintendent of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and James M. McLaughlin who was the organist at St. Mary’s Church in Boston, Massachusetts. The hymnal was published in 1912 in both the United States and England. Father Kavanagh was elevated to Monsignor in 1919. The melody later appeared in the LAUDATE CHOIR MANUAL, 1942.

The second melody to appear in the 1860s was composed by Bernhard Molique (1802-1869) and is found in the POPULAR HYMN AND TUNE BOOK compiled by Frederick Westlake. This hymnal was published in 1868 London by Burns and Oates, and in New York by the Catholic Publication Society.

The third melody appeared in the American hymnal the CANTICA SACRA or Hymns for Children of Catholic Schools. The first edition of this hymnal was published in Boston in 1865 and was compiled by the Bishop of Boston, Rt. Rev. John B. Fitzpatrick (1812-1866). This collection contains hymns by Cummings, Faber, Caswall, and the translated hymns of St. Alphonsus Ligouri. A third edition was published in 1880. The music for this third tune appears to be a variation of traditional French melody and written for Hymn to the Holy Trinity.

Four melodies appeared in the early 1900s. The first is from the ARUNDEL HYMNS published in 1905. One of the editors was Henry, Duke of Norfolk who sent a copy of the hymn book to Pope Leo XIII for which he received a letter of approbation. The Arundel Hymnal was the first major English collection of the twentieth century. It is also one of the first hymnals to have author and composer details. This particular melody does not indicate a composer.

The second melody appears in the American Catholic Hymnal compiled by The Marist Brothers and published by J. P. Kennedy of New York in 1913 and later in 1921. Many of the hymns in this collection were taken from Catholic periodicals including the Messenger of Sacred Heart, Ave Maria, the Rosary Magazine, and others. Authors and composers are also various and include Miss Isabel Williams of Boston. She contributed several Holy Communion hymns which appear for the first time. There was also M. S. Pine, a pseudonym for a Sister of the Visitation – Sr. Mary Paulina Finn. Several of the melodies are by one of the Marist Brothers, B.M. or B.M.J., a pseudonym for Brother Zephiriny. He was the compiler and editor for the hymnal. Brother Zephiriny was one of the outstanding leaders in the U.S. province from 1892 until his death in 1928.

The third melody is found in the MANUAL OF CATHOLIC HYMNS for Schools, Choirs, and Congregational Singing. This collection of hymns and Mass settings which include funeral services, vespers, benediction services, and various litanies was compiled by Father Barnabas Dieringer (1863-1943), Professor of Music as St. Francis Seminary in Wisconsin and Father Joseph Pierron (1875-1945), pastor of St. Patrick’s Church, Lodi, Wisconsin. The hymnal was published by the Benziger Brothers of New York City with offices in Cincinnati and Chicago. The same melody appeared in the AVE MARIA HYMNAL published in 1936 and indicates the following source: Geisti. Lustwäldl, 1690.

The fourth melody appears in the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL of 1906 published by the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, Canada. The composer for the melody is not given. There is also a significant number of text changes including the hymn title Lord of Mercy and Compassion. In the first verse we see look with pity down on me, and ‘Tis thy child returned to Thee. What is typically the fourth verse is now the second verse. In the chorus the phrase that normally reads All my sins – I now detest them, was changed to For pardon for my sins and grace. The hymn continued to appear in the St. Basil’s hymnal until 1918 and was removed in later editions. The same melody was used for another hymn found in the St. Basil’s hymnal, O Turn To Jesus, Mother, Turn a hymn written by Father Frederick Faber for the Holy Souls.

During the 1920s and 1930s, six melodies appeared in Catholic hymnals. The first is the CATHOLIC HYMNAL compiled by Father John G. Hacker, S. J., (1877-1946) of Canisius College, Buffalo, New York. It was published by Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss of New York City in 1920. The melody used here is a German tune found in Tochter Sion, compiled by Dr. Heinrich Lindenborn (1712–1750) and published in 1741. The melody also appeared in the SURSUM CORDA, 1925.

The second melody was composed by Nicola Montani (1880-1948). This melody appeared in the ST. GREGORY HYMNAL AND CHOIR BOOK compiled by Nicola Montani and published by the St. Gregory Guild of Philadelphia in 1920. He was a conductor, composer, arranger, and publisher of sacred music.

The third melody appeared in the ST. MARY’S HYMNAL – Chants and Hymns compiled by Christian A. Zittel and published by the Catholic Book Publishing Co., of New York in 1924. This collection of hymns continued to be published until 1946. The melody is a German tune taken from Wilhelm Becker’s Gebet-und Gesangbüchlein of 1872.

A fourth melody is found in the PSALLITE hymnal compiled by Father Alexander Roesler, S.J., (1875-1904) with the first edition published in 1901. When Father Roesler died, Father Ludwig Bonvin, S.J., (1850-1930) became the editor, he altered various hymn texts, added some new tunes, and issued a revised collection as HOSANNA, 1910. The PSALLITE continued to be published as a separate collection until the twelfth edition in 1925. Father Bonvin was a teacher at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and is credited with 450 separate compositions including Masses, chorals, hymns, and one symphony. His musical talents were an important contribution to the Catholic Church worldwide. The same melody reappeared in the MEDIATOR DEI hymnal in 1955 that was compiled by Cyr de Brant, a pseudonym for J. Vincent Higginson.

A fifth melody was composed by Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly, R.S.M. (1857-1936), from the Providence, R. I., community. Her name and contributions have been forgotten in the history of Catholic musicians. She was a close friend of James A. Reilly, president of the Catholic Music Publishing Company, later McLaughlin & Reilly Company, one of the major publishers and distributor of Catholic music in America. She compiled three hymnals, THE HOLY FACE HYMNAL in 1891, OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL in 1899, and OUR LADY OF MERCY HYMNAL VOL. II., in 1927. Many of her compositions were featured in a series of hymn pamphlets which proved to be an enormous success for McLaughlin & Reilly and were sold continually during the company’s existence.

A sixth melody was composed by Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland, Ohio and harmonized by Alfred Kalnins. Bishop Schrembs compiled and published three hymnals including, THE DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART 1 which was published in 1926 consisting of Communion and Confirmation Hymns. THE DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART 2 consisting of Devotional Hymns, and a third, THE EUCHARISTIC HYMNAL published in 1935, which embodied hymns taken from Part 1 & Part 2.

He was elevated to the office of Archbishop in 1935 and was the Promoter of the Seventh National Eucharistic Congress and Protector of the Priests’ Eucharistic League in the United States. He was himself a musician and composed several hymns and was instrumental in producing manuals of Gregorian Chant and Catholic editions of music text books for elementary schools. He is also considered one of the pioneers of Catholic radio. He spoke frequently on local radio stations giving sermons and catechetical instructions often followed by the singing of hymns for which he composed the tunes. He was instrumental in persuading the National Council of Catholic Men (NCCM) to sponsor the Catholic Hour that began broadcasting in 1930. This weekly radio program reached a large national audience.

In the 1950s, two melodies appeared. The first is found in the PAROCHIAL HYMNAL compiled by Father Carlo Rossini (1890-1975) and published by J. Fischer & Bro., of New York in 1936 and 1951. The second melody was composed by Louis Bourgeois (1510-1561) and appears in CATHOLIC HYMNS compiled by Father John C. Selner (1904-1992) and published by the Gregorian Institute of America in 1954.

Reflection

When I meditate on the verses, I see a personal plea to God from a sinful soul for mercy and compassion. Father Vaughan must have written this hymn as a teaching aid for the Catholics he encountered in his missions, teaching them to recognize that through sin, they have forfeited all rights and claim of heaven where the saints rejoice forever.

I can also see an allusion to the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32) in the phrase, Father, let me call Thee Father: ‘Tis thy child returns to Thee. The penitent soul, realizing that their sins have nailed Him to the cross, Yet He bleeds and dies for me, encourages the soul to ask for mercy, detesting all their sins, never to sin again. The verses remind me of the Act of Contrition that we all say in confession after the good priest gives us absolution.

This hymn was written for Missions, Lent, and Passiontide, but it could be used throughout the year. We all need to be reminded to ask for God’s mercy and compassion. Take a moment to reflect on these verses and I am sure you will find some phrase that fits your situation. Each person who reflects on these verses will see something different or nothing at all. What can you see?

A special thank you to Peter Meggison producer of the Devotional Hymns Project for allowing me to link to recordings of the Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in London which recorded the traditional French melody and the Chorus of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts who recorded the melody composed by Sister Mary Alexis Donnelly, R.S.M.

Also, to Noel Jones, AAGO in granting permission to link to A Catholic Book of Hymns and Chants with nearly three hundred time-honored traditional Catholic hymns, including God of Mercy and Compassion. You can download A Catholic Book of Hymns & Chants FREE at www.sacredmusiclibrary.com

A Catholic Book of Hymns and Chants now has a Facebook User Group offering advice and encouragement on adopting this hymnal and exploring the editions that match up with your parish needs. So be sure to visit and see how this wonderful hymn book is being used by fellow musicians.

Below are computer generated sound files of the melodies discussed in this write-up. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener with a good sense of what the hymn sounds like.

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Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest

The text of this hymn may have been inspired by the refrain of a hymn written by Father Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863), O Flower of Grace! Divinest Flower! The hymn can be found in the second edition of his JESUS AND MARY hymnal published in 1852. Father Faber is a convert to Catholicism, a student of St. John Henry Newman, a product of the Oxford Movement, and a priest of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

The words and melody that became traditional first appeared in the WREATH OF MARY compiled by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and published in 1883 by the Oliver Ditson Co. and captioned Our Lady of Help.

When trying to identify Sisters who wrote hymns or composed music difficulties arise. It was the custom in many religious communities not to give credit to individuals but the whole community. For example, Words and Music by S.N.D. (Sisters of Notre Dame); Words and Music by Sisters of Mercy; Words and Music by S.S.J. (Sisters of St. Joseph); Music by Sisters of Mercy, St. Xaviers’, Chicago, Ill.

In some rare cases, authorship has been known in a verbal tradition and passed down by Sisters who knew the author or composer. There are a good many Sisters who wrote hymns, composed music, authored books, and pamphlets but their identities will forever be hidden. In other cases, authorship has been meticulously reconstructed by hymn researchers. In addition, a photograph of an individual Sister is somewhat rare and yet some photographs were taken, usually in groups. It wasn’t until after Vatican II that this custom began to change.

I recently learned through the correspondence of Peter Meggison producer of The Devotional Hymns Project that there was one Sister out of all the Sisters of Notre Dame who is generally considered the leader in the publication of all the American hymns and songs found in the hymn collections. It is likely that the words and the melody which became traditional to Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest, can be credited to Sister Aloysius (Josephine) Dorman (1835-1913).

Sister Aloysius was born in Washington D. C. on August 2, 1835 to parents Albert and Adelaide (D’Ancour) Dorman who both came from France. She entered the postulancy of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at the Sixth Street Convent in Cincinnati on May 1, 1854 and professed her perpetual vows in 1861. She spent twenty-five years at the Sixth Street Academy in Cincinnati, seventeen years at the Notre Dame Academy in W. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, twelve years in Dayton, and a short time in Columbus, Hamilton, and Summit. She was a teacher of music and orchestration publishing songs and hymns for the schools. After a long and fruitful service to her Lord she returned to the Notre Dame Academy in Hamilton, Ohio in November of 1912.

She was known to have a lively disposition and would often charm the hearts of those around her, but little did she know how close the end was near. On one occasion in late March of 1913, she wielded the baton for an orchestra of many instruments and sang a gypsy song accompanying herself with tambourine dancing with as much agility as if she was twenty years of age. The next day she was not well and for two weeks came only to Mass and Holy Communion but, finally she had to confine herself to her room which was just above the sacristy. Sister Aloysius Dorman died April 1, 1913 and is buried in the Notre Dame Cemetery in Hamilton, Ohio.

This short narrative of Sister Aloysius Dorman was drawn from the research provided by the Ohio Unit Archives of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Cincinnati. The research included an excerpt from a letter written by Sister Agnes Immaculata Guswiler who was the first archivist in Cincinnati serving from 1970 to 1990. The letter dated September 29, 1989, gave an outline of Sister Dorman’s service, and identifies her as the composer of all the American hymns and songs. Also, excerpts from the Hamilton Annals were provided where Sister Dorman spent her last days.

The hymn Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest appeared in editions of the SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN BOOK, 1887 thru 1935; the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL from 1888 thru 1925; HYMNS FOR THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR, 1925; the AMERICAN CATHOLIC HYMNAL, 1913 and 1921; SURSUM CORDA – A Collection of Hymns for the use of Catholic Schools, 1925; the Cleveland, Ohio DIOCESAN HYMNAL II, 1928; the ST. JOSEPH’S HYMNAL, 1930; the ALVERNO HYMNAL III, 1953; the CATHOLIC CHAPEL HYMNAL, 1944 thru 1968; OUR PARISH PRAYS AND SINGS, 1977; and A CATHOLIC BOOK OF HYMNS AND CHANTS, 2020.

The original hymn consisted of three verses. Two additional verses were added and first appeared in the Revised edition of the ST. BASIL’S HYMNAL published in 1918 – Lady, help our wounded soldiers, and Lady, help our absent loved ones. In 1943, two hymns were written for sailors and soldiers set to the traditional melody and appeared in the NOVENA HYMNS FOR SOLDIERS AND SAILORS, Mary, Guard Our Gallant Soldiers and Mary, Help Our Gallant Soldiers.

Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest although not originally written for novenas was incorporated into the evening novena programs as early as the 1930s. Among these novenas were those to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the Sorrowful Mother, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The prayers of the novena were usually followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The evening novena programs, which included devotional hymns, were printed by the religious congregation which promoted the particular devotion (e.g., the Vincentians and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the Redemptorists and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, etc.).

Many of the evening novena prayer services began to fade in Catholic parishes throughout the United States with the introduction of the Saturday Vigil Mass.

The Melodies

In addition to the traditional words and melody, I found four other melodies that were composed for this hymn. The first appeared in HYMNS FOR THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR published in 1908. The hymnal was compiled by Father Alphonsus Dress, Professor of Music at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Father Dress was born Alphonse Joseph Dress on April 22, 1877 in Clemency, Luxemburg to his parents Joseph and Christina (Decker) Dress. He was ordained a Catholic priest on June 19, 1904 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Archbishop Sebastian Gebhard Messmer (1847-1930). One of his early assignments was as Associate Pastor at St. Patrick’s in Tama, Iowa. He was then assigned to the School of the Old Masters in Ratisbon, Bavaria from 1905 to 1908 where he obtained a graduate degree (PhD) in music.

He returned to Iowa in 1908 and was the professor of music at Loras College. He compiled the HYMNS FOR THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR in 1908 and composed the first college song Purple and Gold in 1912. He was a staff contributor to The Catholic Choirmaster magazine from 1915 thru 1921. He also composed three choral pieces including Haec Dies, Miserere, and Terra Tremuit in 1924. These were published by J. Fischer & Bro. of New York and the copyrights were renewed in 1938. He founded the famous Loras Vested Choir in 1908 and served as faculty member of Loras College for 25 years. The college has functioned under several different names: Saint Raphael’s Seminary and later Saint Raphael’s Academy (1839–1850), Mount St. Bernard’s College and Seminary (1850–1873), St. Joseph’s College (1873–1914), Dubuque College (1914–1920), and Columbia College (1920–1939).

Father Alphonsus taught music at Loras College from 1908 until 1941. He died on November 8, 1941 and is buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Dubuque, Iowa. Some of the information is this short narrative of Father Dress was provided by Archives of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Pastoral Center.

The second melody is found in the SURSUM CORDA – A Collection of Hymns for the use of Catholic Schools. This collection of hymns was compiled and published in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Francis from Stella Niagara, New York. Organ accompaniment for this collection was provided by Father Florian Zettel, O.F.M. (1879-1947) of the Church of the Ascension in Portland, Oregon. The Sisters of St. Francis took charge of the Church of the Ascension parish school in 1917. The Sisters of St. Francis taught in the parish schools throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, often times taking charge of the schools after the Sisters of Mercy who preceded them. The melody is a variation of the tune Maria zu lieben which is used for the hymns Daily, Daily Sing to Mary and Holy Patron, thee saluting (St. Joseph).

A third melody was found in the Cleveland, Ohio DIOCESAN HYMNAL PART TWO – DEVOTIONAL HYMNS. The hymnal was compiled by Cleveland Ohio’s Bishop Joseph Schrembs, D.D., (1911-1945). Bishop Schrembs was elevated to Archbishop in 1935 and hosted the Seventh National Eucharistic Congress in Cleveland in the same year. The hymn collection was published by J. Fischer & Bro., New York in 1928.

The Diocesan Hymnal identifies this melody in the hymn index as German but does not identify the hymnal or the gesangbuch it is taken from. Many of the melodies in the hymnal were composed by Bishop Schrembs and arranged or harmonized by other composers like Rt. Rev. Monsignor Peter Griesbacher (P.G.), the Very Rev. Gregory Hügle, O.S.B. (G.H), Joseph I. Müller (J.I.M. or sometimes J.M.), and Alfred Kalnins (A.K.). The initials in the lower right of this hymn G.P. are not identified and so we are left with a mystery.

A fourth melody was found in the ALVERNO HYMNAL AND CHOIR BOOK PART 3. It was composed by Father Joseph Mohr, S.J., (1834-1892). Father Mohr is probably best known for his outstanding gesangbuchs like the Caecilia published in 1868 which contained an anthology of melodies from earlier centuries. His other collections like the Jubilate Deo published in 1877, found its way to America and helped to raise the standard of American hymnals which previously had relied on English and French sources.

The Alverno Hymnals were compiled by Sister Mary Cherubim Schaefer, O.S.F., (1886-1977). Sister Cherubim was a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis. The Alverno Hymnal was published in three parts over the course of five years. They are:

1948 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 1 – Advent, Christmas, Holy Name, Epiphany, Holy Family
1950 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 2 – Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, The Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, Christ the King, and All Saints.
1953 ALVERNO HYMNAL BOOK 3 – Hymns for Low Mass, to Our Lord, the Holy Eucharist, the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Guardian Angles, Holy Souls and SS Joseph, Francis of Assisi, Patrick, Anthony, and Cecilia.

The Alverno Hymnals with English texts were among the most extensive German-American collections to use German melodies from the gesangbuchs brought over by German immigrants to the United States. Sister Cherubim’s musical accomplishments are extensive. She was the organist at St Lawrence Church, Milwaukee, and director of music at St Joseph Convent. She established the St Joseph Convent Conservatory of Music, and later St Joseph Convent College of Music, published and edited the Liturgical Choir Book, the Organist’s Companion, and she established the Alverno College of Music. She composed fort-five mass settings, hymns, motets, and numerous works for the organ and was a regular contributor to the Caecilia Magazine in the late 1930s.

Recently, the archivist for the School Sisters of St. Francis sent me a copy of the organ arrangment from the Alverno Hymnal Abridged Edition published by McLaughlin and Reilly Co., in 1963. This collection is the compilation of the three Alverno Hymnals published between 1948-1953.

Reflection

This hymn was sung before Mass on various occasions by St. Mary’s Choir in Akron, Ohio for more than thirty-five years and is one of my favorites. Someday, I’m sure this hymn will become a favorite in the repertoire of a Catholic Choir for our need of Mary’s help will never be diminished. I learned to sing this hymn using the arrangement from the St. Basil’s Hymnal.

The hymn echo’s the great Marian prayer The Memorare, Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Anyone who reflects on the verses of this hymn will immediately recognize some phrase that has found its way into their own lives or who has at one time, or another called on Our Lady’s help, experienced the pain and sorrow or prayed to soothe the rack’d beds of pain of someone they love. The third verse is a series of petitions to help our priests, our virgins holy, our Pope, and everyone who sings the praises of Mary that we May in heaven all meet again. The fourth verse implores Our Lady’s help for the wounded soldier, captives, sailors, and those who are suffering. The last verse implores Our Lady’s help for our absent loved ones, those in our family and friends now departed or absent from our lives for reasons we don’t yet understand, and so we ask Our Lady to guard and guide them far and near.

A special thank you to Peter Meggison producer of the Devotional Hymns Project for allowing me to link to a recording of professional voices at St. Cecilia Church, Boston, Massachusetts.

Also, to Noel Jones, AAGO in granting permission to link to A Catholic Book of Hymns and Chants with nearly three hundred time-honored traditional Catholic hymns, including Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest. You can download A Catholic Book of Hymns & Chants FREE at www.sacredmusiclibrary.com

Below are computer generated sound files of the melodies listed above. The tempo is approximate but should provide the listener with a good sense of what the hymn sounds like. All the hymns are in the public domain. I have also included a recording of this hymn as sung by The Paulist Choristers, who were featured on Catholic radio programs throughout the nation and produced a collection of Catholic Novena Hymns which were widely sung in Catholic parishes, devotions, missions, and the like.

To music and choir directors, if you use any of these selections in your Sunday or weekly music programs and you make a recording, contact the author and I may feature it in the What’s New section of Mother of Mercy Catholic Hymns.

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