Faith of Our Fathers

This page includes a lyric video, history, sheet music, and other resources for the classic hymn “Faith of Our Fathers.” Enjoy!

Enjoy this You Tube video, performed by Hymn Charts, with lyrics for “Faith of Our Fathers.” Note that I used a patriotic theme for this video as a tribute to faith in America.

History of “Faith of Our Fathers”

Words by Frederick Faber (1814-1863), Published in 1849

Frederick was born in England as the son of an Anglican clergyman. He graduated from Oxford University and became an Anglican minister himself. Frederick was drawn to high church practices and came to be associated with the Oxford Movement (which advocated for a return to the rituals of the Roman Catholic Church). Eventually, like his friend John Henry Newman, Frederick converted.

In a preface to his hymn book, Jesus and Mary (1849), Frederick gives an account of why he dedicated his time to hymn writing:

“It was natural that an English son . . . should feel the want of a collection of English Catholic hymns fitted for singing. . . . As to translations they do not express Saxon thoughts and feelings, and consequently the poor do not seem to take to them. The domestic wants of the Oratory, too, kept alive the feeling that something of the sort was needed; though at the same time the Author’s ignorance of music appeared in some measure to disqualify him for the work of supplying the defect. Eleven, however, of the hymns were written, most of them, for particular tunes and on particular occasions, and became very popular with a country congregation. They were afterwards printed for the schools at St. Wilfrid’s, and the very numerous applications to the printer for them seemed to show that, in spite of very glaring literary defects, such as careless grammar or slipshod metre, people were anxious to have Catholic hymns of any sort.”¹

In the same preface, Frederick acknowledged that he used the hymns of the Wesleys, as well as the Olney hymns by John Newton (author of “Amazing Grace”) and William Cowper, as a model that he would “endeavour to emulate.”² In his lifetime, Frederick wrote 150 hymns; “Faith of Our Fathers” has proved to be one of the most enduring.

Tune “St. Catherine” by Henri Hemy (1818-1888), Published in 1864

Henri was born in England to German parents. He proved to be a gifted musician and served as the organist at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Newcastle. He later became a professor of music at St. Cuthbert’s College in Durham. In 1864, he published a popular book of music called Crown of Jesus Music in which his tune was set to a hymn called “St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr.”

In 1874, James Walton adapted Henri’s tune and set it to “Faith of Our Fathers” in his book Plain Song Music for the Holy Communion. The hymn found its match and continues to be sung with this tune known as “St. Catherine.”

The words to this hymn made their way to America in 1853 when the song was published in Hymns for the Church of Christ – though some of the original words like “Faith of Our Fathers, Mary’s prayers” (and others) were altered for use in Protestant churches.³ Eventually, the popular “St. Catherine” tune arrived in America, and the hymn could be found in churches of every denomination. It was sung at the 1915 funeral of American hymn writer, and it was sung at the 1945 funeral of American president Franklin Roosevelt.

In America, the hymn has largely come to be associated with patriotism. However, in its present form, the hymn is truly timeless and borderless (it can be sung by Christians in any time period and any geographic region) — it honors both the “Author of Our Faith” and any Christian who has risked their life for their faith and/or for freedom of religion!

Additional Resources for “Faith of Our Fathers”:

Sheet Music (PDF Compliments of Hymnary.org)

Guitar Chords (Links to Ultimate Guitar)

Visit Hymnary.org or Hymn Time.com for more on this hymn.

See our Hymn of the Week page for a list of the hymns that are included on this site.

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Sources:

¹ Julian, John, editor. Dictionary of Hymnology. Kregel Publications, 1985 (republished 1907 edition), p. 361.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid, p. 363.
⁴ “Faith of Our Fathers, ” Hymn Time.