Frederick William Faber (1814-1863; see SDAH 114) wrote this hymn in 1849 after he had been in the Roman Catholic Church for three years. It is an ardent and unashamed propagation of this particular faith, although some of the words have been changed so that it can be sung heartily by any communion, Protestant or Catholic. The original third line of the first stanza was “Oh! Ireland’s heart beats high with joy,” but has now become “O how our hearts beat . . .” There were four stanzas of his hymn for England, but seven in the Irish version, the first four of which were very similar to the English version. The third stanza of the English version, which is now omitted for obvious reasons, was:

                             Faith of our Fathers! Mary’s prayers

                             Shall win our country back to Thee;

                             And through the truth that comes from God, 

England shall then indeed be free.

The Irish version of the line 2 was: “Shall keep our country fast to thee.” The first two stanzas recall the closing verses of the Bible’s faith chapter: “Who through faith . . . quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword . . . And others had trial . . . of bonds and imprisonment” (Heb. 11: 33-36). The hymn first appeared in Faber’s Jesus and Mary, 1849.  He also wrote SDAH 114, “There’s a Wideness.” 

ST. CATHERINE was composed by Henri Frederick Hemy and appeared in his Crown of Jesus Music, 1864. It was so named because it was written for hymn titled “St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr.” Catherine, a “maid most pure,” resisted the advances of Maxentius of Alexandria, and for this she was imprisoned.

The tune was adapted by James George Walton. Walton was born February 19, 1821, at Clitheroe, near Preston, on the river Ribble; he died September 1, 1905, at Bradford, Yorkshire. He authored Plainsong Music for the Holy Communion Office, 1874. 

Hemy was born November 12, 1818, in Newcastle-on-Tyne, of German parents. He became organist at St. Andrews Roman Catholic Church in Newcastle. He taught music at nearby Tynemouth, and was professor of singing and piano at St. Cuthbert’s College at Ushaw in Durham. He wrote Easy Hymn Tunes of catholic Schools, 1851-1853, and the Royal Modern Tutor for the Pianoforte in 1858; the latter was very popular among piano teachers. He died at Hartlepool, a coastal town near Durham, on June 10, 1888.