A free Advent course · November 29 to Christmas Eve

Sing Adeste Fideles in Latin by Christmas

One verse each Sunday of Advent, in your inbox: the Latin read slowly, the melody to sing it to, and a few words to pray it with. By Christmas night you'll know, in its own Latin, the hymn Catholics have sung at Christmas for nearly three hundred years.

The course

Four Sundays, four verses

Every email follows the calendar, so the whole list prays the same verse on the same Sunday. Each verse below is the course's archive: press play to hear it.

  1. El Greco, The Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1612–14
    El Greco, The Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1612–14

    Sunday, November 29 · First Sunday of Advent

    Come

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

    Venez, fidèles, joyeux et triomphants ; venez, venez à Bethléem. Voyez le nouveau-né, Roi des anges : venez, adorons, venez, adorons, venez, adorons le Seigneur.

    Advent opens with an invitation, and so does the hymn. Adeste: be here. The refrain you learn this week carries all four.

  2. Correggio, The Holy Night, c. 1528–30
    Correggio, The Holy Night, c. 1528–30

    Sunday, December 6 · Second Sunday of Advent

    God from God, light from light

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

    Dieu né de Dieu, lumière née de la lumière, le sein d'une jeune fille le porte : vrai Dieu, engendré, non pas créé. Venez, adorons, venez, adorons, venez, adorons le Seigneur.

    These are the Creed's own words. You already say them every Sunday; this week you'll hear them sung over a manger.

  3. Botticelli, Mystic Nativity, c. 1500
    Botticelli, Mystic Nativity, c. 1500

    Sunday, December 13 · Gaudete Sunday

    Let the choir of angels sing

    Cantet nunc io chorus angelorum, cantet nunc aula caelestium: Gloria in excelsis Deo! Venite, adoremus, venite, adoremus, venite, adoremus Dominum.

    Que chante maintenant de joie le chœur des anges, que chante maintenant la cour des cieux : Gloire à Dieu au plus haut des cieux ! Venez, adorons, venez, adorons, venez, adorons le Seigneur.

    Rose vestments, the Sunday of joy. The angels' Gloria, the same words the priest intones at Mass.

  4. Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, c. 1490
    Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, c. 1490

    Sunday, December 20 · Fourth Sunday of Advent

    Born this very day

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

    Ainsi donc, Jésus, né en ce jour, à toi la gloire : Verbe du Père éternel, fait chair. Venez, adorons, venez, adorons, venez, adorons le Seigneur.

    Hodierna: today. A verse written to be sung on Christmas itself, and the Word made flesh.

Christmas Eve, morning: the whole hymn on one page, with a card to print and keep in your missal. Tonight, sing it.

Every word explained, with Spanish and French translations: the Adeste Fideles prayer page.

What arrives on Sunday morning

Jason at Credo · Come, all you faithful

Adeste, fideles, laeti triumphantes,
venite, venite in Bethlehem.

adeste be here · fideles faithful ones · laeti joyful · venite come

Advent doesn't begin with a lesson. It begins with an invitation. Before we know anything about the Child, we are simply told to come…

▶ Hear it spoken♪ Hear the melody

Short, devotional, one painting, under two minutes to read. Never a sales pitch.

Questions

When does it start?

On the First Sunday of Advent, November 29, with one verse every Sunday after that and the whole hymn on the morning of Christmas Eve. Join any time before Christmas.

What if I join after it has started?

You'll get the welcome email with links to the verses already sent (they're all on this page), then the next Sunday's verse with everyone else. Four verses fit comfortably in the time that's left.

I can't sing. Is it still for me?

Yes. Each verse comes with the Latin read slowly, so you can pray it, and with the melody if you want to sing it. Plenty of people will simply pray it in Latin on Christmas night, and that is enough.

Is it free? What happens after Christmas?

It's free. After Christmas the same list carries on with one short Latin prayer each Sunday. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and we never share your address.

Is the course in Spanish or French?

This year the emails are in English. The verses have Spanish and French translations on the Adeste Fideles prayer page.