O Come, Divine Messiah is adapted from an old French Christmas carol,
Laissez paître vos bêtes, attested in the former French province of
Bresse in the 16th century. The melody had already been plagiarized for satirical uses. The lyrics are the work of Abbot
Simon-Joseph Pellegrin in the first half of the 18th century, who composed for the attention of the young Demoiselles de Saint-Cyr at the
Maison royale de Saint-Louis many verses on the songs of the old Christmases of France, in order to modernize the text. The melody was also used by
Marc-Antoine Charpentier for the
offertory in his
Messe de minuit pour Noël. Since the 19th century, a modern version of the text, considerably impoverished, and a 4-part harmonization written in 1845 by Abbé Lambert have been in use in Catholic communities in France. In 1872, the carol was translated into English by Sister Mary of Saint Philip. == Lyrics ==