It was Christmas Eve in the Austrian Alps.  At the newly constructed Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Father Joseph Mohr prepared for the midnight service.  He was distraught because the church organ was broken, ruining prospects for that evening’s carefully planned music.  But, Father Joseph was about to learn that our problems are God’s opportunities, that the Lord causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.  It came to Father Joseph’s mind to write a new song, one that could be sung organless.  Hastily, he wrote the words and gave the text to his organist, Franz Gruber.  He explained the situation and asked Franz to compose a simple tune.

That night, December 24, 1818, “Silent Night” was sung for the first time as a duet accompanied by a guitar.

Shortly afterward, as Karl Mauracher came to repair the organ, he heard about the near disaster on Christmas Eve.  Acquiring a copy of the text and tune, he spread it throughout the Alpine region of Austria, referring to it as “Tiroler Volkslied.”

“Silent Night” was first published for congregational singing in 1838 in a German hymnbook.  It appeared in its current English form in a book of Sunday school songs in 1863.

Were it not for a broken organ, there would never have been a “Silent Night.” 


Bro. J.E.