Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber (1783–1826) was an English Anglican priest, poet, scholar, and bishop whose hymns became highly influential in nineteenth-century English-language worship. Born at Malpas, Cheshire, on April 21, 1783, he studied at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he won distinction for both Latin and English poetry. After ordination, he became rector of Hodnet in Shropshire in 1807 and served there for about sixteen years.

At Hodnet, Heber developed a systematic project to provide hymns for the Sundays, seasons, and special services of the Church of England. His correspondence from 1820 shows him seeking help from Henry Hart Milman as he expanded this collection. The manuscript group from late 1820 or early 1821 already included “Bread of the world, in mercy broken,” headed “Before the Sacrament.” Heber’s other enduring texts include “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty,” “Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning,” and “The Son of God Goes Forth to War.”

In 1823 Heber was consecrated Bishop of Calcutta, a vast Anglican jurisdiction that required extensive travel in South Asia. He continued pastoral, educational, and ecclesiastical work until his sudden death at Trichinopoly on April 3, 1826. His widow, Amelia Heber, prepared Hymns Written and Adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year for publication in 1827. That posthumous volume secured a lasting place for many of his hymns in Anglican and wider Protestant hymnody.