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English hymnist and music copyist best known as the probable composer of the Christmas carol 'Adeste Fideles' (O Come, All Ye Faithful).John Francis Wade was an English Catholic hymn writer and music copyist who lived during the 18th century. Fleeing religious persecution in England after the Jacobite rising of 1745, he spent most of his life in exile in France, primarily in Douai. He earned his living meticulously copying and illuminating plainchant and other sacred music manuscripts for the exiled English Catholic community and institutions like the Douai College. His enduring legacy rests on the Christmas hymn 'Adeste Fideles', which he either composed or significantly popularized through his manuscripts.

• Wade fled England for France around 1745 following the failed Jacobite rebellion, due to his Catholic faith and likely Jacobite sympathies, living in exile for the rest of his life.
• He made his living not as a performing musician, but as a highly skilled scribe, meticulously copying and often beautifully illuminating liturgical music manuscripts for the exiled English Catholic communities on the continent.
• While long attributed to him, the exact origin of 'Adeste Fideles' remains debated. Wade is credited with either composing it himself or, more definitively, being the first to widely disseminate it through his manuscripts (the earliest known copy is in his hand, dated 1751).
• He died in Douai, France, on August 16, 1786, and was buried in the local parish church of St. Jacques.
• His famous hymn, 'O Come, All Ye Faithful', only gained widespread popularity in English-speaking countries in the mid-19th century, long after his death, following its inclusion in various hymnbooks.