John Mason Neale (1818–1866) was an English scholar, priest, and poet of extraordinary dedication. Despite suffering from severe, chronic lung disease that kept him in constant physical discomfort and poverty, he mastered more than twenty languages. Under persecution from church authorities for his high-church views, he established the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an order of nurses dedicated to caring for the poor and sick. Neale's life's passion was translating ancient and medieval Greek and Latin hymns into English, unlocking centuries of lost treasures (such as 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' and 'All Glory, Laud, and Honor') to bring the depth of historic Christian praise to modern worshippers.