Brooks, longtime rector of Trinity Church in Boston and perhaps the most prominent preacher of his day, penned “O Little Town of Bethlehem” after visiting Jesus’ birthplace in 1866. At that time, Brooks was rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. When Brooks wrote those now-famous verses — “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie” — he intended them to be part of a carol for a Christmas Sunday school service at his church in 1868.