Francisco Caetano Borges da Silva

Francisco Caetano Borges da Silva was born in 1863 on the island of São Miguel, Azores, Portugal. He was pastor of the Portuguese Church of New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. He published the hymnbook Christian Songs, in that locality where there was a Portuguese colony. Even today there are many churches with services in the Portuguese language in this region. Borges da Silva translated several hymns, one of which was "Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling", considered one of the most beautiful and expressive evangelistic hymns, which was composed (lyrics and music) by Will Lamartine Thompson, a notable American composer who founded W. L. Thompson Music Company, and experienced some success in early compositions, before finding his talent in hymns and gospel songs. In 1898, Francisco Caetano published in Portuguese, including this translation, a collection of Christian Songs, really encouraging for that time: it gathered 316 hymns and 31 choirs.

email to Hymnary