Silent Night Silent Night was written on Christmas Eve in 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria. The organ at St. Nicholas Church was broken, and the repairman could not get there in time to fix it for the evening service (Midnight Mass). Joseh Mohr, the assistant pastor of the church, was determined that they not be without music. He had written a poem, "Stille Nacht", which he gave to his friend the church organist, Franz Gruber. Gruber immediately composed the melody and arranged it for two voices, choir, and guitar in time to be performed that night at the Midnight Mass. By 1955, Silent Night had become the most recorded song of all time.