Urbs beata Jerusalem dicta pacis visio

The hymn comprises eight stanzas, together with a doxology. The text is scripturally inspired by Ephesians ii. 20, 1 Peter ii. 5, and Revelation xxi.{{CathEncy|wstitle=Urbs beata Jerusalem dicta pacis visio| volume=15| last= Henry| first = Hugh Thomas}}

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{{column}}Urbs beata Hirusalem, dicta pacis visio,

Quæ construitur in cælis vivis ex lapidibus,

Et ab angelis ornata, velut sponsa nobilis :

Nova veniens e cœlo, nuptiali thalamo

Præparata, ut sponsata copuletur Domino ;

Plateæ et muri ejus ex auro purissimo.

Portæ nitent margaritis, adytis patentibus ;

Et virtute meritorum illuc introducitur

Omnis qui ob Christi nomen hoc in mundo premitur.

Tunsionibus, pressuris expoliti lapides

Suis coaptantur locis ; per manus artificis

Disponuntur permansuri sacris ædificiis.

{{column}}Angulare fundamentum lapis Christus missus est,

Qui compage parietum in utroque nectitur,

Quem Syon sancta suscepit, in quo credens permanet.

Omnis illa Deo sacra et dilecta civitas,

Plena modulis et laude et canoro jubilo,

Trinum Deum unicumque cum favore prædicat.

Hoc in templum, summe Deus, exoratus adveni,

Et clementi bonitate precum vota suscipe,

Largam benedictionem hic infunde jugiter.

Hic promereantur omnes petita acquirere,

Et adepta possidere cum sanctis perenniter,

Paradisum introire, translati in requiem.

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The metre is a version of the trochaic septenarius rhythm, often used for hymns in the medieval period (see Trochaic septenarius#In Christian hymns). In the 17th century, under Pope Urban VIII, a group of correctors revised the hymn, replacing the unquantitative, accentual, trochaic rhythm with quantitative, iambic metre, and the stanza appeared in the Breviary with divided lines:

Coelestis Urbs Jerusalem,

Beata pacis visio,

Quæ celsa de viventibus

Saxis ad astra tolleris,

Sponsæque ritu cingeris

Mille Angelorum millibus.

Originally, the first four stanzas of "Urbs beata Jerusalem" were usually assigned, in the Office of the Dedication of a church, to Vespers and Matins, while the last four were given to Lauds. After the revision, the hymn for Lauds was changed to "Alto ex Olympi vertice".

In his Mediæval hymns and sequences (1863), the English clergyman and scholar, John Mason Neale noted that the hymn was rewritten as Cœlestis Urbs Jerusalem under the reforms of the Roman Breviary by Pope Urban VIII – a reworking he considered inferior to the original – and again in a later Paris Breviary as Urbs beata, vera pacis. The German hymnologist {{ill|Hermann Adalbert Daniel|de}} thought the last two stanzas of the hymn were a later addition, but the Irish Richard Chenevix Trench clergyman disagreed, arguing that the entire text was of one date of origin.{{cite book |last1=Trench |first1=Richard Chenevix |title=Sacred Latin Poetry, Chiefly Lyrical, Selected and Arranged ... |date=1864 |page=20 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sacred_Latin_Poetry_Chiefly_Lyrical_Sele/An3fzvYFhesC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA313&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}

The early Renaissance Franco-Flemish composer Guillaume Du Fay wrote at least two settings of "Urbs beata Jerusalem" for four voices, dating from the 1490s.{{cite book |last1=Planchart |first1=Alejandro Enrique |title=Guillaume Du Fay: The Life and Works |date=6 September 2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-54770-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwdxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT619 |access-date=23 May 2025 |language=en}} There is also a polyphonic setting by the Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria.{{cite book |last1=Lamport |first1=Mark A. |last2=Forrest |first2=Benjamin |last3=Whaley |first3=Vernon M. |title=Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions, Volume 2 |date=1 January 2020 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-0-227-17721-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wshxEAAAQBAJ&dq=urbs%20beata%20jerusalem%20tomas%20luis%20de%20victoria&pg=PA106 |access-date=23 May 2025 |language=en}}

The hymn was translated in 1851 by John Mason Neale as "Blessed city, heavenly Salem".{{cite book |last1=Schaff |first1=Philip |author1-link=Philip Schaff |title=History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590-1073. |date=1891 |publisher=CCEL |isbn=978-1-61025-043-6 |page=363 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5CV_-6BGFgC&pg=PT406 |access-date=21 May 2025 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Bryan P. |title=A Reader in Ecclesiology |date=16 March 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-18699-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C_O_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT68 |access-date=20 May 2025 |language=en}} Neale's translation of the second part of the hymn, "Christ is made the sure foundation", became established as a standalone hymn in its own right, and Neale noted in his Mediæval hymns and sequences (1863) that it had become adopted with "much general favour" as a hymn for the dedication of churches.{{cite book |last1=Neale |first1=John Mason |author1-link=John Mason Neale |title=Mediæval hymns and sequences, tr. by J.M. Neale |date=1863 |publisher=Oxford University |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lyUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA18 |access-date=18 May 2025 |language=en}}

Neale's translation of "Blessed city, heavenly Salem" was set as an anthem for choir and organ by Edward Bairstow in 1914.{{cite book |last1=Quinn |first1=Iain |title=Studies in English Organ Music |date=14 June 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-67240-5 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MlgPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |language=en}}

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Category:Christian hymns in Latin

Category:Songs about Jerusalem

Category:7th century in music