If you attend a Memorial Day ceremony this year, chances are you will hear “On Eagle’s Wings,” which is based on the text of Psalm 91.
Written by liturgical theologian and composer Father Michael Joncas, “On Eagle’s Wings” is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, making it one of the most recent additions to the Catholic hymnal. It has been performed at funerals for presidents, kings, and soldiers, and recorded by artists ranging from Josh Groban to Lana Del Rey.
Father Joncas wrote “On Eagle’s Wings” in 1976 for his friend Brad Hall’s father, who had died of a heart attack that April. Hall, at the time a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Omaha, asked Father Joncas if he would compose a song for the funeral of his father, H. Douglas Hall, who had served in World War II.
Father Joncas performed the song for the first time on his guitar at the funeral, which was held at St. Bellarmine Parish in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 27, 1976. He recorded the song a few years later in 1979 and in 2014 he presented the Hall family with the original handwritten lyrics to the hymn.
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From the opening verse of the song, it is clearly adapted from Psalm 91. Father Joncas personalizes the broader “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty,” to “You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord; who abide in his shadow for life.” He further contemporizes the biblical passage to appeal to the more contemporary audience and adds the refrain, “And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings,” which is not from the psalm. And interestingly, the song’s lack of rhyme mirrors the free verse in the psalm.
Msgr. Sean Ogle, vicar for clergy and consecrated life in the Diocese of Brooklyn, who has included the song at funerals, said it’s a lovely hymn and a great piece of music.
“It’s a very literal translation of Psalm 91, which is from the Old Testament but also quoted in the New Testament where our Lord is being tempted in the desert and the devil tempts Him to throw Himself from the parapet of the temple and has angels catch Him,” Msgr. Ogle explained. “He quotes that psalm in answering the devil. And it is used in the Night Prayer, or Compline, of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours so it has a long and distinguished pedigree in our Church.”
“On Eagle’s Wings” has become a comforting hymn for families at funerals. It is a favorite of former President Joe Biden, who quoted the song in his victory speech and made sure that it was played at the funeral of his son Beau. Biden said the song “captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America.”
Biden also quoted the hymn’s lyrics, “May he be raised up on eagle’s wings, bear you up on the breath of dawn,” while eulogizing former President Jimmy Carter during his state funeral on Jan. 9, 2025.
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The song was heard at the 2018 state funeral of former President George H.W. Bush and was famously performed by Michael Crawford, who was the first actor to portray the Phantom in the 1986 Broadway musical, “Phantom of the Opera,” at the funeral of one of Father Joncas’ heroes, legendary opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
“On Eagle’s Wings” has also been played at the funerals for the victims of 9/11 and servicemen who have fallen while fighting for our freedom.
There’s no finer way to eulogize and honor the memory of the soldiers we lost this Memorial Day than knowing that they have been lifted up on eagle’s wings and reside in the palm of the hands of the Lord.