The claim that St. Francis of Assisi invented Christmas carols is an overstatement because the use of music in religious observances predates his influence.

“One of the sources I read for this podcast described St. Francis as inventing Christmas carols. But to me, that seems like it's a little bit overstated given everything that we just said and the fact that the use of music in Christian religious observances goes all the way back to Christianity's ori”