Faber was elected fellow of University College, Oxford, in 1837. Originally a Calvinist, he became a disciple of John Henry Newman (later cardinal) and, in 1843, was appointed rector of Elton, Huntingdonshire. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1845 and soon after founded the Wilfridians, a community at Birmingham, Warwickshire, which was merged in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, with Newman as superior. In 1849 a branch of the community was established in London, over which Faber presided until his death.

He is remembered chiefly as a hymnist, some of his most popular hymns being “Hark! Hark, my soul” and “My God, how wonderful thou art.” His writings include Lives of Modern Saints (1847), The Foot of the Cross (1858), and Notes on Doctrinal Subjects (2 vol., 1866).