Talks reveal heroism, humor and holiness of Irish Jesuit killed in WWI, admired by saints

CHICAGO (OSV News) -- Organizers of the sainthood cause for an Irish Jesuit priest who was killed while trying to save two Protestant soldiers on a World War I battlefield, and was also admired by other saints, have planned talks in the Chicago area and northern Indiana churches in late October.

The postulator for the cause of canonization of Father Willie Doyle (born in 1873) said the military chaplain has had an international following since his death in 1917, but for various reasons his cause had not moved forward until 2022. He was given the title "Servant of God" in the fall that year, when Bishop Tom Deenihan of the Diocese of Meath, Ireland, officially opened his cause.

The postulator, Father John Hogan, told OSV News that since his death, devotion to Father Doyle spread to the U.S., Europe and South America. Father Hogan said that American priests have told him Father Doyle today "is really striking a chord with people, particularly with young people and with young men."

"And they're seeing in his life, in his warm humanity and indeed in the adventures of the last couple of years of his life on the front in the First World War, something that resonates within them in their desire for heroism," said Father Hogan.

Father Hogan called Father Doyle's "extraordinary warmth" a "modern sensibility."

"It's really an evangelical tool and I think that is something that speaks to people today," he said. "So in a sense, we realized the church has a great asset in Father Willie Doyle, in presenting the warmth and the beauty of Christ to his own life and to his own personality and his own personal relationship with Jesus."

An accomplished retreat master who prayed, fasted and offered up small sacrifices, often in reparation for the sins of priests, Father Doyle had wanted to be a missionary in Africa. He was instead sent throughout Ireland to host retreats for religious and clergy. He then expanded his work to serve the working laity and was also a sought-after spiritual director.

Early in his priestly formation, Father Doyle offered his life to the Blessed Virgin Mary, stating that he was prepared to "die a slow martyrdom by earnest hard work and constant self-denial."

"With my blood I promise thee to keep this resolution, do thou, sweet Mother, assist me and obtain for me the one favour I wish and long for: To die a Jesuit Martyr," wrote Father Doyle in May 1893. He died 24 years later at the age of 44, as a seasoned military chaplain to soldiers of all faiths, after being hit by shells on the battlefield while trying to save two men who also died. His body was never recovered.

Father Doyle's self-denial was far-reaching, and one of his many small mortifications has captured the faithful's imagination.

"He loved his food," Father Hogan explained. "I think (one story that) appeals to a lot of people when they hear it -- because you often think of penances as these big things -- but one of his hardest penances was abstaining from butter. He's Irish. He loved butter. We love our butter."

Father Hogan noted St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975), the founder of Opus Dei, admired the priest's austerity. He said that St. Josemaría read about Father Doyle's successful or failed attempts from one day to the next to skip butter, from the priest's published letters and diary excerpts, and dubbed the penance "the butter tragedy."

But Father Doyle was also known for his sense of humor, playing practical jokes and his consistent and consoling joy even while in the trenches, according to the biographical information provided by the Father Willie Doyle Association.

St. Teresa of Calcutta was also a contemporary of Father Doyle when she started her religious life first as a Sister of Loreto, and lived close to his Jesuit house. According to the association, Mother Teresa, who went on to found the Missionaries of Charity, also modeled some of her spiritual practices on Father Doyle's, particularly his making private vows to God.

Father Hogan along with Bishop Deenihan and Patrick Kenny, the founder of the Father Willie Doyle Association, which is spearheading the cause, have scheduled talks in Chicago and northern Indiana starting Oct. 25. The first stop will be at St. Christina Parish in an Irish neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

St. Christina pastor Father Ryan Brady was the U.S. contact of the sainthood cause touring group. He became acquainted with the association after learning about Father Doyle while in seminary 10 years ago. Father Brady said he began "to fall in love with" Father Doyle's story after reading quotes from his writings as well as several biographies about him.

"Any good vocation has a great spiritual director and someone interceding for them from heaven," Father Brady told OSV News. "Father Willie Doyle, he was the one interceding for me from heaven."

The Chicago Fire Department chaplain said he often talks about Father Doyle. And devotion to the servant of God is growing at his parish, and especially among the firefighters, police officers and veterans who go to St. Christina. He also expressed admiration for Father Doyle's dedication to the salvation of priests' souls.

"I know that he is praying for the healing of those who have been wounded by priests, whether emotionally or physically, but also for priests to be able to be the men that they're called to be," said Father Brady.

Father Hogan said Father Doyle had a very deep sense of people and could "read their souls" but not through "the mystical gift of discernment," which St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina had.

"He was able to weigh a person up and see what was missing in their lives," said the postulator. "I've seen this in a number of stories (about him). He was a pastoral genius in a sense, and he knew what was going on, 'What does this person need? What is missing in this person's life?' And then, 'How can I show them that it's God who can actually fill that void' ... he's a great example of a pastoral genius that we need today."