Hope for canonisation of Fr Willie Doyle SJ

Dr. Tom Deenihan, Bishop of Meath, has confirmed that regarding the canonisation of Fr Willie Doyle SJ, the theological investigation is complete, and the Tribunal “is making great progress.” Bishop Deenihan was speaking at an event in the Irish Embassy in Rome to mark the Jubilee of Military Personnel in Rome and the Cause for Canonisation of Father Willie Doyle SJ.

Father Willie Doyle was an Irish Jesuit and chaplain to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in WW1. He died on August 16, 1917 during the Battle of Langemarck. After getting one soldier to safety, he had returned to the line of fire to minister to other soldiers. He was killed on the battlefield, and some of those present pulled his body to a safe place, but when they returned later to retrieve it, that place had been bombed too, and Fr Doyle’s body was never recovered. The cause for his canonisation was opened over two years ago in the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar.

Frances Collins, the Irish Ambassador to the Holy See and Chris Trott, the British Ambassador to the Holy See, hosted the event in the Italian capital. Addressing them, Dr. Deenihan said, “The joint approach by both Ambassadors is a fitting tribute to the man who is the subject matter of our gathering this afternoon, and is also a reflection on the history of both our countries which has links and intersections which go beyond and defy popular narratives and types”

During his speech, Bishop Deenihan debunked the myth that Ireland was the land of ‘Saints and Scholars’, saying that the island did not acutally have many canonised saints, apart from St Patrick. “St Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh and the last of the Tyburn martyrs, was second last, born 400 years ago this year in the Diocese of Meath and canonised here in Rome 50 years ago this year. St Charles of Mount Argus was the most recent but only four or five have been through the formal canonisation process,” Bishop Deenihan said.

The Diocese of Meath, with the Fr Willie Doyle Association, particularly through Dr Patrick Kenny and Fr John Hogan began the cause for canonisation of Fr Doyle. The bishop noted that during Fr Doyle’s novitiate, which was served in the Meath diocese, he signed an oath offering his life: “Interestingly, it was signed in his own blood and is now one of the few first class relics of Doyle, given that his body was not recovered from the battlefield.”

He described Fr Doyle as an intensely spiritual man who had encouraged many towards priesthood and religious life. He told how Fr Doyle was instrumental in negotiating a pact under which Cork businessman William Dwyer, owner of the Sunbeam clothing factory, agreed to build a monastery for the Poor Clare order in Cork, on the basis that his daughter Sister Maria Dwyer would return there from Belgium. That monastery is still going well, Bishop Deenihan said.

Fr Willie Doyle had been awarded the Military Cross for bravery in 1916 but was not decorated by the British. “We are told that Father Doyle was nominated for the Victoria Cross for bravery,” said the bishop, “but it was not granted due to him being, as an article in The Irish Times put it a while ago, suffering from the three disadvantages of being: a Catholic, a priest and, dare I say it, a Jesuit!”

Bishop Deenihan said that many people have been moved by Fr Doyle’s story, inspired by his faith and encouraged by his generosity and witness. “We pray that he will be soon counted among those whom we publicly venerate and implore,” he said, adding, “I expect to be closing the Diocesan stage this year. Whether it will be successful, we cannot know, we can only hope. I believe that it will be. In the meantime, Fr Doyle’s charity, generosity and evangelical zeal have something to offer us. His regard, compassion, sacrifice and witness to all who are suffering, regardless of nationality or creed, are still lessons for our time, perhaps for our time more than it ever was.”