About Fr Willie
Fr Willie Doyle SJ was a man who loved God and his neighbour so much that he was willing to die to save a soul or to save a life.
He was the youngest of seven children, born on 3 March 1873 in Dalkey, County Dublin. His family was deeply religious, and their devotion was given practical expression by their care for the less fortunate in the neighbourhood – long lines of the local poor visited the house at Christmas to receive financial assistance and gifts from the Doyle family.
Willie was a typical young boy in many respects – he loved sports, in particular swimming and cricket. As he grew he developed a close relationship with the local poor, often bringing food and money to them, and cleaning and painting their houses when necessary.
On one occasion, he encouraged a lonely dying neighbour to confess to a priest before death. The man refused, so the young Willie stayed with him for eight hours, praying and pleading until at last the man relented. He died soon after making his confession.
Willie entered the Jesuit novitiate in Tullabeg, Rahan, in the Diocese of Meath at the age of 18 in 1891, and his 16 years of formation were interspersed with periods spent at home due to ill health. He suffered with an unidentified digestive complaint for much of his life, including his time as a military chaplain. He also had a nervous breakdown which afflicted him after a fire broke out in the novitiate. Fr Doyle’s life is one of incredible transformation; the boy who suffered physical and mental health difficulties was transformed into a tireless rock of courage in World War 1.
It was while he was a novice that Fr Doyle offered his life to the Blessed Virgin as a martyr. On 1st May 1893 he made the following remarkable offering of his life:
My Martyrdom for Mary’s Sake.
Darling Mother Mary, in preparation for the glorious martyrdom which I feel assured thou art going to obtain for me, I, thy most unworthy child, on this the first day of thy month, solemnly commence my life of 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.
May God’s will, not mine, be done! Amen. May 1st, 1893.
Fr Willie Doyle kept his side of the bargain – he commenced living a life of slow martyrdom by hard work and constant self-denial, and 24 years later he died as a martyr of charity in one of the worst wars in history.
Most of his priesthood was spent on the Jesuit mission team, preaching missions in parishes and giving retreats to religious communities around Ireland. His impact seems to have been electrifying, and testimonies about the impact of his preaching, retreats and his personal example poured in.
In the words of Pope Francis, he often went to the ‘peripheries’ to seek those alienated from the Church. He visited them at home, and was known to wait on the docks for sailors arriving into port late at night or to go out to meet factory workers on their way to work at dawn. He seemed to have a special gift for connecting with disaffected or wounded souls.
He was particularly devoted to helping ordinary workingmen. At a time when holiness was often seen as the preserve of priests and nuns, he understood the importance of reaching ordinary lay people. He travelled across the continent to study the growing phenomenon of retreats for workers and wrote a booklet on the importance of this apostolate for Ireland.
But he did not confine his activities to retreats or missions and was highly sought after as a spiritual director, sometimes receiving several dozen letters per day seeking advice. He was instrumental in founding the Poor Clare convent in Cork; he raised large amounts of money for missions in Africa; helped establish an organisation for the spiritual support of priests and was also on the central council of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.
In the midst of all this work, and indeed in the midst of his later life in the trenches, Fr Doyle retained his exuberant natural cheerfulness and the love of practical jokes. His optimistic and joyful approach to life was one of his most prominent and endearing characteristics.
Fr Doyle originally wanted to volunteer as a missionary in Africa but was not chosen for this task. However, the outbreak of World War I provided him with a unique missionary opportunity to satisfy his desire to help souls and also face the possibility of ‘martyrdom’ in the service of God and of others.
In November 1915 he was appointed chaplain to the 8th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers (part of the 16th [Irish] Division). Despite having the rank of Captain, he lived and suffered alongside his men, experiencing all of the dangers and trials of life in the trenches. From Fr Doyle’s private diaries we learn that he offered up all of these sufferings in reparation for the sins of priests.
“Fr Doyle never rests. Night and day he is with us. He finds a dying or dead man, does all, comes back smiling, makes a little cross and goes out to bury him and then begins all over again.”
Fr Doyle’s care for others cost him dearly at times. On one occasion, the medical doctor with whom he worked was sick, and there was no dry or warm spot for him to him to sleep in the dugout. Father Doyle lay face down on the ground to allow the doctor to sleep on his back so that at least one of them could get some rest.
He was present at several important battles, including the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Messines Ridge, during which nearly one million pounds of explosives were detonated under the German trenches. He was awarded the 16th (Irish) Division Parchment of Merit for bravery during a gas attack in April 1916, awarded the Military Cross for his bravery at the Somme, and nominated for both the Distinguished Service Order and Victoria Cross.
Fr Doyle laid down his life as a martyr of charity on 16 August 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele. At some time in the late afternoon a group of soldiers lead by Lieutenants Marlow and Green got into trouble beyond the front line, and Fr Doyle ran to assist them. It seems that Fr Doyle and the two officers were about to take shelter when they were hit by a German shell and killed. His body was never recovered. Marlow and Green were Protestant soldiers from Northern Ireland making Fr Doyle an ecumenical martyr of charity.
All who knew Fr Doyle were devastated at his loss, and many tributes from those who knew him poured in. These tributes especially emphasised his good humour, his shining faith and in particular his stunning courage, a trait made all the more remarkable when we recall his nervous breakdown as a novice.
What was the source of this remarkable transformation and seemingly limitless courage?
There was much more to Fr Willie Doyle than most people suspected. In his room back in Dublin were his personal papers, with a note asking that they be destroyed if he died. Thankfully, his superiors did not consent to this destruction.
Fr Doyle’s diaries reveal the intensity of his prayer, his intense personal austerity (often offered up to make reparation for the sins of priests) and his dogged pursuit of holiness. They show him to be a spiritual tactician of the highest order, primarily focussed on the primary duties of his state in life. His heroism on the field of battle was the fruit of that earlier daily pursuit of holiness in little things. Extracts from these diaries and letters of spiritual direction that he wrote are posted every day on this website in the section on Daily Thoughts from Fr Doyle.
By the 1930’s there was a truly global devotion to Fr Doyle – biographies and prayer cards were published in all of the major languages and over 50,000 letters were received by the Irish Jesuits testifying to this devotion. Amongst these letters are thousands that report alleged favours through his intercession. Several canonised saints held him in high esteem, including St Teresa of Calcutta, St Josemaria Escriva, St Alberto Hurtado and St Rafael Arnáiz Barón.
Serious consideration was given to the opening of Fr Doyle’s Cause in the 1930’s, but for various reasons it was decided to wait and to leave the matters in the hands of Providence.
The members of the Father Willie Doyle Association believe that that time has now come.
For more information, videos and books about Fr Doyle please see the Resources page.