Ambassadors, Your Eminence, Your Excellencies, Fathers, Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of my colleague Dr Patrick Kenny, and the Father Willie Doyle Association, I would like to thank the Ambassadors for hosting this diplomatic reception in honour of Fr
Willie Doyle. As we celebrate this Jubilee Year, this weekend the Church has recognised and celebrated the work of those in the armed forces, police forces and security personnel, so it is fitting for us to gather this evening to remember the life and legacy of one who served as a military chaplain,. A man renowned for his holiness of life and whose cause for canonisation is now in progress. Father Willie Doyle was one whose whole life was immersed in the hope which this Jubilee Year is reflecting upon, and he sought to share that hope with all he met and served.

Born in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, in 1873, precocious as a child in his faith and charity, he entered the Jesuits so he offer his life in service of God and neighbour. Despite difficulties in formation, including, poor health and, briefly, a breakdown, he was ordained and sent to serve on the Jesuit team. Given his struggles, he was in a unique place to understand and reach out to the brokenness of men and women. A man of profound prayer, indeed one completely immersed in the Eucharistic mystery, he manifested the very presence and love of Christ, so much so that even his lifetime, those who encountered him regarded him as Saint.

This extraordinary spiritual dynamic was most obvious to the men he served in his ministry as a military chaplain. In the midst of the horrors of war, as the prayer for his beatification states, he was a servant of God’s grace and an advocate for peace and reconciliation. Fr Willie was courageous on the battlefield, a man possessed by a singular joy which brought comfort to those men submerged in the trenches of hell. His beautiful humanity, his pastoral sensitivity and generosity, and his radiant holiness touched the very souls of those soldiers who faced the abyss of conflict and death. Fr Willie’s faithful and generous life was crowned
by his death – killed as he was trying to save two soldiers on 16 th August 1917, earning, in the estimation of many, the designation of a ‘martyr of charity’.

There is so much more to Willie Doyle. His tireless work encouraging holiness among lay people, his work for lay retreats. His work and writings to encourage and guide vocations. His spiritual direction. His co-founding a Poor Clare Monastery. His service to the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. His life of heady service complimented by long hours of prayer and even penance to train a rebellious body too fond of butter and all those sweet treats, to be fit for mission. And then, an incorrigible sense of humour which would have certainly thrilled St Teresa of Avila who warned us away from ‘sullen saints’. Willie Doyle married a joyful, dynamic and mischievous humanity with an intense living of the Gospel. Devotion to Willie has persisted in the years since his death. Alleged miracles and favours were and are reported. Despite obstacles in the past, his Cause has finally been opened, and providentially so, because he is one who can speak most convincingly to the people of our time who need to see models of holiness who are joyful and beautifully human.

A man who knew the taste of suffering, and knew who the One who can raise us up: Willie by his life, intercession and presence, brings us in to the very Heart of Christ. Bishop Tom Deenihan, after careful reflection accepted the petition made by the Fr
Willie Doyle Association and opened the Diocesan Inquiry which is progressing. As it advances, I would like to acknowledge Bishop Tom, and also the generous assistance and encouragement of the Jesuits, in particular the Jesuit Postulator General, Fr Pascual
Cebollada, and the welcome advice of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The support and cooperation of Fr Willie’s family, represented this evening by his great-grand nephew, Mark Cumisky, is also deeply appreciated. Serious favours are being reported and investigated and we hope that Willie’s cause will advance and soon we will see him beatified and canonised. As we are gratified to have each one of you here this evening, we would like to ask you to keep the cause in your prayers,. Please take some prayer cards and spread the word about Fr Willie. If you have advice or can assist us in any way, we would be grateful to hear from you.