In a further indication of the affection and devotion that exists for Fr Doyle, a new commemorative plaque is to be unveiled to Fr Doyle on August 18 in Flanders, near the site of the Battle of Passchendaele where he was killed in August 1917. This is an important new development. It is the first formal commemoration of Fr Doyle in Belgium (of which I am aware). It shows that, …
Fr Doyle links
August 4, 2018
Here’s a great short promotional piece about Bravery Under Fire, the EWTN docudrama about Fr Doyle, which will air in just 3 weeks time. This is programme is a great resource for promoting awareness of Fr Doyle. Make sure you tune in, and spread the word amongst friends, families, parishioners and on social media!! Well done to the director Campbell Miller and to the rest of the team who were …
July 26, 2018
In this excerpt from a long letter written 100 years ago today to his father, Fr Doyle writes about his publications on vocations. You will be glad to know, as I was, that the ninth edition (ninety thousand copies) of my little book, Vocations, is rapidly being exhausted. After my ordination, when I began to be consulted on this important subject, I was struck by the fact that there was …
July 25, 2018
The President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, in an address made on this day in 1923, had the following praise for Fr Doyle: I have been profoundly stirred in recent months by the experience of a young Roman Catholic saint, a member of the Society of Jesus, a tremendous lover of Jesus, a tremendous soul-winner, a great human and a great humorist. He had presumably been reading an early edition …
July 25, 2018
A nun in South Africa wrote the following letter on this day (July 12) in 1922, alleging a favour through Fr Doyle’s intercession: One of our Community had for some time been seriously ill in a sanatorium. One evening I got a telephone message to say Sister was on the point of death and that the doctor declared there was no hope unless a change took place at once. I …
July 12, 2018
The trailer for the EWTN docudrama Bravery Under Fire is now available. The programme will be aired on EWTN in August and again in November. Congratulations to Campbell Miller and all others who were involved in the production of this programme which is so important in creating awareness about Fr Doyle. Please share and spread the news, so that more people can learn about Fr Doyle’s physical and spiritual bravery …
June 19, 2018
The Irish Times journalist Ronan McGreevy has done crucial work in creating more awareness about the role of the Irish in World War I. He is the author of Wherever the Firing Line Extends which documents the Irish involvement. I was honoured that Ronan agreed to launch To Raise the Fallen last August, and he delivered a brilliant speech about Fr Doyle at the book launch- you can find it here: …
June 18, 2018
This website was launched 8 years ago today. At the time, I wasn’t sure how it would develop or whether anyone would be interested or whether I would have personally have the interest, or material, to keep it going. I honestly never thought that I would still be running it 8 years later. I guess I now know the answer to all of these questions! The last 8 years shows …
June 7, 2018
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, the Prime of All Ireland, is currently on a visit to some of the war sites and graves in Belgium. Today he mentioned Fr Doyle and read a quote about him from To Raise the Fallen. Here he is with a copy of the book beside Fr Doyle’s name at the Tyne Cot Memorial: And here is a video of him speaking about Fr Doyle …
June 1, 2018
Fr Doyle wrote the following in his diary on 21 December 1913, 104 years ago today. It relates to a recent trip to the cinema – it’s not clear what date he went to the cinema, but presumably it was the same day or at most a few days beforehand. At the end of the performance of “Quo Vadis?” the words of our Lord seemed to go through my soul. …
December 21, 2017