It would not be unfair to say that, from the middle of the last century until quite recently, the once famous Fr Willie Doyle has seemingly been shrouded in a certain reserved silence. At one stage his name and deeds were renowned not just in Ireland, but around the globe. The fact that there are 6,426 recorded favours, from literally every part of the world, allegedly granted through his …
Fr Doyle links
February 13, 2014
On the right hand side of the page you will find a permanent link to buy the excellent new biography of Fr Doyle by Carole Hope entitled “Worshipper and Worshipped”. The book is an excellent new addition to our understanding of Fr Doyle’s life, in particular his time as military chaplain – it contains many previously unpublished details of Fr Doyle’s time as chaplain in the Great War. I hope …
February 1, 2014
Instead of a quote from Fr Doyle today we have an article about an incident he experienced during the war. This is taken from the December 2013 Pioneer Magazine. Fr Doyle was an enthusiastic member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association founded by the Jesuit Fr James Cullen SJ. Pioneers take a pledge to abstain from alcohol, both to act as a witness to others but also as a form …
January 9, 2014
What impressed me most in the meditation on the Nativity was the thought that Jesus could have been born in wealth and luxury, or at least with the ordinary comforts of life, but He chose all that was hard, unpleasant and uncomfortable. This He did for me, to show me the life I must lead for Him. If I want to be with Christ, I must lead the life …
December 25, 2013
Worshipper and Worshipped: Across the Divide: an Irish Padre of the Great War: Fr. Willie Doyle Chaplain to the Forces 1915-1917 by Carole Hope is published today, the anniversary of the end of the Great War. It is a most interesting chronological account of Fr Doyle’s life with a heavy focus on his time as military chaplain in World War 1. The book is in excess of 700 pages …
November 11, 2013
From the Tabernacle Jesus seems to say, “Stay with Me for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent”. This should urge me to come to visit Him often. If my resurrection is a real one and is to produce fruit, it must be external, so that all may see I am not the same man, that my life is changed in Christ. COMMENT: Fr Doyle wrote …
November 11, 2013
Monday, November 11 is Armistice Day on which we remember those who died in the Great War, including Fr Doyle. It is not much of an event in Ireland, though we are reminded of it whenever we watch British news channels – all newsreaders seem to wear the poppy for weeks beforehand. But November 11 this year will be historic for those devoted to Fr Doyle for another important reason…The …
November 8, 2013
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Today is the feast of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most famous and popular Catholics of recent times. Mother Teresa was Albanian, but she lived in Dublin for a number of years while she was a Loreto sister. In fact, the house she lived in was in Rathfarnham, very close to the Jesuit house there where Fr Doyle had spent some time. The young …
September 5, 2013
This website was launched 3 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 3 years later. I guess I now know the answer to all of these questions! The last three years shows …
June 7, 2013
This is a busy week! Two radio interviews and two talks about Fr Doyle (one of them tomorrow, open to the public – see details here: (http://fatherdoyle.com/2013/05/15/reminder-talk-about-fr-doyle-in-dublin-next-monday/). Now the Benedictine monks of St Joseph’s Abbey in Flavigny have produced a newsletter about Fr Doyle. It is an excellent summary of his life and spirit. You may download a copy here: Flavigny newsletter May 2013 This newsletter is translated into several …
May 18, 2013