The following was written about Fr Doyle by Sir Percival Phillips, the famous war correspondent, and appeared in the Daily Express on this day in 1917. The Orangemen will not forget a certain Roman Catholic chaplain who lies in a soldier’s grave in that sinister plain beyond Ypres. He went forward and back over the battle field with bullets whining about him, seeking out the dying and kneeling in the …
WWI
August 22, 2022
During his time away from the trenches Fr Doyle often stayed in a convent in Locre. If my memory serves me correctly, he had an uninterrupted 13 hour sleep after one particularly trying period at the front, and on one occasion he got locked out and had to sleep on a bench outside. In any event, these nuns of St Anthony’s Institute obviously held Fr Doyle in very great esteem. …
August 21, 2022
On this day in 1917, 4 days after Fr Willie’s death, Fr Frank Browne, the famous photographer and Jesuit military chaplain, wrote the following in a letter expressing his esteem for him. Fr Browne worked closely with Fr Willie, and these words come from the pen of one who knew him intimately. All during these last months he was my greatest help, and to his saintly advice, and still more …
August 20, 2022
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 …
August 16, 2022
The feast of the Assumption was an important date for Fr Willie. He made his religious vows on this day in 1893, and always felt that that Our Lady obtained special graces for him on this day. Perhaps our Blessed Mother will have special graces in store for us as well today? Here is his account of Mary’s protection on August 15th, 1916 (a year before his death) during one …
August 15, 2022
Today we have the last of Fr Doyle’s narratives from his letters home to his father in August 1917, less than a week before his death. In this entry in his letter we see his close brush with death in the form of a shell landing very close to him. Close beside us I had found the remains of a dug-out which had been blown in the previous day and …
August 11, 2022
We return today to Fr Willie’s narrative, and get some glimpse of the horror of war, and the comfort that the presence of a priest can bring to the dying. Today’s quote is amongst the most moving from all of Fr Willie’s letters. Of particular note is his reference to Pontius Pilate presenting Jesus to the crowd after the scourging with the words: “Ecce homo” (Behold the Man)… These events …
August 10, 2022
Continuing our narrative today, it is hard not to be struck by the extraordinary good humour of Fr Willie. The “cathedral” to which he refers was, of course, just another dug out or shell hole somewhere in a battlefield. His final comment about being glad not to be asked to say the rosary with bombs falling around him is classic Irish wit. It is important to remember that these letters …
August 8, 2022
Today’s account, from 7 August 1917, gives us some small insight into the horrors of the war, especially when it involved the use of poisoned gas. Of note also is the way in which Fr Doyle accepts spending extra days at the front to cover for a priest who never showed up to relieve him. He doesn’t grumble or complain, and in fact is glad he stayed in order to …
August 7, 2022
The events of August 6 1917 in Fr Doyle’s own words. In particular today we note Fr Doyle’s devotion to the Mass. The following morning, though the Colonel and other officers pressed me very much to remain with them on the ground that I would be more comfortable, I felt I could do better work at the advanced dressing-station, or rather aid-post, and went and joined the doctor. It was …
August 6, 2022