Father William Doyle
Father Willie Doyle, S.J., Hero of the First World War
by Fiorella De Maria
This historical novel for young people is about the heroic life of Father Willie Doyle, S.J., an Irish Jesuit priest who sacrificed his life serving wounded soldiers in World War I.
Father Doyle enjoyed a happy, privileged Victorian childhood in Ireland. Growing up in a loving, faithful Catholic family, he heard the call to serve God as a priest from a very young age. Shortly after his ordination, the First World War broke out, and Father Willie volunteered to serve as a chaplain to the thousands of Irish soldiers fighting in France.
This joyful, holy, brave, and compassionate priest left the country he loved and ministered to soldiers in the hell of the trenches, dodging bullets and bombs to ensure that dying soldiers could receive the sacraments. By the time he was killed trying to help a wounded soldier, Father Willie had become greatly loved and esteemed by both Catholics and Protestants fighting in the war.
The cause for the canonization of Father Willie Doyle has recently been opened in Rome.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 185 pages
A Year's Thoughts
by Fr William Doyle, S.J.
“What is it to be a saint? Does it mean that we must macerate this flesh of ours with cruel austerities, such as we read of in the life-story of some of God’s great heroes? [ …] No, no, the hand of God does not lead us all by that stern path of awful heroism to our reward above. […] But sweetly and gently would He lead us along the way of holiness by our constant unswerving faithfulness to our duty, duty accepted, duty done for His dear sake”. Father William Doyle S.J. (page 55).
Father William Doyle (1873-1917) is best known as the heroic Irish chaplain who gave his life while tending to the spiritual needs of troops in World War I. He was loved and revered by the soldiers, who regarded him as a saint.
In the years preceding his appointment to the Front, Father Doyle wrote many letters of spiritual guidance and copious retreat notes, and also kept a diary. His biographer, Father Alfred O’Rahilly, takes excerpts from these writings, and gives us a thought for each day of the year.
Challenging, but encouraging, these thoughts will lead to peace and holiness.
Paperback, 220 pages
by Fr William Doyle
“One of the vital concerns for Fr Willie Doyle in his life as a Christian and a priest was holiness, not only seeking it for himself, but encouraging it and supporting it in those he served”, writes Fr John Hogan in his Introduction.
Indeed, the invitation to perfection is held out to all, and Fr Willie in his pamphlets offers practical wisdom to both laity and religious in pursuing the life of holiness.
With a brief introduction to Fr Willie's life and writings written by Fr John Hogan, Diocesan Postulator for the Cause of the Servant of God, Fr Willie Doyle, Pamphlets for the Faithful presents all of Fr Willie's published works, originally written in the form of pamphlets. These pamphlets cover such topics as:
- the dignity and beauty of religious life.
- advice on how to discern whether one has a vocation.
- a short guide for priests on offering the Mass.
- the great fruits that retreats produce for the laity and how to preserve their beneficial effects.
- practical advice for laity and spiritual directors in combatting that most pestering vice: scrupulosity.
Even though some of the pamphlets have as their immediate audience those who are pursuing priesthood or the religious life, they are indeed “pamphlets for the faithful.” Regardless of one’s state in life, all five pamphlets, Fr Doyle’s only published works, continue to guide souls in every state of life down the way of perfection.
Paperback, 200 pages
Father William Doyle
by Fr Alfred O'Rahilly
Father William Doyle S.J. (1873-1917) is undoubtedly one of the greatest military chaplains of all time. A steadfast Irishman by birth and mentality, he gave his life as a martyr of Charity on Frezenberg Ridge, Belgium, on the 16th August 1917. He had spent the previous year and a half administering the Sacraments in harrowing circumstances to the many Irish soldiers who were fighting during World War I “for little Belgium” (to quote the last words of one of the dying men to Father Doyle).
Though best known for his untiring and fearless charity in the service of his “boys”, the words he wrote on his appointment as chaplain in November 1915 show us that this heroic devotion was merely the outward manifestation of a deep holiness characterized by a great love for Christ: “What the future has in store I know not, but I have given Jesus all to dispose of as He sees best”.
In this classic biography of the great Irish Jesuit, Alfred O’Rahilly, relying in large part on Father Doyle’s personal correspondence and diaries, outlines the main facts of his life from birth and childhood to his years as a Jesuit student, preacher and spiritual director. He includes a thorough analysis of Father Doyle’s interior life and charts his growth in the love and service of Christ, which culminates in his heroic actions among the Irish troops in war-torn France and Belgium between December 1915 and August 1917.
Paperback, 328 pages
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