Ireland: Parish commemorates life of WWI hero Fr Willie Doyle SJ

A Mass to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the much loved priest and World War One chaplain, Fr Willie Doyle SJ took place in the Church of the Assumption, in the seaside town of Dalkey near Dublin last Wednesday. There was also an exhibition and a talk about Fr Willie at Dalkey Library.

William Joseph Gabriel Doyle was born in Dalkey on 3 March 1873, the youngest of seven children.

He entered the Jesuit Noviciate at the age of 18. Soon after his ordination in 1907 he was appointed to the mission staff for five years. From 1908 to 1915 he have 1532 missions and retreats. His fame as a preacher, confessor and spiritual director spread far and wide. In the midst of such an active apostate he maintained a fervent spiritual life of prayer.

He was a sent to France in 1915 to service as Chaplain to the16th Irish Division, the 9th Dublin Fusiliers, 6th Royal Irish Iniskilling Fusiliers and 7th Royal Irish Rifles. He was killed at Passchendaele on 16 August 1917, “having run all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy”. His body was never recovered

Read more about Fr Willie Doyle SJ here: https://fatherdoyle.com