William Joseph Gabriel Doyle, SJ MC (3 March 1873 – 16 August 1917), better known as Willie Doyle, was an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

priest who was killed in action while serving as a

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

to the

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas. The Regiment was created by the amalgamation of two Brit ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He is a candidate for sainthood in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Early life

Doyle was born in

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

, Ireland, the youngest of seven children of Hugh and Christine Doyle (née Byrne). He was educated at

Ratcliffe College Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic independent boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately from Leicester, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about ...

, Leicester. After reading St. Alphonsus' book ''Instructions and Consideration on the Religious State'' he was inspired to enter the priesthood. In 1891 he entered St Stanislaus

Tullabeg College St Stanislaus College (often called Tullabeg College) was a Jesuit boys boarding school, novitiate and philosophy school, in Tullabeg, Rahan, County Offaly. St Carthage founded a monastery of 800 monks there in 595 before founding his monaster ...

, and was an ordained

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest in 1907. From 1909 until 1915 he served on the Jesuit mission team, travelling around Ireland and Britain preaching parish missions and conducting retreats. In 1914 he was involved in the foundation of a

Colettine Poor Clares The Colettine Poor Clares are a reform branch of the Order of St. Clare, founded by Clare of Assisi in Italy in 1211. They follow the interpretation of the Rule of St. Clare established by Saint Colette in 1410, originally a French hermit and member ...

monastery in Cork. He was an early member of the

Pioneer Total Abstinence Association The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (PTAA) is an international organisation for Roman Catholic teetotalers that is based in Ireland. Its members are commonly called Pioneers. While the PTAA does not advocate prohibition, ...

and had been considered a future leader of the organization by its founder, Fr James Cullen.

First World War

Doyle served in the

Royal Army Chaplains' Department The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

, appointed as a chaplain to the 48th Brigade of the 16th Irish Division. During the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

Doyle was caught in a German gas attack and for his conduct was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. A recommendation for a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

was rejected as "he had not been long enough at the front". Doyle was presented with the "parchment of merit" of the 49th (Irish) Brigade instead. He was killed in the Battle of Langemarck, on 16 August 1917.

Legacy

General

William Hickie Major General Sir William Bernard Hickie, (21 May 1865 – 3 November 1950) was an Irish-born senior British Army officer and an Irish nationalist politician. As a British Army officer Hickie saw active service in the Second Boer War from 1899 ...

, the commander-in-chief of the

16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', i ...

, described Father Doyle as "one of the bravest men who fought or served out here." Father Doyle's body was never recovered but he is commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial. Father Doyle was proposed for

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

in 1938, but this was not followed through. His papers can be found in the Jesuit archives,

Leeson Street __NOTOC__ Leeson Street (; ) is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland. Location The street is divided into two parts by the Grand Canal: Lower Leeson Street, in Dublin 2 is to the north of the canal, linking to St Stephen's Green, with ...

, Dublin. A stained glass window dedicated to his memory is present in St Finnian's Church, Dromin,

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, Ireland. Despite his troubled relationship with the

Roman Catholic Church in Ireland , native_name_lang = ga , image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. , abbreviation = , type ...

, Irish author and playwright

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

is known to have always felt a great admiration for Father William Doyle. He praised Father Doyle in his 1958 memoir ''

Borstal Boy ''Borstal Boy'' is a 1958 autobiographical book by Brendan Behan. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan, who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile borstal, softening his radical Irish republican ...

''. Also,

Alfred O'Rahilly Alfred O'Rahilly, KSG (1 October 1884 – 1 August 1969) was an academic with controversial views on both electromagnetism and religion. He briefly served in politics, as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork City, and was later the president of Univer ...

's biography of the fallen chaplain is known to have been one of Behan's favorite books. Irish folk singer Willie 'Liam' Clancy was named after him due to his mother's fondness for Doyle, although they never met.

Decorations

Doyle was awarded the

for his bravery during the

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

on the village of

Ginchy Ginchy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Ginchy is situated on the D20 road, some northeast of Amiens. The graphic below shows the community in relation to nearby places. ...

during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in 1916. He was also posthumously recommended for both the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

, but was awarded neither. According to Patrick Kenny,

anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

may have played a role in the

's decision not to grant Father Doyle both awards.Patrick Kenny (2017), ''To Raise the Fallen: A Selection of the War Letters, Prayers, and Spiritual Writings of Fr. Willie Doyle, S.J.'',

Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic publishing house based in San Francisco, California, US. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit priest and former pupil of Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press also produces ''Catholic World Report'', ' ...

. Page 26.

Published pamphlets

*''Retreats for working men: why not in Ireland?'' (1909) *''Vocations'' (1913) *''Shall I be a priest?'' (1915)

Cause for Canonisation

In August 2022, the Father Willie Doyle Association was established to petition the Catholic Church to introduce a cause for

for Doyle. In January 2022 the Supplex Libellus, the formal petition, was presented to Bishop

Thomas Deenihan Thomas Deenihan KC*HS (born 26 June 1967), in Cork, Ireland is the Bishop in the Catholic Church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meath. Early life and education Educated at North Monastery Christian Brothers School in Cork, he studied for the ...

. Having consulted with the Irish Bishops' Conference and the

Dicastery for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

, Deenihan issued an edict on 27 October announcing the opening of a cause. The Opening Session took place on 20 November 2022 at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar.

Early life

First World War

Legacy

Decorations

Published pamphlets

Cause for Canonisation

References

Further reading