Monday 2 June 2014

*100 priests, 40,000 converts


Catholic Padre, Fr Francis Gleeson administers 'The Last Absolution of the Munsters'

2014 is the centenary anniversary of the start of the 1914-18 war, The First World War, or, as my father used to call it: "The man's war" (the Second World War with its massively increased reliance on technology and airpower was, of course, "The boy's war").

I remember well my father's description of battle scenes where the dead littered No Man's Land two or three deep and no space between them.

And I recall well his accounts of the roles played by the Catholic Military Chaplains, the Padres who accompanied their regiment into battle bestowing the Sacrament of Confession as they ran in response to cries from the troops of: "Absolution Padre!".

Absolution was administered at the trot and, hopefully, before they came within range of the German machine gunners who would mow down thousand upon thousand of infantrymen from all parts of the world; China, India, Africa, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand among many other nationalities taking part.

Catholic Chaplains were far outnumbered by their Protestant counterparts as, of course, they were largely attached to the smaller number of Catholic regiments; The Irish Guards in which my father served, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and more besides.

And, in no sense am I being partisan when I state that the Catholic Padres were more likely to go over the top with their regiment, this being due to the sacramental nature of their role.

The Protestant Padres had no Sacrament of Extreme Unction to deliver (the 'Sacrament of the Sick' would have rung rather hollow under the circumstances) and so their role was mainly pastoral in comforting the troops and in writing the dreaded letter home:-

"I regret to inform you that your son was killed in action at Mametz Woods having fought bravely against the foe..."

So, the mortality rate among the Catholic Chaplains was disproportionately high; some 34 gave their lives on the battlefield - "For the good shepherd forsakes not his flock.."

Whilst 122 Protestant Padres valiantly gave their lives also.

But, an interesting fact to come out of this appalling holocaust, is that, inspired by the bravery and dedication of the Catholic priests, over 40,000 men converted to the Catholic Faith during and immediately after the war.
That fact helps a little when you consider the futility of war, some good resulting from evil.

 
The abattoir at Mazingarbe

                             The push for Aubers Ridge had been postponed
because of rain. But the Saturday
was dry and sunny. Going up the line
in the early evening, the battalion
stood easy at the shrine to Our Lady.
‘…in remissionem peccatorum…’
By noon, next day, nearly half were dead,
caught on the German wire Haig’s ill equipped
artillery had, once more, failed to cut.

Extract from:  http://www.davidselzer.com/2012/11/the-abattoir-at-mazingarbe/#sthash.D4yN8DFq.dpuf

See also an account of Fr Willie Doyle SJ HERE

*I cannot find a record of the number of Catholic Padres in WW1 but, given that relatively few of the regiments were Catholic, it is fair to assume that one hundred priests or less were assigned to these duties by Cardinal Bourne.

24 comments:

  1. Fr Martindale's S.J. famous book "Words of Life", now published as "Becoming a Catholic" was written for use by troops in the First World War.

    Through it, and Father Tracy, S.J., I became a Catholic.

    There were good Jesuits.

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    1. Yes, there were some great J's in the recent past. Fr Clement Tigar should be on the list also, along with Fr Thwaites.

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  2. I think that it was Robert Graves who remarked on the phenomenon of Catholic conversions in the Great War, attributing it to the fact you mention, that Catholic Chaplains were in the front line giving Extreme Unction, while the denominations were further back. Not, I think, true of Studdert-Kennedy (Woodbine Willie).

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    1. LF, I have a high regard for Studdert-Kennedy and, especially, 'When Jesus came to Birmingham'.

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  3. Those with an interest in Fr Willie Doyle SJ, one of the most famous Catholic chaplains of the war, may wish to visit www.fatherdoyle.com. It is updated (almost) every day with quotes from his spiritual writings or his detailed accounts of his war experience. Fr Doyle was killed in August 1917 while rescuing 2 wounded soldiers. Many people believe that he should be canonised, and there are thousands of alleged favours around the world through his intercession.

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  4. My grandfather who was in the Welsh Guards (and won an MC) converted several years after the end of the war, inspired (just as this article suggests) by the bravery of the Catholic Chaplains.

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  5. Richard, PK - You have probably watched this. http://youtu.be/ydTDIPkClwg

    To my shame I had not heard of Father Doyle.

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    1. Left-footer: Fr Doyle was very famous until about the middle of the last century, and then his fame diminished somewhat, although there has always been a residual devotion to him, especially among the families of those he aided during the war. However, devotion to him is certainly now growing - two new books have been published in the last 6 months alone. The classic biography by Alfred O'Rahilly, published in the 1920's, is an extraordinary book which combines adventure with profound spiritual insights. It was translated into the major world languages, and it has inspired canonised saints. Reprints can be found by clicking on a link at the right hand side of the www.fatherdoyle.com site (the site does not make any money from this - it is merely a link to the publisher). The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer in Papa Stronsay have also produced a magazine about Fr Doyle entitled Trench Priest.

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    2. Funnily enough I am just reading the life story of Canon Michael Casey. He was a local parish priest here in Liverpool in the 1990's but had served as an army chaplain to the Irish Guards and the Paras through the 40's and 50's.

      Canon Michael Casey had also been influenced in his younger days by Fr. Willie Doyle. He had read Fr. Doyle's life story whilst studying at Upholland in the late 30's and received a framed picture of Fr. Doyle as an ordination present in 1939.

      A former corporal who served in Cyprus and at Suez recalls Canon Casey helping a lapsed Catholic at the base to get back to Confession and Holy Mass through his kindness.

      This rings true for me too. As a recent convert in the early 1990's, I attended Canon Casey's for Confession. A sacristan told me that the (by then) elderly priest was in his sickbed and the other priest was out. I was moved and mortified by the fact that Canon Casey made several attempts to leave his sickbed to hear my confession. In the end the other priest arrived first but the efforts of this good priest made a big and lasting impression on me.

      In Christ Alan Houghton

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    3. Alan: What you say is very interesting - I would like to get that reference if at all possible. Perhaps you could email me at frwilliedoyle AT gmail DOT com

      There was an entire generation of priests who either owed their vocations to Fr Doyle, or whose spirituality was shaped by him. Fr Doyle wrote two booklets on the priesthood and religious vocations - they sold hundreds of thousands of copies in the years immediately before and after his death. I received a letter recently from a priest in England who had just celebrated 60 years as a priest. He had been a soldier in WW2, and his chaplain gave him one of Fr Willie's booklets on the priesthood. That settled the matter, and he became a priest. Some time later he met the chaplain and thanked him for the booklet that helped his vocation. The chaplain said that he knew of 11 other soldiers who became priests after receiving the booklet!

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    4. PK: Certainly.

      The book is called He Walked Tall - The Story of Canon Michael Casey by Mary Whittle (Printed by Gemini Print in 2002). The reference to the ordination present is on page 40. The account of the return of the soldier to the sacraments is on page 77. As I read the book, I realize that there are many more examples of his strong witness to Christ.

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  6. My mum was a young nurse for the duration of WWII, and I'm sure she'd take umbrage at its being dismissed as 'the boy's war' having nursed countless burns victims..as I suspect would those who lost husbands, sons, brothers etc.
    Sue

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    1. Sue, the comment was one made by an old soldier with more than a smack of dry humour (two of whose sons served in the Second World War. But, if you think of the unmitigated slaughter of young men in the trenches of 1914-18, then WW2 seems somewhat lighter by comparison.

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    2. FYI:
      WWI Casualties: Estimated to be 10 million military dead, 7 million civilian deaths, 21 million wounded, and 7.7 million missing or imprisoned.

      Over 60 million people died in World War II. Estimated deaths range from 50-80 million. 38 to 55 million civilians were killed, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine.
      Sue

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    3. Sue, it's not a numbers game, read up on the history of life in the trenches.

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    4. Sue, Richard was comparing the impact of the two world wars on Great Britain, not the world at large. Our casualties in WWI were much greater than those in WWII, a fact which a glance at the respective number of names on most war memorials will confirm.

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  7. I would never seek to minimise the mass slaughter of those serving in the trenches in WWI, gentlemen ( and yes, I have read the history books, various autobiographies, Richard, as well as the heartrending poetry ). But neither would I underplay WWII casualties.
    I see the numbers as being pretty significant in both wars.
    Sue

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  8. It was never my intention to make light of the mass slaughter of a generation in the trenches, gentlemen, but one cannot ignore the fact that military casualties in WWII were almost triple that number ( and, yes I have read the poetry, history, biographies and autobiographies surrounding WWI ).
    I think my previous comment went missing...
    Sue

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  9. Just a little aside, as someone whose family was heavily involved in that war, four dead in the wider family. When my children and grandchildren have visited Ypres and so on, I have always suggested they also visit, Langemark, the German cemetary.

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  10. Holy priests will always mean converts, people strengthened in the Faith and moral life, and vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

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  11. The picture is very inspiring. Thank you for posting it.

    Do you have a source for the figure of 40,000 conversions?

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    1. F & F, the statistic is quoted on several of the Fr Doyle sites, sorry, I cannot retrack on the actual ones.

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  12. Interesting that thesde chaplains and the troops who they served were only 90 years out from the Catholic Emancipation Act in Briain ,yet they paid with their lives "Greater Love hath No Man than lay donw his life for his friends" rings true of these brave men.

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    1. Good point, Gervase but, I suspect that most of them were Irish...which makes the sacrifice even more poignant.

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