To Raise the Fallen: A Selection of the War Letters Prayers and Spiritual Writing of Fr Willie Doyle SJ

About this book

Father Doyle was one of the best priests I have ever met and one of the bravest men who ever fought or worked out here. -Major-General Hickie 16th (Irish) Division Dublin-born military chaplain Willie Doyle SJ died in action during the Battle of Passchendaele on 16 August 1917 having been hit by a German shell while rushing to the aid of wounded soldiers trapped in No Mans Land. In To Raise the Fallen Patrick Kenny introduces readers to this remarkable figure from Irish Catholicism whose faith courage and generosity in the face of untold devastation continues to inspire Christians and non-Christians alike. To Raise the Fallen comprises a selection of Willie Doyles rich and vivid letters from the front alongside diary entries prayers spiritual writings and extracts from pamphlets on the vocational life that made him a publishing sensation across Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. Father Doyles compassion cheerfulness and humility alongside his great valor in wartime are testament to his commitment to Gospel values while his final act of bravery truly epitomizes Christs edict that there is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends.