Father Willie Doyle, S.J. / nullDenver, Colo., Oct 31, 2022 / 17:15 pm (CNA).Ireland s Father William Doyle, SJ, is one step closer to sainthood. Bishop Thomas Deenihan of the Diocese of Meath announced his intention Oct. 27 to open the Jesuit s cause for beatification and canonization.Doyle was an Irish military chaplain for the British Army who served heroically on the battlefields of World War I and died trying to rescue two Protestant soldiers. "We re obviously very delighted, but also very grateful," Patrick Kenny, president of the Father Willie Doyle Association, told CNA Oct. 31. "We re very grateful to the bishop, very grateful to the Irish Jesuit province that has supported us, and very grateful for God s providence that this is the moment when Father Doyle s cause is being introduced."The association seeks to raise awareness about Doyle and promote his cause for sainthood."One of the standard characteristics of Father Willie s personality was his joy
Father Willie Doyle, S.J. / nullMullingar, Ireland, Mar 14, 2022 / 18:00 pm (CNA).Father Willie Doyle, S.J. was an Irish priest whose heroic sacrifices as a military chaplain during World War I were much admired in the last century. Now a lay group has launched with the goal of reviving his canonization cause and to spread awareness about the priest."Willie Doyle is a very compelling figure," Patrick Kenny, president of the Ireland-based Father Willie Doyle Association, said March 11. "His attractive personality, asnd his love for God and for others, shines through all of his writings, especially the diaries and letters he wrote during the war.""He is also a tremendously relevant figure for the Church today, especially in Ireland," Kenny said. "By offering his life to save wounded Anglican soldiers he became an ecumenical martyr of charity and is an icon of reconciliation and unity in the midst of religious and political division. He explicitly offere