“Courage Under Fire: Father Willie Doyle S.J. Priest and Hero of World War I”
By Fiorella De Maria, illustrated by Christopher J. Pelicano.
Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2024, 181 pages, Grades 3-6.
Memorial Day was celebrated this week. It is a time to remember the brave servicemen and women who gave their lives in the service of their country. Their ultimate sacrifices have given the people of the United States a great nation. This makes it fitting to honor these heroes of our country.
During the two world wars fought in the 20th century, the United States joined a number of nations in combatting aggression. In World War I, the United States fought alongside soldiers from the British Empire, France and other nations. Fiorella De Maria tells the account of one of these Allied soldiers in World War I.
Father Willie Doyle, S.J., heroically ministered to his fellow Irish soldiers as well as wounded German soldiers. He exposed himself to lethal fire repeatedly while giving the last sacraments to fallen soldiers. De Maria’s biography of this gallant, spiritual priest, “Courage Under Fire: Father Willie Doyle, S.J., Priest and Hero of World War I,” tells of his remarkable faith and bravery.
Willie Doyle is born March 3, 1873 in Dublin, Ireland. His parents are affluent and want their children to be well educated. But more than anything else, both of his parents nurture a deep Catholic faith in the family. Willie participates in the usual mischievous antics of young boys, but develops a growing love for Christ.
As is typical with his upper class background, the young man is sent to an English boarding school. There he believes God is calling him to the priesthood and he joins the Jesuits. After years of training, Willie is finally ordained and begins to serve the Church.
When World War I explodes in 1914, Father Doyle agrees to enter military service. One year later, he is called to active duty. For the next two years, his fearless attention to the wounded and dying impresses everyone. If a soldier is shot between the two military lines, Father Willie rushes through gunfire to administer the last sacraments. He hears confessions as bombs explode around him and celebrates Mass in trenches filled with the wounded. Despite repeated warnings from his commanders during battle, he will not shirk his duties as a priest. He is universally loved by Catholic and Protestant soldiers. What happens to this great priest?
What characteristics define Father Doyle? How do his actions on the battlefield demonstrate his holiness? Why does Father Willie Doyle live out the biblical mandate of laying down one’s life for his neighbor? To find the answers to these and other questions, go to the library or a bookstore and buy this fine biography: “Courage Under Fire: Father Willie Doyle, S.J., Priest and Hero of World War I,” by Fiorella De Maria.
The beginning chapters of this book concerning his childhood are not particularly memorable. The second half of the book details his priestly work on the battlefields of the Western Front. It makes for compelling reading.
Father Doyle’s cause for sainthood is being considered by the Vatican. Father Doyle was a priest filled with love of God and immense courage and charity for his fellow soldiers. Well worth reading.
