ishop Tom Deenihan of Meath addresses the gathering at Mullingar Cathedral, with the records of Fr Willie Doyle’s cause for canonisation displayed alongside his portrait. Photos: John McElroy. Fr Willie Doyle SJ offers young men a model of “healthy forms of masculinity”, Bishop Tom Deenihan has said, as the World War I chaplain’s cause for canonisation heads to Rome.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic after the closing of the diocesan inquiry in The Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar on Sunday, the Bishop of Meath said Fr Doyle’s sacrifice and daily fidelity to the faith were resonating with young Catholics.
“I think we’re seeing something new in the Church at the moment with Gen Z. I think the relationship between Gen Z and religion is fascinating,” he said, pointing to the age profile of those attending. “I also think there’s a need for healthy forms of masculinity in society, in the Church and I think Doyle certainly is one of those.”
“I think Doyle has something powerful to offer so many young people of today’s age,” he added.
Fr Doyle, a Jesuit from Dalkey, was killed while ministering to wounded soldiers at Passchendaele in 1917.
Ahead of the ceremony, the postulator for the cause, Fr John Hogan, told The Irish Catholic that young men were drawn to Fr Doyle’s courage. “A lot of young guys, when they hear about Willie, they’re very attracted to him because he is this model, this heroic model,” he said. “They want good, wholesome heroes who inspire them.”
Fr Hogan stressed that this heroism was formed through years of prayer and small sacrifices. “Every day requires heroism”, he said.
Fr Luke DeMasi, who plays Fr Doyle in an upcoming film by the Home of the Mother, said young people today faced “a different kind of battle”.
“They’re bombarded with dark thoughts, with a lack of meaning in their life,” he said, adding that Fr Doyle’s example could encourage priests to seek out those in spiritual danger.
Bishop Deenihan expressed his confidence in the cause: “I believe in the cause of Willie Doyle. I believe he is a saint. And I think he has something to offer our time.”
The inquiry, opened in 2022, has gathered testimony and historical and theological assessments, expected to be brought to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints next month.