Patrick Peyton
Encyclopedia
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-born Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, devout promoter of the works & inspirations of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the founder of the post-World War II prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
movement called, "Family Rosary Crusade
Family Rosary Crusade
Family Rosary Crusade is a worldwide campaign that eventually became a Roman Catholic movement founded by Reverend Father Patrick Peyton, CSC. The endeavor came to be as a personal mission to undertake the promotion of the praying of the family Rosary by families as a means to bind families together...
". This campaign was harnessed by the CIA between 1958 and 1965 and funded in order to combat leftist influence in Latin America.
Father Peyton staged massive Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
rallies in key cities of the world and extensively utilized mass communication, helped by world-recognized celebrities of Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
at that time, promoting his ministry of binding families through prayer under the Family Rosary.
Father Peyton made famous the slogans, "The family that prays together stays together," and "A world at prayer is a world at peace."
Early life in Ireland
Father Peyton was born as Patrick Joseph Gillard-Peyton in County MayoCounty Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Ireland to John Peyton of Carracastle and to Mary Gillard of Rathreedane, Townland of Bonniconlon, County Mayo.
Father Peyton was the sixth in a family of four girls and five boys living in a small cabin at a 14 acre (5.66 hectares) stony farmland near the foot of Ox Mountains. The Peyton family was a deeply religious Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Catholic subsistence farming family. Later on, some members of the family migrated to the United States.
Peyton was one of the children having a privilege to go to school. Patrick was sent to his mother's relatives in Bonniconlon to study at a school run by Tadhg O’Leary in Bofield.
Early Education
As a young man, Patrick was rebellious and had moments of defying authority, resulting in dropping out of school. Despite the youthful rebellion, he remained close to his family, respectful of his parents, and was deeply religious.By his teen years, he was contemplating a vocation to become a priest. Religious recruiters such as the Capuchins
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
and the Redemptorist
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer is a Roman Catholic missionary Congregation founded by Saint Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, near Amalfi, Italy for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people in the neighbourhood of Naples.Members of the Congregation, priests and brothers,...
fathers visited Carracastle in search of young men wanting to pursue the priesthood.
Digging Ditches
His curiosity about pursuing a vocation was set aside for a couple of years. Instead he would concentrate in helping his family earn a living when their father became too ill and to work the farm. Some of his elder sisters were already in America and were sending remittances to help the family left. In 1927, his sisters in America sent word that Patrick and his older brother Thomas could sail to the United States and join them in Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
. On May 13, 1928, the Peyton brothers set sail.
Living in America
The brothers arrived at Ellis IslandEllis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
after a ten-day trip, traveling by steerage, a young Patrick who was never left his country was awed by the glamor of the well off Irish people who were in the leisure cabins above deck. The two took the train from New York to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and lived at the home of their already married sister, Nellie who was working as a housekeeper for the state Attorney General of that time.
Patrick's sister Nellie already spoke to Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Paul Kelley of the St. Stanislaus Cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
and told of Patrick's inclination to pursue a priestly vocation
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
. Monsignor Kelley told Nellie to bring her younger brother Patrick to the cathedral as soon as he arrived. By June 1928, with hard luck in finding a job, Patrick finally met Monsignor Kelley and was offered with a job of becoming the cathedral's sexton
Sexton
Sexton may refer to:*Sexton , a self-propelled artillery vehicle of World War II*Sexton , a church or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of the church buildings and/or the surrounding graveyard; and ringing of the church bells...
. In the words of Patrick at that time, a sexton was just another name for a janitor.
Meeting Holy Cross Fathers
Peyton took the job with initial hesitation but his daily presence at the cathedral brought back the calling for a vocation and he finally decided to pursue his vocation in the priesthood. Monsignor Kelley insisted that Patrick should complete his high school education prior admission to the novitiateNovitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
. He and his older brother Thomas both pursued their religious vocations while working at the cathedral.
During the spring of 1929, Father Pat Dolan of the Congregation of Holy Cross
Congregation of Holy Cross
The Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
, came to the cathedral in Scranton in search of new seminarians. Patrick and his brother Thomas formally entered the main seminary of the Congregation of Holy Cross in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
in 1932.
After completing their high school studies in a Holy Cross school in Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame is a census-designated place north of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States; it includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, and Holy Cross College. Notre Dame is split between Clay and Portage Townships...
, Patrick was admitted to the Moreau Seminary within the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1932. Patrick pursued a degree in Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, struggled in several subjects but thanks to a great memory passed college requirements. Patrick excelled well in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Patrick credits Father Cornelius Haggerty, CSC, a professor of ethics as the one who provided counseling to the young seminarian. As a seminarian, Patrick was attracted to become a Holy Cross father for the order's focus towards the Holy Family, and the order's precision towards obedience and conscience. Patrick also appreciated the orders instant availability to any instructions of the Catholic Church and the family like atmosphere within the Congregation.
A Life, All for Mary
On October 1938, Patrick's health took a turn from good to bad when he started coughing blood. For months he ignored his hemorrhages until he could no longer concentrate with his work and on the night of February 6, he was brought to nearby Providence Hospital.Doctors discovered advance stages of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on the upper lobe of Patrick's right lung. At the start, Patrick was despondent and feared that was the end of his young life.
His sister Nellie traveled to Notre Dame from Scranton and brought him novenas of the Blessed Mother. Nellie reminded Patrick of the never ending love of the Blessed Mother and how their family lived the life of prayer, especially the Holy Rosary.
Father Cornelius Haggerty, CSC was also influential in this stage of Patrick's life, encouraging the young seminarian to give it all up to God and seek the hand of the Blessed Mother.
For the entirety of his illness, Patrick prayed hard the Rosary like never before and consecrated his whole life to her and her cause.
Patrick's prayers were answered and miraculously, the doctors discovered that the patches in his lungs disappeared.
He immediately packed his bags and left for the Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College
Holy Cross College may refer to:*Holy Cross College , Bangladesh*Holy Cross College , in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States*Holy Cross College , Western Province, Sri Lanka*Holy Cross College...
in Washington, D.C. to complete his theology studies and take his final vows.
On May 1941, a special dispensation from the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
allowed Patrick to be ordained as a priest but he must complete his studies after being subjected to severe illness. On June 15, Patrick and his brother Thomas were finally ordained at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the University of Notre Dame as members of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Beginning a Lifelong Crusade
With a war raging in Europe and another starting to boil in the Pacific, Reverend Father Patrick Peyton, CSC was given very light duties after completing his theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
studies. His first assignment was to become the chaplain of the Holy Cross Brothers of the Vincentian Institute in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.
From Albany, New York, Father Peyton's mission started as letter of appeals to Bishops, the Catholic lay, even to non-Christians arguing and appealing the importance of the families praying the Family Rosary as the war raged on. Father Peyton won points for his mission to bring families together later on especially after the end of the war.
Utilizing radio, films, outdoor advertising and later television, with the help of celebrities, artists and advertising practitioners, Father Peyton was one of the first pioneers of evangelism using mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
.
He would also pioneer in conducting public rallies to bring families to pledge to pray the Rosary as a unit. These series of Rosary rallies attended by millions would become the most significant event where Father Peyton could be best remembered. According to historian Hugh Wilford, "Peyton himself was deeply conscious of the political dimension of his mission, proudly proclaiming in a 1946 radio broadcast, 'The rosary is the offensive weapon that will destroy Communism—the great evil that seeks to destroy the faith'" (The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America [Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2008], p. 187).
These Rosary rallies, the crusades were duplicated in different dioceses with attendees growing in numbers taking Father Peyton across the globe from Brussels, Belgium to Madrid, Spain across Asia to Manila, Philippines, down south of the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and into several South American cities like Lima, Peru to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
With the help of a non-Catholic advertising practitioner, Father Peyton would popularize the slogan, "The family that prays together stays together."
The Legacy of Father Peyton
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
threatening anew world peace, Father Peyton was highly instrumental in promoting prayers, winning the hearts of leaders and non-Christians, making visible the messages of the Blessed Virgin Mary, including the recognition from the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
from Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
to Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. His efforts throughout the tumultuous period of human history in the 20th century, earned him the title, "The Rosary Priest"
Controversy hounded Father Peyton throughout his ministry as some accused him of being a front for American intelligence during his missions in Latin America. It is now known that Father Peyton allowed his Rosary Crusades in Latin America to be funded and, to some extent, directed by the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, which was interested in combatting leftist political movements in Latin America. This connection came about through Father Peyton's connection to J. Peter Grace
J. Peter Grace
Joseph Peter Grace was a multimillionaire American industrialist and conglomerateur of Irish Catholic heritage. He was president of the diversified chemical company, ' for 48 years, making him the longest reigning CEO of a public company.Born in Manhasset, New York, he succeeded his father, Joseph...
, the great-grandson of the founder of W.R. Grace and Company, a multinational corporation with interests in transport, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, and mining in South America, whom Peyton had met in 1946 on a trans-Atlantic voyage. Grace, who was involved with other CIA front operations as well, wrote to John Moore, the chair of the Business Advisory Council, and the two men approached Allen Dulles. Dulles later met with Grace in the White House office of Vice President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, who expressed enthusiasm. The CIA decided for several years where the crusades would take place, and CIA funds were expended in Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia, until Peyton's provincial superior, Richard H. Sullivan, learned of the secret funding from Theodore Hesburgh
Theodore Hesburgh
The Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC, STD , a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. He is the namesake for TIAA-CREF's Hesburgh Award....
, the chair of the board of trustees of the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, in October 1964. It took the Vatican more than a year and a half to oblige Father Peyton to give up his CIA financing (Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America [Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2008], pp. 182–96).
Others accused Father Peyton of living an ostentatious lifestyle, living a life with Hollywood artists who volunteered their efforts in helping promote his mission but Father Peyton maintained that he has never solicited funds for his ministry, and the well-off were more than generous to voluntarily donate a portion of their wealth all in the name of the Blessed Mother.
Father Patrick Peyton, CSC died peacefully holding a Rosary in a very small room on June 3, 1992 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His remains were brought to the Holy Cross cemetery on the grounds of Stonehill College
Stonehill College
Stonehill College is a private Roman Catholic college located in Easton, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1948. Situated in North Easton, Massachusetts, a suburban community of 23,329 people, Stonehill is located south of Boston on a campus, the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames...
in Easton, Massachusetts
Easton, Massachusetts
Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 23,112 at the 2010 census.Easton is governed by an elected committee of selectmen and a town administrator.- History :...
.
Before Father Peyton died, he continued to work on what was to be the last major Rosary Rally. On December 8, 1992 at the Rizal Park
Rizal Park
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing,...
in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Manila Cardinal Archbishop Jaime Sin led the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Family Rosary Crusade
Family Rosary Crusade
Family Rosary Crusade is a worldwide campaign that eventually became a Roman Catholic movement founded by Reverend Father Patrick Peyton, CSC. The endeavor came to be as a personal mission to undertake the promotion of the praying of the family Rosary by families as a means to bind families together...
. Then the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles, Roger Mahony, was sent as Papal Legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
on behalf of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
Opening the Cause for Sainthood
Then Bishop Sean Patrick O’Malley, then Bishop of the Fall River, MassachusettsFall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
announced a formal declaration opening the cause for sainthood of Father Peyton on June 1, 2001, a few days after receiving approval from the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. The declaration paved the way for the process of determining Father Peyton's holiness and in the process earning the revered title of "Servant of God
Servant of God
Servant of God is a title given to individuals by various religions, but in general the phrase is used to describe a person believed to be pious in his or her faith tradition. In the Catholic Church, it designates someone who is being investigated by the Church for possibly being recognized as a...
."