In Memoriam

• Telegram from Pope John Paul 11

• Catholic Church's Man of the Century by Ted Hogan, close personal friend of Frank Duff

• World Pays Tribute to Frank Duff by ISABEL CONWAY

• Telegram from Pope John Paul 11

Text of telegram from Pope John Paul 11 to Concilium President Enda Dunleavy

TELEGRAM

VATICAN CITY

11 NOVEMBER 1980

MR. ENDA DUNLEAVY

PRESIDENT

CONCILIUM MARIAE LEGIONIS

NORTH BRUNSWICK STREET

DUBLIN, IRELAND

THE LEGION OF MARY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD MOURNS THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER FRANK DUFF. I JOIN WITH THE MEMBERS IN PRAYING FOR THE ETERNAL REPOSE OF HIS SOUL. THE ASSOCIATION THAT HE FOUNDED HAS MADE COUNTLESS LAY CATHOLICS AWARE OF THEIR INDESPENSABLE ROLE IN EVANGELIZATION AND SANCTIFICATION AND HAS ENABLED THEM TO FULFILL THAT ROLE ZEALOUSLY AND EFFECTIVELY. TO ALL LEGIONARIES I IMPART THE APOSTOLIC BLESSING AND COMFORT IN THEIR LOSS AND ENCOURAGEMENT IN THEIR FUTURE TASK.

JOHN PAUL 11

Catholic Church's Man of the Century

by Ted Hogan, a close personal friend of Frank Duff

The layman who, many in various parts of the world will say, has made the biggest contribution to the life of the Catholic Church throughout the world in this century, celebrates his 91st birthday today.

He is Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion of Mary, the lay apostolate organization, founded in Dublin in 1921, and now the greatest of its kind in the world. It is established in every country outside the Communist bloc.

Today he will be back in his office in the Legion's Concilium building in Morning Star Avenue, off North Brunswick Street, Dublin.

He will be back to his normal daily schedule on Monday, which means he will cycle the 500 yards to Mass in the Capuchin Fathers' Church, shortly before nine o'clock in the morning.

The morning and afternoon is devoted to correspondence and the writing of articles or lectures, mainly on mariological subjects. In the evenings he will often spend a couple of hours with fellow legionaries, discussing and planning projects.

He also finds time to receive legionaries, and other lay people and churchmen from Ireland and from overseas, who seek his help and his advice.

He has long since been the friend and the adviser of priests, prelates and princes of the Church, and he was called up as an expert (peritus) to advise on the lay apostolate during the Second Vatican Council, 15 years ago.

One of the most appealing calls to go out from the Council was for greater participation of the laity in the affairs of the Church.

Frank Duff anticipated this call by many years, because his legionaries, an elite corps of Catholic lay men and women, have been doing much of the kind of work advocated by the Council.

It is now a fact, fully recognized by the Church's rulers at the Vatican, that there is no other movement of the lay apostolate throughout the world comparable to the Legion of Mary.

Their work in Third World countries in Africa, Asia, South America and elsewhere is noticeably effective. Indeed, many of the missionaries overseas say that their work would be virtually impossible without the help they receive from Legionaries of Mary in the field.

The climax to Frank Duff's busy life of prayer and dedication to his fellow man came last Summer, when Pope John Paul asked him specially to visit him in Rome.

"We were really moved with his warmth and his kindness and particularly, his simplicity and his humility," Mr. Duff told me.

"He was anxious to hear our views on what direction the lay apostolate should take. He asked us questions and listened most attentively. It was all a most moving experience for my colleagues and myself and particularly when we assisted at the Mass Pope John Paul concelebrated with his Irish-born secretary, Father John Magee."

When there was far greater poverty in Dublin, before and during the First World War, than there is now, the young Duff, then destined for a high place in the Civil Service, found time to help Dublin's poor as a St. Vincent de Paul worker.

As time went on, he felt there was an even greater need for an organization which would concern itself more with the spiritual needs of Dublin's unfortunate citizens.

And so it was that in September, 1921, a new movement, the Association of Our Lady of Mercy, a short time later to change its name to the Legion of Mary, came into being.

At first, the work was confined to visiting the sick in what was known to most as the Poorhouse in James's Street.

Then, as new members came along in unexpectedly large numbers, attention was turned to other works.

A big drive was launched to wean away from their sinful life the growing number of prostitutes operating on Dublin's streets. In fact, the rehabilitation of fallen women soon became a major work, and it was decided that premises to house them had become a matter of urgency.

Mr. Duff went straight to Mr. William Cosgrave, the first President of the new Irish State. He made available a fine Georgian type house in Harcourt Street, and a significant point was reached in the history of the then-infant Legion of Mary.

Thereafter, Mr. Cosgrave was a life long friend of the Legion and its founder. When Mr. Cosgrave left office, Mr. Duff struck up a warm friendship with his successor, Mr. Eamon de Valera, and he, too, was generous in his support of the movement.

While Mr. Duff was writing an important page in the history of the Church in Ireland, he was also playing an unobtrusive role in the building of the Irish State.

In August, 1922, he was private secretary to Michael Collins, and he bade him farewell at Portobello Barracks, prior to his ill-fated trip to Beal na mBlath, where he lost his life.

During the early years of the Legion of Mary, Frank Duff applied himself diligently to his duties as a civil servant and before he had reached the age of 35, he had moved well into the higher echelons.

During the evenings he worked with the same determination and purpose to strengthen his new group in the lay apostolate.

He also found time to strengthen his own spiritual life through prayer, meditation and reading. His favourite books were "The True Devotion" and "The Secret of Mary," both written by Louis de Montfort.

Indeed, it was these writings of the 18th century Frenchman which really inspired him to found the Legion of Mary.

Louis de Montfort died in 1716 at the relatively early age of 43. He had some singular apostolic successes in his own country.

But during the 200 years after his death he was virtually unknown outside France, except to theologians and mariologists who appreciated his writings.

The advent of the Legion of Mary gradually changed all that, because, as it expanded throughout the world, so also the name of Louis de Montfort became known more widely.

He was accorded the full accolade of the Church on July 20th, 1947, when he was proclaimed "Saint" by Pope Pius XII in St. Peter's in the presence of a vast multitude, many of them legionaries from various parts of the world.

Encouraged and inspired by the teachings of St. Louis de Montfort, Frank Duff pressed on with the development of his "Legion" in the 1920's. During the early years the work was confined to Dublin and was carried out by women.

Then in 1928 came an important development, when the first group of men was admitted to membership in the Morning Star praesidium.

The work of this group was to cater for the spiritual needs (as is the work of all Legion praesidia) of down-and-out men in a hostel providing supper, bed and breakfast.

Three years later, the Regina Coeli Hostel was founded in a premises adjacent to the Morning Star Hostel and adjoining Legion Headquarters in Morning Star Avenue.

Its purpose was to cater for destitute women and for unwanted, unmarried mothers and their babies. Both hostels have helped many unfortunates during the past 50 years and are still providing an excellent service.

In each hostel there is a small staff of voluntary, unpaid workers who work full-time and live on the premises. In addition, many men and women from various walks of life go there after their working hours to help with the running of the hostels.

Despite the burden of his years and his busy daily schedule, Frank Duff finds time to keep in touch.

In 1933 Frank Duff, then 44 years of age and surely destined to reach the highest rank in the civil service, made a momentous decision. He resigned in order to devote all his time to the work of the Legion, then expanding rapidly.

The same year the Legion was established in the West Indies and in West Africa. It had been established already in Scotland, the first outpost from Ireland (in 1928), England (1929), India (1931), the US (1931), Canada (1932) and Australia (1932).

In 1934 it was decided to make a big effort to spread the organization in the US and Miss Mary Duffy was sent out as an envoy (the name given to a full-time extension worker).

Extension workers have gone to many countries over the years and, at present, they are working in Thailand, Angola, Central America and Philippines.

Eleven years ago, Frank Duff and his colleagues made a sensational breakthrough when the first group of organized Legionaries, 50 in number, were allowed into Russia.

This visit to the Soviet Union has now become an annual affair and this summer a group of 24 will spend two weeks in the Moscow area, speaking to people in the streets and, wherever possible advising them that there is a God.

Frank Duff and his colleagues are devoting very much time and thought to the conversion of Russia and its satellite countries of Eastern Europe.

They are conscious of the immensity of the task and, to begin with, they would be very happy if the people in those countries were allowed the freedom to practice.

The legionaries they are looking to most to achieve success in these vast and barren fields of atheism are the Austrians.

"The Legion was only established in Austria in 1946," Frank Duff told me. "But they have long since been a source of great strength and they are doing tremendous work under immense difficulties in the countries of Eastern Europe."

Austria was the last bastion of the Holy Roman Empire.

John III Sobieski, King of Poland, raised the siege of Vienna in 1683 and saved Europe for Christianity from the Moslem army of Turkey.

So it is today that the Legionaries of Frank Duff based in Austria are making a big effort to restore Christianity to Eastern Europe.

Mr. Duff pointed out to me that Cardinal Koenig of Vienna was proving a great help and inspiration to the legionaries. "He is a man of great stature and his help and advice are proving invaluable to our Legionaires," he said.

Another Cardinal on the mainland of Europe who believes very much in the Legion of Mary ethos is the Belgian Cardinal Suenens, lately Archbishop of Maline-Brussels.

He is a firm believer that the Legion is the most effective means of strengthening and expanding Christianity throughout the world.

It is believed by many that Cardinal Suenens owes some of his forward-looking ideas on Christianity and the future development of the Church to Frank Duff and the Legion.

He has found time over the years to pay the occasional visit to the Legion Concilium office in Dublin.

Frank Duff himself will be the first to say that he has also received encouragement and inspiration from the fertile mind of Cardinal Suenens, who, incidentaly, numbers that great Cork-born Legionary, Edel Quinn among his heroes.

The Cardinal was so impressed with her work as an envoy in East and Central Africa, before she died in 1944 at the age of 37, that he carried out the necessary research to write her biography. In fact, like all the legionaries, he is looking forward to the day when her cause for beatification, and ultimately canonization, will come to a successful end.

So today, in the evening of his great and fruitful lifespan, Frank Duff is surely able to look back with the contentment enjoyed by a man who has achieved something worthwhile in life.

He has clearly given Ireland one "first" in the world today-the Legion of Mary- the world's most vibrant and most successful organization in the lay apostolate ..

It has an army of voluntary workers with the alignment and nomenclature (praesidium, curia, senatus, concilium and so forth) of the Roman legion of old.

Its objective is to conquer the world for Christ, through the help of Christ's Mother, Mary. While it is difficult to compute exactly the number of active workers in the field throughout the world, it is estimated to be an "army" of more than a million and a half. The number of auxiliary members, who help with their prayers, is believed to be well over ten million.

So for close on 60 years Frank Duff, the modest and kindly Dublin man, educated at Blackrock College, has been doing really gigantic work. He is the friend of Popes and prelates, politicians and professional men, but above all, of the poor.

Like all great men, he is humble and self-effacing, and he always seems to have time to listen to people's problems, particularly those of the poor.

Mr. Duff is also a great scholar, a fact that has long since been recognized by many, churchmen and laity, who have studied the many words of wisdom in the Legion Handbook, of which he is virtually the sole author.

Three Redemptorist priests from Spain, who he received some years back at the end of a busy day, were astounded at the wide range of his scholarship.

One of them said afterwards: "It came across clearly to us after an hour and a half and will remain forever in our memories, that Frank Duff could well have emerged from the Roman halls of learning with first-class doctorates in the fields of philosophy, dogmatic theology and biblical science.

His one great wish now, as he moves on enthusiastically to his century of years, is that the gates of China will re-open to the Legion. The first praesidium was established there in 1937 and many thousands enrolled as members during the 14 years it enjoyed freedom to operate.

Then came the ban that descended on all Christian groups, with the advent of the Communist regime, and many years of persecution for those who professed the Faith.

It is now believed that during more than a quarter of a century up to 3,000 legionaries were martyred in China. So it is that today Frank Duff and his colleagues are looking anxiously towards the East.

"As soon as we see any ray of hope that we can return we will send our legionaries back to this vast and great land," said Frank Duff.

- The Universe, Friday, November 14, 1980 in Dublin, Ireland

Ted Hogan, a close personal friend of Frank Duff for 40 years, wrote this article for the Irish Times on Mr. Duff's Birthday last June.

Mr. Hogan spoke to Mr. Duff last Friday just a few hours before he died

World Pays Tribute to Frank Duff by ISABEL CONWAY

Frank Duff did not wait for miracles to happen. Instead, he went out and made them happen himself ... with these words, Cardinal O Fiaich summed up the work of the founder of the Legion of Mary, who was laid to rest in his 92nd year in Dublin yesterday.

The Cardinal told the Funeral Mass congregation, spilling on to the steps of St. Andrew's Church in Westland Row, Dublin, with many more gathered in the street outside, that their leader's work for the Catholic Church was perhaps the greatest single contribution in this century.

"In the Legion," he said, "everyone is a brother and sister. We are gathered around the mortal remains of the man who for almost 60 years was the great spiritual guide and philosopher of the Legion of Mary." The President, Dr. Hillery, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr. Fergus O'Brien, and the former Taoiseach, Mr. Jack Lynch, and the former Leader of Fine Gael, Mr. Liam Cosgrave, were prominent among the huge attendance. Also present were Minister for Health, Dr. Woods; Minister of State in the Taoiseach's Depart ment, Mr. Sean Moore, representing Mr. Haughey; Garda Commissioner, Mr. Patrick McLaughlin and the Army Chief of Staff, Major-General Carl O'Sullivan.

Legionaries from all over the globe, including Bangkok, Toronto, Iceland, many parts of the U.S., France and Spain, came to pay their last respects to the distinguished founder of the million member lay apostolate established in every country outside the Communist bloc.

In the congregation too were representatives of many other religious organiZations, and communities, and also the Diplomatic corps, including the Austrian, American and German ambassadors.

Cardinal O Fiaich, the principal celebrant of the Solemn Requiem Mass, was flanked by Archbishops Thomas Morris, of Cashel, Joseph Cunnane, of Tuam, and Dermot Ryan of Dublin. Ten Bishops from all over Ireland were at the funeral Mass and 35 priests concelebrated with the Cardinal.

At the graveside, the final prayers were delivered by Archbishop Ryan and Rev. Tom O'Flynn, spiritual director of the Legion Concilium. Mourners included Miss Carmel Duff, a cousin, Mr. Enda Dunleavy, president of the Legion, and Mr. Sam Hughes, the vice-president.

Hundreds of friends, admirers and legionaries could not be accommodated in the packed church, so they waited patiently outside in the cold morning until Dr. Duff's ornately carved coffin was carried to the waiting wreath-bedecked hearse.

In his sermon, Cardinal 0 Fiaich spoke of Frank Duff's complete trust in God, his devotion to our Blessed Lady and his desire to reach out to every person as a brother and sister to help him or her along the road to heaven.

His belief was that men and women would do things for Christ if they were only shown the way and, aided by his outstanding quality as an organizer, the Legion of Mary had won millions for God throughout the world.

Cardinal 0 Fiaich described Mr. Duff, as "truly a man before his time in challenging complacency within the Church and calling for a new awakening by emphasizing that everyone is his brother's keeper and the Church is not merely a collection of individuals."

"He was almost a radical," the Cardinal added, "in stressing the need to involve the laity more in the work of evangelizing and giving women a prominent role in his organisation."

The Cardinal then talked of the care the Legion of Mary founder lavished on particular groups and societies, on the sick, the lonely, the foreign student, the streetgirl, and the down and out.

"We are here to honour a true Dubliner who had time to listen to everyone. His closest friends were to be found in the poor of Dublin. He was honoured with a Papal decoration and a doctorate from our National University. His favourite dress was a battered suit and his favourite means of conveyance was an ancient bicycle.

"His frail body had an unquestionable spirit of godliness and prayer and through the intercession of Mary, this humble, simple Dubliner was the man whose contribution was perhaps the greatest single contribution to the Catholic Church in this century," the Cardinal said.

Recalling that in 1976, Frank Duff had declined an "Irishman of the Year" award bestowed on him, Cardinal 0 Fiaich said: "The day may come when the Church will declare him Irishman of the Century. But today we pray for his eternal reward."

- The Irish Press, Friday, November 14, 1980

"A great man has died. Frank Duff's contribution to the Universal Church has been enormous. He was a pioneer of the lay apostolate movement and the Legion of Mary, which he founded, has been a powerful instrument in spreading the Gospel of love and in building up the Church in many lands."

Cardinal 0 Fiaich