Taken from Maria Legionis North Americain Supplement, September 1997,
by Rev. Msgr. Thomas B Falls, Spiritual Director, Philidelphia Senatus
Frank Duff, the saintly founder of the Legion of Mary, which he always considered to be a school for sanctity, took the DeMontfort Way of True Devotion to Jesus through Mary as the basis of Legion Marian spirituality which he expounded in the official Legion Handbook. In following this De Montfort Way to sanctity, he became a person whose cause for Beatification is now being studied in Dublin, and will one day be opened in Rome.
Frank Duff became acquainted with St. Louis Marie De Montfort's "Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin" long before he founded the Legion of Mary, and it can be said that he grasped the deep theological basis of the De Montfort Way as no one else of his time, and he lived it every moment of his life. It was the key to his holiness.
Here are some indications of Frank Duff's personal holiness:
1. He lived in the constant presence of the Blessed Trinity.
2. He had an intense love of Jesus in the Eucharist; attendance at Holy Mass and the reception of Holy Communion were essential parts of his daily life.
3. He led a life of close union with Mary, the Mother of God.
4. He possessed a deeply inspired knowledge of God and of Catholic theology.
5. He had a warm love for the Church, for the Pope, and for the priests.
6. He was greatly respected for his deep humility and shy, quiet reserve.
7. He led a most simple, frugal life. (His bedroom had the barest of furniture. He had no automobile or chauffeur He travelled around Dublin on his bicycle, even when he was almost 90 years old.)
But, you may say, is this enough for canonization? Perhaps not, but what I have to say now may give an answer to that question, for I have enjoyed a close friendship with Frank Duff from the beginning of 1962 until his death in 1980.
In November of 1961 I was asked by Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia, to become the Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary in the Archdiocese. Knowing very little of the Legion of Mary, I travelled to Dublin in June of 1962 to learn first hand more about the Legion. There I met Frank Duff for the first time. This was the beginning of a long and fruitful association with that saintly man until his death in 1980 - a period of eighteen years.
Our friendship developed as I made many subsequent trips to Dublin. When I could not get to Dublin, we corresponded by mail, exchanging letters every month or so. By now I had no doubt that I had a saint for a personal friend. I realized that he was not only endowed with the ordinary gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, but also with that extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit - the gift of healing, not only of spiritual healing, but also of physical healing. Monsignor Albert Norrell can testify to that.
AI Norrell told rne that on one of his many visits to Dublin as an Active member of the Legion to see Mr. Duff. he became so sick that he had to be taken to the hospital, where, upon examination it was determined that he would need immediate surgery. Frank visited AI the evening before, and asked him what was wrong. When AI told him of the great pain he was in, and how they were to operate on him the next day, Frank said to AI, "there is no need for an operation. You have nothing wrong with you; get dressed and we will leave now." Al dressed and and left with Frank. The pain left him immediately and never returned. AI was perfectly well.
On another occasion Frank showed me his bedroom and told me how the devil tried to knock him out of bed, and even tried to harm him when he was shaving by pushing his arm which was holding the razor. He said that he just laughed at the devil whom he called "the old boy".
We became the closest of friends in 1965, the last year of the General Council Vatican II. We spent three months at Rome during the Council, he as lay observer and I as pastor observer. We were together at every meeting of the Council which was held in St. Peter's Basilica. At one of the early meetings Cardinal Heenan of England, while he had the floor, announced to the 2300 bishops that they had the pleasure of having present the founder of the Legion of Mary, Mr. Frank Duff. There was a standing ovation and while the bishops applauded. Frank Duff bowed his head and blushed. I know, I was there, just two rows in front of him, looking back to see him as I applauded with the rest. As a result of this introduction, each morning, before the Council started, there was a long line of bishops, mostly from missionary countries, lined up to talk with Frank. Since I was there every morning, some bishops thought that I might be Frank's private chaplain, and they would ask if I could set up an appointment that would enable them to talk to him at length. They were all so anxious to talk to him about their missions and how the Legion of Mary could and did help them.
With the closing of the Council Frank returned to Dublin where his voluminous mail awaited him. From Dublin he guided his Legion in every part of the world. He continued to live a daily life of close union with the Three Divine Persons and with Mary. His constant awareness of this union gave him a serenity and peace of mind that could not be shaken. This does not mean that Frank did not suffer! Like every saint Frank had his periods of trial and suffering - especially mental suffering. He suffered much over the growth and set-backs of the Legion worldwide. In one major country the bishops there saw the success of the Legion of Mary all over the world, especially in the missionary countries, and felt they could improve it by having it under their control. Frank heard that to do this, these bishops were sending to the Pope a delegation, headed by a distinguished Cardinal (a Papal Secretary of State, no less) to ask the Pope to change the headquarters of the Legion of Mary from Dublin to their country. Frank sent an eight-page letter (a copy of which he sent to me) to the Holy Father, asking that the administration of the Legion stay as it is. in Dublin. Frank happily sent me a letter telling me that the Pope toid the visiting bishops to go home - because there would be no change in the administration of the Legion.
I would think that when Frank's cause for canonization is started at Rome, the officials will find a chief reason to be what he did for the good of the Church by founding the Legion of Mary. They will become aware of the fact that the Legion of Mary is a worldwide lay apostolic organization of nearly six million Active members and some twenty million Auxiliary or praying members. They will realize that Frank Duff was the founder of a proven movement for the Church's mission of evangelization. My feeling is that Frank Duff when he is canonized should be listed with the saintly founders of Religious Orders, whose memory is perpetualized in Saint Peter's in Rome by huge statues all lined up on both sides of the lengthy nave of the Basilica. Yes, I like to visualize the statue of Frank Duff in Saint Peter's, in line with the statues of St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Bruno, St. Ignatius Loyola, and St. Louis Marie De Montfort - Frank's favorite saint and tutor. I like to dream of the time in the next century when legionaries of Mary will be able to enter Saint Peter's Basilica and gaze up at the statue of "Saint Frank Duff".