Frank Duff: A Tribute
Fr. Roger Charest, SMM
A Tribute
Since the last articles on Frank Duff, . . .
. . . (see these links here, here, and here) we have received more information relating to Frank Duffs various tributes. We are not surprised the Irish government representatives, as well as Legion members from around the world, came to pay their respects to Frank Duff, as one would to a national hero. We must remember that Frank Duff had worked as a civil servant until he was 44 years of age. It is a matter of record that he reached the upper echelons in the financial department of the Irish Republic. He retired to give his full time to the Legion of Mary.
Eighty thousand people filed by his open casket and signed the attendance books. They paid tribute as he lay in state in the modest chapel of the Legion of Mary headquarters, in Dublin. It was an endless procession that reverently filed by all day and late into the night. Admirers waited patiently to view his body for the last time and to pay their oftentimes tearful respects.
The following is a newspaper account taken from The Irish Press, dated Nov. 14, 1980. It also appears in the Maria Legionis, Dec. 1980 issue.
The Irish Press
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. Frank Duff 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 a 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 the Minister of Health, Dr. Woods, Minister of State in the Taoiseach’s Department, Mr. Sean Moore, representing Mr. Haughey; Garda Commissioner, Mr. Patrick McLaughlin, and the Army Chief-of-Staff, Major General Carl O’Sullivan.
In the Legion, Everyone is a Brother and Sister
Legionaries from all over the globe attended the Mass, including Bangkok, Toronto, Iceland, many parts of the U.S. Additionally, 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 was the principal celebrant of the Solemn Requiem Mass. Also in attendance is 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 celebrated with the Cardinal.
At the graveside, the final prayers were delivered by Archbishop Ryan. He was assisted by Rev. Tom O’Flynn, spiritual director of the Legion Concilium. Morners included Miss Carmel Duff, a cousin. Also, Mr. Enda Dunleavy, President of the Legion, and Mr. Sam Hughes, the vice president was present.
Complete Trust in God
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 O Fiaich spoke of Frank Duff’s complete trust in God, his devotion to our Blessed Lady and his desire to reach 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 has won millions for God throughout the world.
Do All Things For Christ
Cardinal O 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 work of evangelizing and giving women a prominent role within the organization”.
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 street girl, and the down and out.
“We are here to honor a true Dubliner who had time to listen to everyone. You can find his closest friends in the poor of Dublin. Of his many tributes are a Papal decoration and a doctorate from our National University. His favorite dress was a battered suit, and his favorite 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 declined an “Irishman of the Year” award bestowed on him, Cardinal O Fiaich said the following. “The day may come when the Church will declare him Irishman of the Century. But today we pray for his eternal reward.”
Isabel Conway
The Irish Press
