“The
Message and the Man”
Fr. Patrick Peyton and his celebrities
A Review of Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton by
Nick Olszyk
Service: Theatrical
Year: 2020
MPAA Rating, NR
USCCB Rating, NR
Reel Rating, Five Reels
Prior
to seeing this documentary, I knew nothing about Fr. Patrick Peyton, which is
surprising considering that in the 1950s and 60s, his popularity rivaled other
more prominent American evangelists like Fulton Sheen and Billy Graham. Pray
is a stellar journey through the meteoric rise and subtle plateau of a man who throughout
the country became know as “the rosary priest.” On December 18th,
2017, Pope Francis declared him “Venerable.” I used to think Sheen was a shoo-in
for the first male American saint, but it looks like he now has stiff
competition.
Young
Patrick, as his name would suggest, grew up in a loving Irish family just prior
to the Great Depression. His parents were a model of what Pope St. John Paul II
called “a domestic seminary.” His mother raised nine children at home, while his
father worked hard all day on the farm. They attended church regularly and prayed
the rosary together as family. Despite this holy upbringing, Patrick was
stubborn and unruly, wanting more than his station would allow. To this end, immigrated
to New York at nineteen to start at new life.
While
in America, he entered the seminary for the Congregation of the Holy Cross. In
1938, he contracted tuberculosis and was near death for weeks. During this
time, he began a devotion to Mary through the rosary and was miraculously
cured, his lungs showing no sign of the disease overnight. He committed the
rest of his life to helping the family through prayer, with the rosary being
the chief weapon in his spiritual arsenal.
Today,
clergy often feel tempted to speak out on every hot button issue imaginable. If
a bishop does not tweet about the latest event or trend, he is labeled distant
or insensitive. In his fifty years of ministry, Fr. Peyton never made a
political statement, endorsed a candidate, or even wrote a book. He just gave
presentations on the importance of family prayer and then proceeded to lead his
audience in that same prayer. He especially wanted people to pray the rosary,
as Mary provided the ideal model of Christian devotion.
Fr. Peyton did
not discriminate in the media he used. He started on radio in the 40s by cold calling
celebrities like Shirley Temple or Bing Crosby, asking them to give short
testimonies and lead the audience in prayer. They rarely turned him down.
Eventually, he moved onto television and began to hold large prayer rallies. In
some places, these gatherings numbered north of a million people.
Despite his
success, the world began to change. With the counterculture of the 1960s,
mainstream society moved away from public expressions of faith. Even Catholics
began to abandon more traditional forms of prayer. As his audience dwindled,
Fr. Peyton didn’t flinch. He continued to advocate family prayer and the
rosary, being just as comfortable with an audience of ten as ten thousand. He
would often compare himself to a “donkey” a slow, simple beast who was just
happy to be of service. His humility compared to the media savvy priests of today
is astounding. He and Fred Rogers may be the only television stars who refused
to update their message to fit modern styles.
Even among the holiest of men, few earn the title “living saints” in their own time; Mother Teresa and John Paul II are the most prominent examples. Yet here was another, working virtuality unknown in our own backyard. If Fr. Peyton were alive today, there is no doubt that he would be using social media to preach about family prayer and rosary, but if the culture cancelled him, he would not care. He would keep on preaching and praying, letting God choose the manner of his influence. The message was more important than the man, and that is the mark of a true saint.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on October 5th, 2020.
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