Frank Duff

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Frank Duff

Frank Duff (born June 7, 1889 in Dublin , † November 7, 1980 ibid) was the Irish founder of the Catholic lay movement Legio Mariae (Legion of Mary).

Life

Frank Duff's parents were John Duff and Susan Laetitia Freehill. He was the oldest of seven children and was baptized Francis Michael . He attended the Jesuit- run Belvedere College in his hometown and - after his family moved to Blackrock - the prestigious Blackrock College, which he graduated with honors. He could not start studying because the family's income did not allow this. Therefore he embarked on a career as a civil servant; from 1908 he worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, later in the Ministry of Finance. In 1921/1922 he was for a short time the private secretary of the politician Michael Collins , who headed the Provisional Government of Ireland from January 1922 until his assassination in August 1922 .

In 1913 Duff joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which had only men as members and whose mission was to alleviate poverty in Dublin. Even then he began with house calls and the street apostolate . In 1915 he entered the Third Order of the Carmelites ; From 1914 until his death he attended Holy Mass every day , unless he was physically unable to do so.

The reading of the book True Adoration of Mary by Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in 1918 had a lasting impact on him. On September 7, 1921, he founded the “Community of Our Lady of Mercy” together with Father Michael Toher, his confessor . The members were only women at the beginning. From 1925 the community was called "Legio Mariae" (English "Legion of Mary", German "Legion of Mary"), the members called themselves legionaries. They made visits to hospitals, then began the street apostolate and mentoring marginalized groups. The Sancta Maria Hostel for former prostitutes was built in 1922, the Morning Star Hostel for homeless men in 1927 and the Regina Coeli Hostel for single mothers in 1930 . All homes were run by legionaries on a voluntary basis.

The organization spread first in Ireland , from 1928 in Scotland and then worldwide. 1928 wrote Frank Duff as its basic order the handbook of the Legion ( Legion Handbook ).

In 1931 he could Pope Pius XI. introduce the Legion in a private audience. The Pope, a proponent of the lay apostolate and Catholic Action , recommended the new organization, calling it “a wonderful and sacred work”. This recommendation had the effect that the Legion of Mary was recognized by superior ecclesiastical bodies in the dioceses . Later the Popes Pius XII. (1953), John XXIII. (1960), Paul VI. (1965) and John Paul II (1982) honored the Legion.

In 1934 Duff gave up his work as a civil servant and devoted himself only to the Legion of Mary. In 1941 he founded the Mercier Society with a group of legionaries as a forum for Catholic-Protestant dialogue ; after a few years it was dissolved again.

In 1965 Pope Paul VI invited him. as a lay auditor to the Second Vatican Council . The decisions of the council confirmed the lay apostolate, as Duff and his co-workers already practiced it at a time when missionary activity was generally reserved for clergy and religious .

At Duff's funeral on November 13, 1980, Cardinal Ó Fiaich , Primate of Ireland , celebrated Holy Mass; three archbishops , ten bishops and 35 priests concelebrated. 4,000 people attended the exequies , tens of thousands followed his coffin to the Glasnevin cemetery ; traffic in Dublin was idle. In 1998 , Duff's beatification process was opened by the Archbishop of Dublin , Desmond Connell .

Works

  • The spirit of the Legion of Mary. Translation from English by Hilde Firtel, Kanisius Verlag, Freiburg (Switzerland) 1960.
  • Can we be saints? (Engl. First version 1916) Senatus of the Legio Mariae, Frankfurt a. M. 1990
  • The Handbook of the Legion of Mary. English first version 1928.
  • Baptism of Fire. Bombay 1961; also published as: Miracles on Tap. New York 1961. German: How to conquer the world. History of the Legio Mariae. 2nd edition, Bernina, Klosterneuburg near Vienna, 1956 (reprint of a series of articles in Maria Legionis 1937–1942)
  • Mary shall reign. Dublin 1961. German: Mary should rule. Translation from English by Hilde Firtel, Kanisius, Freiburg (Switzerland) 1963; New edition: By the hand of the mother. Legion of Mary, Frankfurt 1982
  • Victory through Mary. Dublin 1981. The Spirit of the Legion of Mary. 2nd edition, Kanisius, Freiburg / Switzerland 1960
  • Virgo Praedicanda. Dublin 1967
  • The Woman of Genesis. Dublin 1976
  • That God be loved more! The story of the Legion of Mary. Edited by Andreas Seidl. Legion of Mary, Senatus Austria, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-00-011150-6
  • With the eyes of Mary (reflections on the life of Mary). Translated by Dr. Andreas Seidl. Heiligenkreuz : BeBe-Verlag 2010, ISBN 978-3-902694-24-9 .

literature

  • Hilde Firtel: A life for Christ. Frank Duff and the Legion of Mary. EOS-Verlag, St. Ottilien 1983, ISBN 3-88096-156-5 .
  • Anna Coreth: Frank Duff and the Legion of Mary. Catholic Academy, Vienna 1982.
  • Adelheid Liechtenstein: Frank Duff. Maria Roggendorf 1982.
  • Bede McGregor: Frank Duff and the Legion of Mary. Legion of Mary, Senatus Frankfurt 2001.
  • Robert Bradshaw: Frank Duff. Founder of the Legion of Mary. Youth association for Christian Catholic values, Maria Roggendorf 1994.
  • Anni Cech: ... and you renew the face of the earth. Mother Teresa and Frank Duff. Unity in spirit.
  • Finola Kennedy: Frank Duff. A life story. London 2011, ISBN 978-1-4411-6747-7 .
  • Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon , Volume 36. Nordhausen 2015, ISBN 978-3-88309-920-0 , Sp. 320–337.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 321.
  2. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 322.
  3. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 323.
  4. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320-337, here Col. 325-327.
  5. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 336.
  6. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 324.
  7. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 327.
  8. ↑ Finola Kennedy: Frank Duff. A life story . London 2011, p. 238.
  9. ^ Andreas Seidl: Duff, Frank . In: BBKL , Volume 36, Col. 320–337, here Col. 328.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Duff, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duff, Francis Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish layperson, founder of the Legio Mariae (Legion of Mary)
DATE OF BIRTH June 7, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1980
Place of death Dublin