The Irishman Who Reminded Church How To Win Souls

As the Catholic Church in the western world detects signs of a ‘quiet revival’ in religious interest, the question arises of how we harness this potential to win souls for Christ. If we want to find some answers, we should look to the life of Ireland’s great evangeliser – and I don’t mean St Patrick. I refer to one of the Church’s most prolific evangelisers of the 20th century, Servant of God Frank Duff (1889-1980). At a time when the Church was evangelically inert and the world in revolt against it, Duff recognised the urgency of the apostolic life, carried out in the spirit of Mary, both to renew the faith of the Church and to fulfil Christ’s final instruction – to go and preach the good news to the world.