Francis Douglas (priest)
Francis Vernon Douglas (22 May 1910 – c. 27 July 1943) was a New Zealand priest of the Missionary Society of St. Columban who was killed in the Philippines by Japanese soldiers in 1943.
Francis Douglas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 29 October 1934 by Archbishop Thomas O'Shea |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Francis Vernon Dougls |
| Born | May 22, 1910 Johnsonville, Wellington, New Zealand |
| Died | August 27, 1943 (aged 33) Longos, Kalayaan, Laguna, Philippines |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Parents | George Charles Douglas (father) Kathleen Gaffney (mother) |
| Occupation | Missionary Priest |
| Alma mater |
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| Sainthood | |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
Biography
He was born in Johnsonville, in Wellington, the fifth of eight children (five sons and three daughters) of Kathleen (née Gaffney) and George Charles Douglas, an Australian-born railway worker. His mother was a devout Catholic from County Sligo, Ireland, and his father became a Catholic in 1926.[1]
Douglas trained for the Catholic priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary, Mosgiel. Within a few months of his ordination, at the end of 1934, he applied to join the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He was curate at New Plymouth when he left to join the society at the start of 1937. He was appointed to the Philippines in July 1939. He was posted to Pililla. Five years later during the Japanese occupation he was taken by secret police looking for information on guerillas active in his area.[2]
Over three days in the Church of Saint James the Apostle in Paete, Laguna, he was savagely beaten and had a cruel torture of the water cure, the presumption being that police were trying to extort information from him about guerillas whose confessions he may have heard. He remained silent through it all, and was last seen on the evening of 27 July 1943, very weak but still conscious, being put on a truck with a guard of Japanese soldiers. He was never seen again. It was only after the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese occupation at the end of 1944 that the Columbans could start to piece his story together. What emerged was a picture of a priest, aged 33, who could be regarded as a martyr, having demonstrated outstanding priestly fidelity (especially to the Seal of Confession). He is remembered in the name of a boys college in New Plymouth, Francis Douglas Memorial College.[3]
Beatification
In collaboration with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington, the Columban Missionaries are already preparing the steps in opening Fr. Douglas' cause for sainthood.[4][5] He is honored for his steadfast devotion to his religious duties, and stands with Mother Mary Joseph Aubert and Emmet McHardy as one of the New Zealand Catholic Church’s three great inspirational models of sanctity.[6]
Notes
- Hugh Laracy. 'Douglas, Francis Vernon', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand; updated 7 June 2013.
- "Rev Francis Vernon "Frank" Douglas". Find A Grave.
- Michael O'Meeghan, Steadfast in Hope: The Story of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington 1850-200, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 2011, page 260
- "Cause for Canonisation". St. Columbans Mission Societ. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- Patricia Brooks (1 March 2020). "Father Francis Vernon Douglas". Marist Messenger. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- Hugh Laracy. "Douglas, Francis Vernon". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
Further reading
- "Father Francis Douglas", Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth website (retrieved 18 February 2011)
- Michael King,God's Farthest Outpost: A History of Catholics in New Zealand, Penguin Book Auckland, 1998.
- Patricia Brookes,With No Regrets: The Story of Francis Vernon Douglas, Claretian Publications, Quezon City, Philippines, 1998.