The Great War and Christian Faith: The Firsthand Accounts of Three Priests in France

In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914-1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a g...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Guyette, Fred (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2018]
In: Heythrop journal
Year: 2018, Volume: 59, Issue: 2, Pages: 163-175
IxTheo Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
CD Christianity and Culture
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBG France
KDB Roman Catholic Church
RG Pastoral care
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Summary:In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914-1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a glimpse of how faithful people responded to very challenging situations. Private Orr came into the war as an ordained priest, but lost his faith after two years of fighting. Monsignor Ayscough worked mainly with wounded soldiers, offering them pastoral care in many different settings. Teilhard de Chardin served as a stretcher-bearer on the frontlines of many fierce battles, earning the respect he would need to talk to soldiers about their faith in the moments just before they went 'over the top.' In a concluding section, I try to draw out some implications of their stories for pastoral care today.
ISSN:1468-2265
Contains:Enthalten in: Heythrop journal
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/heyj.12266