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James Honohan was born in Donoughmore in County Cork on 16 September 1905. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in April 1932 and took Patrick as his religious name. Shortly after his solemn (final) profession in April 1936, he was transferred to the United States mission custody. His initial assignment was in St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington, Delaware. In 1943 he was transferred to St. Joseph’s Church in Roseburg, Oregon, where he spent three years. In 1946 he came to St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, where he spent thirteen years, serving as cook and sacristan. Following another year in Willington, Br. Patrick returned to St. Francis High School. In 1966 he assigned to Mission Santa Inés, Solvang, California. He again served as cook and sacristan and maintained the mission’s grounds. He died in Santa Inés on 6 September 1979 and was buried in the cemetery adjoining San Lorenzo Friary.

Baptismal name: James Honohan
Religious name: Br. Patrick Honohan OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 16 Sept. 1905
Place of birth: Ballycunningham, Donoughmore, County Cork (Diocese of Cloyne)
Name of father: Andrew Honohan (Farmer)
Name of mother: Hannah Honohan (née Twomey)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 24 Apr. 1932
Date of first profession: 25 Apr. 1933
Date of final profession: 25 Apr. 1936
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission on 4 Oct. 1936
Date of death: 6 Sept. 1979
Place of death: Santa Inés, California
Place of burial: San Lorenzo Friary, Santa Inés, California

Patrick Hyland was born in County Longford on 2 March 1901. He joined the Capuchin Order in September 1918 and took Edmund as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1927. Two years later he was transferred to the mission custody in the United States. His first assignment was as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Oregon. He ministered there until 1947 when he moved to St. Joseph’s Parish in Roseburg, Oregon. During his term as pastor, he was instrumental in acquiring some new property on the edge of the town. He built a parish hall on the new site which served as a temporary church until funds could be raised to build a new place of worship. A school and rectory were also built and plans for a new church were also drawn up. In 1959 he was appointed pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Fort Bragg in California. He remained here until 1961 when he was appointed guardian (local superior) at St. Patrick’s Friary in Wilmington in Delaware. He assisted in the transfer of this house to the New Jersey Capuchin Province. His health began to fail in the years afterwards and he was assigned to the community residing at San Lorenzo Friary, Santa Inés, California. He died in San Lorenzo on 9 August 1969 and was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

Baptismal name: Patrick Hyland
Religious name: Fr. Edmund Hyland OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 Mar. 1901
Place of birth: Agharanagh, Rathcline, County Longford (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Michael Hyland
Name of mother: Mary Hyland (née Gavigan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 29 Sept. 1918
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1919
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1922
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1927
Educational attainments: BA (1923)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States mission custody in 1929
Date of death: 9 Aug. 1960
Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Place of burial: Cemetery, San Lorenzo Seminary, Santa Inés, California

William Hyland was born in the village of Lanesborough in County Longford on 11 February 1894. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in November 1912 and took Justin as his religious name upon entering the novitiate. He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 May 1921. In 1929 he was transferred to the American mission custody. He was assigned to the community at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Abbottstown in Pennsylvania. Just two years later he was recalled to Ireland and was appointed novice master. For the greater part of his life in ministry, Fr. Justin was involved in the formation and training of student friars. He was a lector of theology and director of students in both St. Bonaventure’s Hostel and in Rochestown Friary in County Cork and was master of cleric novices for twelve years. He also served as master of lay brother novices. In addition, he was guardian (local superior) of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork for seven years and was President of Father Mathew Memorial Hall on Church Street in Dublin from 1943 to 1945. He spent the later years of his life residing with the Raheny community in Dublin. He died on 24 May 1977. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

Baptismal name: William Hyland
Religious name: Fr. Justin Hyland OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 11 February 1894
Place of birth: Lanesborough, County Longford (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Patrick Hyland (Farmer)
Name of mother: Brigid Hyland (née Brennan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 22 Nov. 1912
Date of first profession: 25 Mar. 1914
Date of final profession: 22 Dec. 1917
Date of ordination (as priest): 21 May 1921
Educational attainments: BA (1917); MA (1924)
Missionary activities: Travelled to the United States in 1929. He returned to Ireland in 1931.
Date of death: 24 May 1977
Place of death: Church Street, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

Baptismal name: Thomas Hyland
Religious name: Fr. Macartan Hyland OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 31 May 1939
Place of birth: Dublin
Name of father: Richard Hyland
Name of mother: Mary Hyland (née Ní Shoinnion)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 3 Oct. 1956
Date of first profession: 4 Oct. 1957
Date of final profession: 4 Oct. 1960
Date of ordination (as priest): 28 May 1964
Educational attainments: BA (1960)
Missionary activities: Travelled to Livingstone, Zambia, on 3 Sept. 1964. He went to the South African mission in July 1982.
Date of death: 27 Dec. 2000
Place of death: Parow, Cape Town, South Africa
Place of burial: Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

John Hyland was born near the village of Lanesborough in County Longford on 7 December 1881. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in October 1900 and took Martin as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood by Abraham Brownrigg, Bishop of Ossory, at St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny on 16 March 1907. He held a variety of offices within the Order mainly in the communities at Holy Trinity Friary and at Rochestown College in County Cork. For several years he was Professor of Canon Law in Rochestown and was later appointed guardian (local superior) of the community. He was later transferred to Holy Trinity in Cork city and served two terms as guardian of this foundation. He took a keen interest in the Third Order of St. Francis lay confraternity attached to Holy Trinity Church. He also acted as spiritual director to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He died while attempting to recuperate from a bout of influenza in Glengariff in County Cork. He was buried in the cemetery attached to Rochestown Friary.

Baptismal name: John Hyland
Religious name: Fr. Martin Hyland OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 7 Dec. 1881
Place of birth: Lanesborough, County Longford
Name of father: Patrick Hyland (Farmer)
Name of mother: Brigid Hyland (née Brennan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 28 Oct. 1900
Date of first profession: 1 Nov. 1901
Date of final profession: 24 June 1905
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 Mar. 1907
Educational attainments: BCL degree, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
Date of death: 2 Apr. 1933
Place of death: Roche’s Hotel, Glengariff, County Cork (He was guardian of Holy Trinity Friary in Cork at the time of his death).
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Baptismal name: Thomas Hynes
Religious name: Fr. Jarlath Hynes OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 21 Dec. 1867
Place of birth: Mountbellew, County Galway
Name of father: Michael Hynes (Baker)
Name of mother: Mary Hynes (née Ryan/Rogan)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 8 Dec. 1886
Date of first profession: 8 Jan. 1888
Date of final profession: 21 Feb. 1891
Date of ordination (as priest): 13 Dec. 1891
Leadership positions: Provincial Definitor (Councillor): 1898-1901; 1901-4; 1907-10
Date of death: 25 Mar. 1918
Place of death: Barrowville, County Carlow (He was a member of the Church Street community in Dublin at the time of his death).

John Hynes was born in Kilwarden in County Meath on 2 February 1879. He joined the Capuchin Franciscans at Rochestown Friary in County Cork in January 1901 and took Malachy as his religious name. Having successfully perused his religious studies in Rochestown, he was ordained to the priesthood in Kilkenny on 16 March 1907. He spent periods in both Kilkenny and Dublin until 1912 when he joined Fr. Luke Sheehan OFM Cap. in the newly established mission in Hermiston in Oregon on the American Pacific coast. He assisted Fr. Casimir Butler OFM Cap. in building up the local parish structures following the departure of Fr. Luke. Fr. Malachy returned to Ireland in 1920 and was initially assigned to the Kilkenny Friary before joining the community in Holy Trinity in Cork. In 1933 he was appointed guardian (local superior) of Rochestown and he remained there until 1937 when he returned to Holy Trinity. He was appointed Vicar there in 1940. For several years he worked as district delegate of the Seraphic Mass Association in Cork raising funds for the overseas’ missionary work of the Capuchin friars. He was also active in missionary work in Ireland particularly in the temperance campaign. Suffering from ill-health in his latter years, he died in Cork on 24 February 1955. He was buried in the cemetery adjoining Rochestown Capuchin Friary.

Baptismal name: John Hynes
Religious name: Fr. Malachy Hynes OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 2 Feb. 1879
Place of birth: Kilwarden, County Meath
Name of father: Michael Hynes (Farmer)
Name of mother: Anne Hynes (née Kelly)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Jan. 1901
Date of first profession: 2 Feb. 1902
Date of final profession: 24 June 1905
Date of ordination (as priest): 16 Mar. 1907
Missionary activities: Travelled to the Western United States in 1912. He returned to Ireland in 1920.
Date of death: 24 Feb. 1955
Place of death: Cork
Place of burial: Cemetery, Rochestown Capuchin Friary, County Cork

Fr. Ignatius is dead! Our Congregation has lost an excellent subject on earth, but has gained, as we trust, a saint in heaven. It is very difficult to do justice in a short space to the life of such a great servant of God; it would take volumes. Still, something must be said if only to render to the memory of the deceased the tribute of our veneration.

 Fr. Ignatius of St. Paul, born the Hon. George Spencer, was the link, so to say, between the death and resurrection of the Catholic Church in England. It was he who threw the first stone that made Protestantism begin to crumble, and it was he who was to be the corner-stone of the Catholic Church which is now rising from its ruins.
 As a youth he received the sort of education that is usually given to the English aristocracy. He went first to Eton, and from there to Cambridge, where, at the age of 22, he received the Orders which the English call "sacred" and became a minister in the Anglican church. A brilliant career lay before the young minister. Noble birth, influential friends, his own personal gifts and virtues - all pointed to a high position in the Anglican hierarchy.
The Truth, however, which had already begun to enlighten his mind, was to bring to naught all such expectations. With the help of God's grace he began to see the life of a minister and a preacher of the Gospel in a very different light from that of his countrymen. The sacredness of his vocation, he felt, was not compatible with pomp or wealth or the bonds of matrimony. And so he resolved to lead a celibate life and to adopt a life-style which seemed to him more in conformity with the demands of the Gospel, even though at this time he still considered the Catholic Church to be wrong on these very issues.
 There were a number of other things, too, which made him feel ill at ease in his present position. To clear his mind once for all of the many doubts that plagued him, he decided to make an earnest study of other religious systems - a study to which he gave himself with a methodical thoroughness all his own. It was all to no avail. But in the end a ray of that "light which enlightens every man" dispelled all doubts from his mind and made him clearly understand that the true Church of Christ was the catholic Church, and that outside her there is no salvation. For a heart as generous and honest as his, that was enough, and he decided to become a Catholic there and then. He was received into the Church in February, 1830. Far from ever regretting the step he had so courageously taken, he never ceased to thank God for the great grace he had received, and it was his constant endeavour to ensure that all his countrymen should share the same favour.
 Shortly after becoming a Catholic he went, on the advice of his bishop, to the English College in Rome to study for the priesthood. It was surely by a special dispensation of Divine Providence that he was ordained on 28th May, 1832, the feast of St. Augustine, the Apostle of England, in the church of St. Gregory - the very place where that Pope had commissioned St. Augustine to preach the Gospel in England. He said his first Mass on the feast of St. Bede according to the Benedictine calendar. Fr. Ignatius never tired of telling that story to his brethren, and he had already written to Fr. Dominic about it, full of gratitude to the Lord for such a privilege.
 After his ordination he returned to England where he generously gave himself and all he possessed to whatever work was given him to do. For 15 years he was a model priest in the Birmingham diocese, undertaking whatever duty was assigned to him by his Bishop. He built churches, founded missions and generously contributed to the re-establishment of the Catholic Church in that diocese. Because of his outstanding merits, a special "office" was created for him in Oscott College. It had to be abandoned later on for want of anybody capable of following in the footsteps of Fr. Ignatius.
 In 1846 he made a retreat at a house of the Jesuit Fathers. After it, to the surprise of everyone, including himself, he discovered he had a vocation to the Passionist Congregation. He wrote immediately to Fr. Dominic, who was then Superior of the Order in England, and he received the holy habit at his hands on 5th June, 1847. He was professed the following year, taking the name Ignatius as a gesture of gratitude to the Author of the Spiritual Exercises, through which, under God, he had received his vocation.
 His profession marked the beginning of a new life - not in the sense that his former life, especially since he had became a Catholic, needed any kind of reform, but in the sense that, whereas his work until then had been limited to a comparatively small number of people and places, from now on the whole of England as well as Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy would become his mission field.
 In speaking of the virtues of Fr. Ignatius it is hard to know where to begin. The love of God and zeal for His glory had so taken possession of his heart that he could scarcely think of anything else. The constant subject of his conversation was how to overcome heresy and combat sin. Any other subject left him uninterested, to the point that he would often drop off to sleep in the midst of such conversations. He would gladly have travelled the whole world over to set all men's hearts on fire with the love of God that burned so brightly in his own. His prudence and the obedience which he had vowed put a brake on his zeal, but his fervour, far from growing less, only increased the more because, as he used to say, what one does under obedience is not only more pleasing to God, but more efficacious for saving souls.
 Because of the poverty of the Congregation and the special needs of the Province, the Superiors were often obliged to ask Fr. Ignatius to travel to many places all over the country to raise money. Not only did he always undertake such a difficult task with prompt obedience, but he would take advantage of it to give greater scope to his zeal in the way we shall now describe.
 We have already said how he had set his mind on bringing back his own people to the Catholic Church. He in no way disapproved of the ordinary means of making converts such as preaching, etc., but he held that the most efficacious way was to pray, and to pray through the intercession of her of whom the Church sings: "Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, for thou alone hast overcome all heresies in the whole world." So it was that Fr. Ignatius took advantage of the travels he undertook under obedience in many countries of Europe to ask of all prayers for the conversion of England. In order to encourage people to pray for this intention, he asked and obtained the blessing of the Pope, who went so far as to grant indulgences to the recitation of three Hail Marys together with the invocation "Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us." He took this as the sign of approval of his unique mission. There is no telling how much this devotion spread, and is still spreading, throughout a great part of Europe, or what benefits may be hoped for as a result. It is a fact that from the time when Fr. Ignatius started this devotion, initiated what we may call a campaign of prayer, so many converts have been received in England, so many churches and schools have been built, so many convents and monasteries founded, that it would seem that England is no longer what it was 30 years ago. All this is surely the fruit of the prayers said and the prayers asked for by Fr. Ignatius.
 To zeal for the glory of God and the conversion of his country, Fr. Ignatius added a great love of the Regular Observance. So great was his zeal for the Observance that his Superiors often had to moderate it. It often happened that, coming home at night tired and weary after a whole day's work in the confessional or in conducting spiritual exercises, he would have got up for Matins at all costs if his Superiors or his confessor had not forbidden him to do so. Generous as he was himself, he could not understand how a religious, or even a Catholic in the world, could commit even one deliberate fault however small. He used to say that he did not like to hear people say - a thing you hear even from the lips of religious occasionally - "I should be quite happy if I get to Purgatory." His maxim was that we must not be content with mediocrity when it is so easy to reach perfection.
 His trust in Divine Providence and his acceptance of God's Will were boundless. Whatever happened to anyone, he wanted it to be seen as a gift from God's hand and as such something to be grateful for. "Thank God for everything" was a phrase that was constantly on his lips. One day he was walking along a dark and lonely road and fell to thinking how easy it would be for an enemy to kill him with just one shot. When asked what he would do in such a case, his answer was: "I should hope to have at least one moment to thank our Lord for the bullet that hit me."
 So profound was his humility that he seemed to have forgotten his noble origins altogether and the esteem in which he was held by people of all walks of life. Kind and affable towards everybody, he took special pleasure in dealing with the poor and the ignorant and with little children. He was never heard to complain. For him everything was good. Even the worst prepared food, the oldest and most patched clothing were to him like the finest gifts.
 He held successively a number of offices in the Congregation. First he was Master of Novices. Then Fr. Dominic, before he died, appointed him his successor as Superior in England. Then for three years he was Rector of our house in London, after which he was elected Provincial Consultor - an office he held for nine years, i.e. until 1863 when in the chapter held that year he was elected Rector of St. Anne's Retreat, Sutton, near Liverpool.
 He had often expressed the wish to die like St. Francis Xavier or like Fr. Dominic, alone and abandoned by all. Through an extraordinary combination of circumstances, or rather by a special dispensation of Divine Providence, his wish was granted. He was preaching in Scotland one of his "Little Missions" - not so "little" judged by the results they produced. These lasted for three days, with two sermons a day and confessions which he heard during all the time that remained between saying Mass and taking his brief rest. (He had already given 245 such missions since 1857 in England, Ireland and Scotland.)
 On Friday, 30th September, he had finished one of these missions in a place called Coatbridge, and had been hearing confessions until midnight. At 6 o'clock on the Saturday morning he went back into the confessional until 7.30, when he said Mass. He then got ready to go to Leith where he intended to start another mission that same day. When he got to Carstairs he found the train was not leaving for two hours. Not to waste time, he decided to pay a visit to an old friend of his, named Mr. Monteith, who lived in the vicinity. But it was here that death awaited him. He had a sudden heart attack and dropped dead about 100 yards from his friend's house, without anybody seeing him or being able to help him. His whole life, however, had been one long preparation for death, and so we have every ground for hope that the Lord has already crowned him with the glory that was waiting for him.

Fr. Ignatius of the Child Jesus, the Provincial, received word of the death by telegram. With some of the religious he went at once to the place where the servant of God had died. When the necessary arrangements had been made, the remains were taken on the following Monday to our monastery at Sutton where the Solemn Requiem was celebrated on 6th October. The funeral was attended by a large number of people, clerical and lay, as well as by the community of Sutton and religious from other houses of the Province. The Solemn Requiem was celebrated by the Provincial, and after it the Bishop of Birmingham, Dr. Ullathorne, preached the panegyric to the large and very attentive congregation that had assembled for the occasion. After the Mass, the Bishop together will all the priests present and a large concourse of people accompanied the body to its final resting place. Inside the tomb the following inscription was placed:

  "The mortal remains of Father Ignatius of St. Paul, of the Congregation of the Passion and of the noble family of Spencer. He was at first an Anglican minister; then, having been converted to the Catholic Church, was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in the year 1832. With admirable constancy of mind he laboured for more than 30 years for the conversion of his country. He was numbered among the sons of the Passion in the year 1847, and throughout his life gave an example of all the virtues to his brethren. He journeyed throughout England, Ireland and Scotland, and even in Italy, Germany and France, exhorting the people to their own sanctification and forming them, as it were, into a sacred army to pour forth prayers for the conversion of England. He was engaged in this most gratifying work in Scotland when, on 1st. October, 1864, having offered the Sacrifice of the Mass, he was on his way to visit a friend he had long been acquainted with (Mr. Robert Monteith). He died suddenly at his friend's door, being assisted by God whose glory he had ever sought, and by the angels whose purity he had imitated. His life came to an end in the 65th year of his age. May he rest in peace."

(translated from the Italian)

[ The Italian version of the above obituary notice was discovered recently in the library of Scala Sancta Retreat, Rome. A photostat copy was sent to us (December, 1976) by Fr. Frederico, Postulator General. Signed: Ignatius C.P. (St. Joseph's Province.)]