Recalling the 'Rosary Priest'

Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton
Fr. Patrick Peyton, Fr. Willy Raymond, Seamus Mulligan, Ronnie Owens
71 mins. - Unrated

Imagine a humble Catholic priest who could fill a sports arena as well as Billy Graham in his heyday. Fr. Patrick Peyton, the Irish immigrant and Holy Cross priest, for decades drew crowds in the hundreds of thousands to millions during his worldwide Rosary Crusades.

Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton, which has its theatrical release this month, is an efficient documentary telling the life story of this remarkable clergyman who endeared himself to so many as he popularized the slogan, “The family that prays together stays together.” He was among the early religious figures to utilize mass media and did so effectively. Holy Cross Family Ministries, which continues to promote family prayer through the media apostolate today and produced this film, is the fruit of his early efforts.

Father Peyton’s passion for Marian prayer originated in his near-miraculous healing from tuberculosis that struck him down as he was nearing ordination to the priesthood. The experience transformed him into a tireless advocate for devotion to Our Lady, and to the importance of a family life centered on prayer. He enlisted Hollywood idols like Loretta Young, Charlton Heston, James Stewart, Natalie Wood, and Bing Crosby to star in his Family Theater productions on radio and television – not only religious dramas but adaptations of classic stories, 482 episodes in all.

He had critics who looked askance at his Hollywood connections, and his being funded for some overseas missions by the CIA, who hoped his message of prayer would bring peace to countries where leftist uprisings threatened. But he remained above board at all times. His cause for beatification has been introduced.

If Fr. Peyton’s slogan is accurate, then the state of family life now suggests families aren’t praying together enough. Pray is a small way perhaps to rekindle Fr. Peyton’s message and introduce the “Rosary Priest” to a new generation of Catholics.

GERALD KORSON is a Legatus Magazine staff writer.