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Elias Lynch

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Fr Elias Lynch (1897–1967) was the founder of the National Shrine of Saint Jude in England He was a Carmelite Friar.

Ireland

Elias was his religious name as he was baptised as 'Murtagh' in a family of eleven other children. Elias later described himself as a child of the "soil" and was born in the farming community of Wicklow, Ireland.

England

Sittingbourne, Kent

In 1931, the Chapter of the Irish Carmelites asked Elias to go to Sittingbourne in Kent to take over the Carmelite mission. The Catholic community was growing and the church was near a convent with a busy school. Unfortunately his time did not end well here. Elias had decided to set up a social club in Sittingbourne in the hope that he could draw in donations for the parish funds. However events beyond his control ended this venture and even the 'News of the World' highlighted that a priest was running the 'Whitefriars Arms'. The Bishop of Southwark was not happy that a priest looked like he was running a pub, and moved Elias to Faversham with other Carmelites taking over Sittingbourne.

Faversham, Kent

In Faversham, Elias set up the Carmelite Press in 1938. The Press would print materials sent out to clients who, by their donations, supported the work of the Carmelite friars. This new press also began to print a newsletter, 'Carmelite News', which raised money from the supporters of the friars in touch. 'The Carmelite News' became an important communication link between the Order in Britain and its supporters. This is how he eventually set up the National Shrine of Saint Jude.

Death

Within only a few days of his seventieth birthday, Fr. Elias died in the Cottage hospital in Faversham on 1 November 1967. He is buried in the Aylesford Priory Carmelite cemetery.

References

  1. Wilfrid McGreal, Friar Beyond the Pale: A Biography of Carmelite Friar Fr. Elias Lynch 1897-1967. St Albert's Press, 2007
  2. "The Development of the National Shrine of Saint Jude". National Shrine of Saint Jude. 20 October 2016.
  3. Wilfrid McGreal, Friar Beyond the Pale: A Biography of Carmelite Friar Fr. Elias Lynch 1897-1967. St Albert's Press, 2007
  4. Wilfrid McGreal, Friar Beyond the Pale: A Biography of Carmelite Friar Fr. Elias Lynch 1897-1967. St Albert's Press, 2007
  5. https://www.stjudeshrine.org.uk/about/development-national-shrine-saint-jude
  6. https://www.stjudeshrine.org.uk/about/development-national-shrine-saint-jude
  7. Wilfrid McGreal, Friar Beyond the Pale: A Biography of Carmelite Friar Fr. Elias Lynch 1897-1967. St Albert's Press, 2007
  8. "Fr. Elias Lynch, O.Carm". National Shrine of Saint Jude. 1 November 2024.


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