Good Shepherd Sunday (1962 Missal)
112 years ago today, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic. One passenger aboard that fateful ship, one which Pope St. Pius X would call a martyr for the Church, was Father Thomas Byles. He was raised in a Protestant family in Yorkshire, England. Like his brother William, he eventually converted to the Catholic faith. He attended the Beda College in Rome and was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1902.
His trip to America on the Titanic was prompted by the upcoming wedding of his brother William, at which he was asked to officiate. William had moved to New York to run a rubber business and fallen in love with Katherine Russell of Brooklyn. He was able to make arrangements with Captain Smith to offer Mass for the passengers since he had brought a portable altar stone and all accessories.
On Sunday morning, April 14, 1912, Father Byles offered what would be his last Mass. It was Low Sunday; that is, the Sunday after Easter. He said Mass first for the second class passengers in their lounge and then for the third class passengers. He preached in English and French on the need for men to have a lifebelt in the shape of prayer and the sacraments to save their souls when in danger of being lost in spiritual shipwreck in times of temptation, just as men require a lifebelt to save themselves when their lives are in danger of being lost in an actual shipwreck.
Of the very few passengers willing to brave the cold that evening, Father Byles was praying his Office, fully dressed in his priestly garb, while walking back and forth on the upper deck at the moment the Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. He immediately descended to the third class area and calmed the people, gave them his priestly blessing, and heard confessions; after which, he began the recitation of the Rosary. He then led the third class passengers up to the boat deck and helped load the lifeboats.
He whispered words of consolation and encouragement to the woman and children as they got into the boats. As the danger became even more apparent, he went about hearing more confessions. A crewman warned him of the danger he was in and begged him to get into a lifeboat, but he refused. The same crewman again spoke to him about getting into a boat, but he would not abandon those left behind.
After the last lifeboat was gone, he went to the after end of the boat deck and led the recitation of the Rosary for a large group kneeling around him of those who were not able to find room in the boats. Father Byles also exhorted the people to prepare to meet God. As 2:20 a.m. approached, and the stern rose higher and higher out of the sea, he led the more than one hundred people kneeling before him in the Act of Contrition and gave them general absolution.
Father Byles died in the sinking. His body was never recovered.
The Titanic is a symbol of tragedy because of the dramatic sinking of the great liner and the loss of over 1500 lives on a ship people believed was unsinkable but remember there is another legacy. It is the legacy of the men and women who stayed behind. Such was Father Thomas Byles, who gave witness to his Catholic faith and priestly zeal in his ability to forget himself and save as many souls as possible, unwilling to save his own life as long as one was left onboard.
In authentic imitation of Christ, he was a good shepherd who gave his life for the congregation God had given him on that ship, offering Mass, praying with them, hearing confessions, imploring the intercession of the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary, and in the end, giving absolution to those kneeling before him. This is sacrificial love, the love of a good shepherd, who gave his life for his sheep.