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The RMS Titanic sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage, resulting in over 1,500 deaths due to a lack of lifeboats. Father Thomas Byles, who helped calm passengers and recited the Rosary, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.
In the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, more than 2.5 hours after hitting an iceberg, the RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. The vessel was on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, but there were not enough lifeboats aboard and more than 1,500 passengers and crew perished in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history in peacetime. In the aftermath of the tragedy, many stories emerged of the heroism of those who were lost. After helping load frightened passengers into lifeboats, Father Thomas Byles selflessly sought to calm those doomed to go down with the ship, by reciting the Rosary and hearing confessions. In 2015, the priest of the parish of St. Helens in Byles launched an effort to canonize the Catholic priest as a saint.
Heroic to the End:
Father Byles boarded ship at Southampton to attend his younger brother’s wedding in New York. During the journey he celebrated mass for second and third class passengers, even on the morning of the tragedy.
Survivors on the last lifeboat reported hearing the voice of the 42-year-old British priest and those kneeling around him on the stern of the boat, reciting the Rosary as the Titanic glided into the ocean.
The Catholic canonization process requires a designated person to have lived the Christian virtues to a heroic degree. A miracle attributed to an individual must be approved by the Holy See.
