Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 14 March 1916 Letters 1916-1923 John Fitzgibbon

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Letter from John Fitzgibbon (1882-1918) to the father Provincial Thomas V Nolan (1867-1941) regarding Fitzgibbon's week at the front. Fr John 'Jack' Fitzgibbon SJ was ordained a priest on 31st July 1915. His father, John Fitzgibbon, was a successful draper and Member of Parliament from 1910-1918. Fr Fitzgibbon served in the 6th Division of the British Army, having enlisted shortly after the death of his brother at Gallipoli. He was promoted to senior chaplain in 1917, and in the same year he was gassed at Loos on 5th September and awarded the military cross. Fr Fitzgibbon was killed in action by a shell on the 18th September 1918, and is buried at Trefcon, St. Quentin, Picardie.Father Nolan was the Provincial of the Irish Province of the Society of Jesus (1912-1922) and was a member of the Distribution Committee which looked after the welfare and distribution of the the Belgian refugees who arrived in Ireland as a consequence of the First World War.

 Irish Jesuit Archives IJA/CHPI/21/4-5, IJA/CHPI/21/4-5 https://letters1916.ie/item/1185 English John Fitzgibbon 1916-03-14 Paris, France Thomas V Nolan Dublin, Ireland Male World War I (1914-1918) Faith

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 23rd Field Ambulance, B.E.F. France. My dear Fr Nolan - I have completed a full week at the Front and although I was twice daily on my horse, I have not been able to get to see the R.C's in my inspection of the Division. They are scattered in all directions in and out of the trenches + some of them miles apart. However I was able to hear quite a number of confessions on last Thursday, Friday and Saturday - under the most extraordinary circumstances & in all kinds of places. My first day in the trenches was decidedly interesting but not by any means what one would call comfortable, as a certain amount of shelling was going on, though none dropped nearer to me than about 100 yards away. One day I was going up when I met two poor fellows coming down on stretchers both badly wounded; but before we reached the 'dug outs' one of them - the catholic - had died, as I had to go back + get him buried. The burial service was quite reverential ceremonious though many could not attend it, because a crowd would invite shelling. The poor fellow was buried within an hour after he died, and a nice cross was being prepared for him as I left that evening. The two places where I had 'service' - 12 Mass Sermon, Confessions & Communion - were about seven miles apart. In one place I heard Confession the day before; while on Sunday I heard them in the more distant places, then having preached for about 10 minutes on Confession, I got quite a number to Confession after Mass, comprising mostly men who had accidentally heard of my Mass; as it was impossible to get round or even to discover where all the different sections are burrowed. For instance my labours lie with four full regiments, not to mention Flying Corps men R.F.A. men of which, there are 200 R.C.'s alone. - Grenade comp. Scout + mining comps. R.H.A. Comps. R.A.M.C. Corps. - Supply Columns - several odds and ends. All of these are spread out over a large area + I have been told that if I see all every two months should feel quite happy. Where I had to say Mass on Sunday had been shelled before I arrived & a portion of the roof was shattered; but as I could not send word to all concerned we held our service & in perfect peace. A few days ago after returning from the trenches I called into a barn where there was another officer whom I knew, in order to secure a cup of tea, - a little refresher after six hours in the trenches - we were about to feel comfortable when a shell burst in the garden outside, just fifteen yards away. It appear the Germans were finding the range of the road but to no effect. Although mighty nervous I did not move, but enjoyed my tea as best I could & cleared out a few minutes later. As far as men & officers are concerned they could not be nicer to me, and most obliging, although there are only two Catholic officers, as far as I can find out, in all the different sections. But the number of different 'Padres' in comparison to Priests is simply prodigious, they are to be found everywhere & overlapping one another. There are two in my Mess & they have about one tenth of the number of men to look after. I must now close, as I am rather tired & I want to be up early to try & manage a 'Service' of some kind for St Patrick's Day: but I fear it is hopeless & I don't want to get on the officers nerves. In conclusion I may say that I am quite happy & in the very best of health. With very best wishes etc. to fathers Brown & Darby I remain Your obedient child in Xt, J. FitzGibbon S.J. 14/3/16 John Fitzgibbon Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 14 March 1916Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1916 Dublin, Ireland Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, End of December 1917Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, End of February 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 3 April 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 1 May 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 22 May 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 25 June 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, August 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V Nolan, 29 August 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 30 October 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 28 November 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 28 December 1918Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 19 January 1919Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 23 January 1919Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 27 March 1919Letter from Fr Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 23 April 1919Letter from J. Stratton to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 8 April 1919Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1916Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1916Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 14 March 1916Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 23 September 1916Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 27 November 1916Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 June 1917Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa April 1918Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1918Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1918Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, January 1918Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1918Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1918Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1918Letter from Dom Stephen Rawlinson to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 20 September 1918Letter from Dom Stephen Rawlinson to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 23 September 1918Letter from Fr William Keary to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 October 1918Letter from Fr William Keary to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 6 October 1918Letter from Patrick F. Quinlan to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 4 October 1918Letter from Patrick F. Quinlan to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 14 October 1918Letter from Patrick F. Quinlan to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 12 October 1918Cablegram from John Dillon to John P McGoorty, 20 May 1916Letter from Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 10 May 1919Letter from Francis M. Shaw to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 15 May 1919Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1916Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 10 April 1916Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, circa 1916Letter from John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 8 December 1917Letter from Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 27 December 1917Letter from P.F. Quinlan, 23 September 1918Letter from P.F. Quinlan to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 30 September 1918Letters from Kathleen Durcan to Willie Daly, 19 March 1923 Paris, France Letter from Fr John Fitzgibbon to Fr Provincial Thomas V. Nolan, 14 March 1916