Fighting the Good Fight

Most people have never heard of Fr. Peter Whelan, the heroic priest chaplain from the Civil War. His story is so remarkable, so inspiring, that I think every Catholic should take an hour out of their day to watch this film. In our day, the Civil War seems like ancient history to most people but Fighting the Good Fight will bring the life and times of Fr. Whelan alive for you.

Peter Whelan was born in Ireland and was priviledged to receive the best Classical education available there. Near the end of his studies he discerned that he was being called to the priesthood. After further education, he made his way to the American missions and was ordained a priest in the far-flung diocese of Charleston in South Carolina. While serving parishes all over the South, he became known as a humble and dedicated priest. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he left his position as rector of an orphanage in Savannah in order to serve as a military chaplain.

During the difficult and terrible years of the Civil War, Fr. Whelan served both Confederate and Union troops, indiscriminately. In New York state he served with captured Confederate soldiers in a Union prison camp. Later on, in Georgia, he served captured Union soldiers in the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Until World War II, when news of the horrors of the Nazi camps was spread, the most infamous prison camp in the world had been Andersonville. In a facility built for 6,000 prisoners, the Confederate Army imprisoned some 45,000 - without shelter, clean water, or adequate food. Over 13,000 Union prisoners died in the horror that was Andersonville. Fr. Peter Whelan was the only chaplain, from any denomination, who served the men there - he spent each day, from sun up to sundown, hearing confessions, baptizing the unbaptized, giving the Last Rites, sprinkling holy water on the bodies of the dead, and seeing that the dead were given Christian burials. It was a living Hell on earth.

The diaries of men who survived Andersonville, whether they were Catholic or Protestant, are filled with the greatest of admiration for Fr. Whelan and everything he did for them. Many of the non-Catholics remarked that the ministers of their denominations should be "forever shamed" because they did nothing. Indiscriminate of their confession, Fr. Whelan was there for these prisoners, to comfort them and to bring them Christ. I think Fr. Peter Whelan really understood St. Paul's words "No longer I, but Christ who lives within me" better than almost anyone I have ever heard about or known. For me, this man was a "saint" although no cause, remarkably, has ever been opened for his canonization. 

This film is gritty, to say the least, and I would not recommend viewing by anyone under 15 years of age. Please watch it. It is such a wonderful testament to the incredible mercy of God at work in the world, through the simple and humble work of a great priest, Fr. Peter Whelan.  In this jubilee Year of the Priest, this is the film I recommend for viewing which exemplifies the heroic quality in the Catholic priesthood.