Fr. MICHAEL of the Sacred Heart of Mary (Drysdale) It was one of those 19th Cent. mixed-marriages where the sons followed the father’s Faith, the daughters that of the mother. William Drysdale was born at Fosson, Northumberland, on 10th October 1838.(He was baptised sub conditione 13 years later on Christmas Day 1851). Fr. Salvian Sardocci, CP first met him in the house of his aunt Miss Wilson that year. The lad was then a non-Catholic, but Salvian was MUCH impressed by him, and said to him, half in joke, but wholly in earnest, that he one day would be a not only a Catholic, but a Passionist. Young Willie laughed and said he’d never be a ‘monk’. Salvian didn’t see him again for 5 years. Meantime Willie’s dad died. and the mother (who was the Catholic) gave her son a choice of continuing at his non-Catholic school, or going to a Catholic one, Sedgely Park. He chose the latter. He was not long there, when he asked to be received into the Church. His First Communion Day was one of joy for him. He was a favourite both of his masters and his fellow-pupils; he had but one defect, that of being over-scrupulous. During a School-Retreat, given by our Fr. Raphael (Gorga), he showed a desire to become a Passionist. The Mother made a lot of difficulty about this, but finally he arrived in Broadway, and was clothed on July 16th 1856. As a Novice he was of such a character that he was called ‘the little Angel’, and indeed was compared to St. Aloysius, S.J. by a priest-guest in the house, a Fr. O’Loughlin, a diocesan priest. Fr. Salvian, the Master of Novices, makes the point that Fr. O’Loughlin had no love at all for anything British, and when he compared Cfr. Michael to St. Aloysius, he may have been genuine in his praise. (It is nice to remember that on the 21st September of that year, another was clothed in the Passionist habit: Gabriel Possenti.) After his studies for the priesthood, he was ordained Priest in Highgate along with his classmates: Frs. Columban O’Grady, Clement Doran, Paul Mary Ryan, Pius Devine, and Fr. Austin Sims. That was on 27th October 1861. In 1862 he was made Vice-Master of Novices, and remained such until transferred to St. Mungo’s, Glasgow 3rd August 1865. He then joined the band. of Missioners, his first mission being at St. Anne’s, Alcester St., Birmingham. His last mission was at Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan. Here he was besieged by penitents, many of them from Maheracloone where he had given a Mission the year before. The Mission over on 22nd July, he went to Mt. Argus for a rest, for he was not feeling well. As August began, he returned to Glasgow. He became really ill, and the illness turned out to be typhus. When the crisis of the fever came (August 31st) he seemed to rally. but there was a relapse, and 6 a.m. on Saturday he died in the presence of the Rector (Fr. Osmund Maguire) and of Bro. Sylvester who had nursed him. That night he body was placed in three coffins. The first, of mahogany; that in one of lead, while the outer one was of solid oak. (A sign surely his brethren thought him saintly enough to raise hopes his Cause would one day be introduced). The Vicar Apostolic of the Western District (Dr. Gray) sang the Funeral Mass. His funeral procession was the biggest ever: 30 mourning coaches. The pupils of St. Mungo’s Academy came (at their own request) and four abreast. followed by a vast crowd of Catholics, to Dalbeath Cemetery. Sources: 21 pages of the Anglo-Hib. Annals, vol II 156-176