He was able to make arrangements with Captain Smith to have the use of space on the ship in order to say Mass for the passengers of the Titanic since he had brought a portable altar stone and all accessories, borrowed from Monsignor Watson.
A few hours later, while the Titanic lay at anchor at Cherbourg, he wrote to his housekeeper Miss Field back at his parish in Ongar, Essex:
"Everything so far has gone very well, except that I have somehow managed to lose my umbrella. I first missed it getting out of the train at Southampton, but am inclined to think that I left it at Liverpool St. We arrived at Southampton in the boat train at 11.30 and started at 12 o'clock very punctually. At one we had lunch. We were then still in Southampton Water, but when we came out of lunch we were between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.He spent most of the day Saturday hearing the confessions of those who wished to avail themselves to this grace. On Sunday morning, April 14, Father Byles offered what would be his last Mass. It was Low Sunday; i.e., 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.
"Before coming out of supper we had stopped at Cherbourg, and the tender was just coming alongside with passengers. The tender is a good sized boat of 1260 tons, but by the side of the Titanic she looks as though with a good crane we could lift her out of the water and lay her on deck without feeling any inconvenience.
"When you look down at the water from the top deck, it is like looking from the roof of a very high building.
"At the time of writing 7.45 we are still stopping at Cherbourg. The English channel was decidedly rough to look at, but we felt it no more in the roughest part than when we were in Southampton Water. I do not much like the throbbing of the screws but that is the only motion we feel...I shall not be able to say mass to-morrow morning, as we shall be just arriving at Queenstown ... I will write as soon as I get to New York..."
Of the very few passengers willing to brave the cold, Father Byles had been reciting the Breviarium Romanum, fully dressed in his priestly garb, while walking back and forth on the upper deck at the moment the Titanic struck the iceberg. He acted bravely in his capacity as a spiritual leader of men. Descending to the third class and calming the people, Father Byles gave them his priestly blessing and began to hear 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 gave 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 and giving absolution. By all accounts, Father Byles was twice offered a seat in a lifeboat but refused. 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, Father Byles led the more than one hundred people kneeling before him in the Act of Contrition and gave them general absolution.
Witnesses gave testimony of Father Byles' bravery while the ship was sinking.
"When the crash came we were thrown from our berths ... Slightly dressed, we prepared to find out what had happened. We saw before us, coming down the passageway, with his hand uplifted, Father Byles. We knew him because he had visited us several times on board and celebrated mass for us that very morning. 'Be calm, my good people,' he said, and then he went about the steerage giving absolution and blessings.... A few around us became very excited and then it was that the priest again raised his hand and instantly they were calm once more. The passengers were immediately impressed by the absolute self-control of the priest. He began the recitation of the rosary. The prayers of all, regardless of creed, were mingled and all the responses, 'Holy Mary,' were loud and strong." -- Miss Helen Mary Mocklare, third class passenger.Another survivor spoke of how Father Byles was a leader in caring for those left behind.
"Continuing the prayers, he [Father Byles] led us to where the boats were being lowered. Helping the women and children in he whispered to them words of comfort and encouragement." -- Miss Bertha Moran, third class passenger.
"One sailor ... warned the priest of his danger and begged him to board a boat. Father Byles refused. The same seaman spoke to him again and he seemed anxious to help him, but he refused again. Father Byles could have been saved, but he would not leave while one was left and the sailor's entreaties were not heeded. After I got in the boat, which was the last one to leave, and we were slowly going further away from the ship, I could hear distinctly the voice of the priest and the responses to his prayers. Then they became fainter and fainter, until I could only hear the strains of 'Nearer My God, to Thee' and the screams of the people left behind." -- Miss Helen Mary Mocklare, third class passenger.
"I first saw Father Byles in the steerage. There were many Catholics there, and he eased their minds by praying for them, hearing confessions and giving them his blessing. I later saw him on the upper deck reading from his priest's book of hours. Survivors, especially a young English lad, told me later that he pocketed the book, gathered the men about him and, while they knelt, offered up prayer for their salvation." -- Miss Agnes McCoy, third class passenger.Father Byles died in the sinking. His body was never recovered.
William and Katherine did not reschedule the planned wedding, but had another priest perform a very simple ceremony. Following the wedding the couple went home, changed into mourning clothes and returned to the church for a memorial Mass. This article appeared in the Evening World:
"Wedding bells, quickly followed by a funeral march, changed on Saturday, what was to have been the happiest day in the lives of Miss Isabel Katherine Russell and W. E. Byles. More than two thousand people were expected to be present. The ceremony was to have been performed in St. Augustine's Church and the Rev. Thomas R. D. Byles of Ongar, Essex County, England, brother of the groom, was to officiate. Miss Russell and Mr. Byles did not give up hope that Father Byles had been saved until every passenger had arrived from the Carpathia. They returned to the Russell residence, No. 119 Pacific Street, and, by telephone and telegram, recalled the numerous invitations. Believing in the superstition, however, that it is bad luck to postpone a wedding, the ceremony was performed Saturday by the Rev. Wm F. McGinnis, D. D., a life-long friend of the bride, in St. Paul's Church. Instead of the usual reception and wedding breakfast following, the bridal party hastened home, and, donning garments of mourning, returned to the church, where the Rev. Father W. Flannery, rector, performed a requiem mass for the late Father Byles."The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the following:
"There was a wedding this morning that was not all joy, at St. Paul's Church, Congress and Court streets. William E. Byles, of 124 Pacific street, was married to Isabelle C. Russell, of 119 Pacific street, by the Rev. Dr. William F. McGinnis. The wedding was to have been performed by the bridegroom's brother, the Rev. Thomas R. D. Byles, but the latter was one of the victims of the Titanic disaster, and from all accounts one of the heroes of the awful calamity. It is said that he administered the last rites to all that asked his services, and helped also to save many people from death.The following account of the Funeral Service held at Ongar Church appeared in the Essex Chronicle on May 2, 1912:
"After the low nuptial mass today, a solemn high requiem mass was celebrated for the lost priest."
"Ever since the news of the disaster to the Titanic the congregation at St. Helen's Catholic Church, Ongar, have been concerned in paying fitting tributes to the memory of their much-loved pastor. As soon as it was beyond doubt that Father Byles was amongst those who had perished, the sorrowful tidings were announced by the tolling of the church bell, and since then Masses have been said almost continually for the repose of his soul. At the Mass on the Sunday following an address was given by Father Connor, of St. Andrew's Institute, Barnet, in which he spoke of the sterling qualities of character as shown forth in their rector's life. His career was a remarkable one, and God seemed to have marked him out in an extraordinary way for His own divine purposes. Finally, he had been the rescuer of innumerable souls on a storm tossed ocean...On a trip later that year, Katherine and William traveled to Rome where they had a private audience with Pope Saint Pius X, who said that Father Byles was a martyr for the Church.
"The Priest-in-charge of the Ongar Catholic Church attended the solemn requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral in the name of the bereaved mission. Nevertheless, it seemed that the love and affectionate remembrance of the little flock for their shepherd could not be satisfied except by tokens, both public and private, at the very heart of the good Priest's activities - his own most dearly loved church. Accordingly on Sunday evening last a special service was arranged to fulfill these obligations. The Sisters of Charity and the boys under their charge at St. Charles' School, Brentwood, together with their chaplain, Mgr. Watson, journeyed to Ongar to assist at these devotions...
"On Monday morning a Requiem Mass was held at the church and there was a very large congregation... Mgr. Watson addressed the clergy and laity present. He referred to St. Paul, and the fact that though St. Paul suffered from physical ailments and was only small in stature, yet he was the great Apostle of the Gentiles. In like manner the late Father Byles, although of a humble exterior, was a man of great learning, great zeal, possessed a kindly love for the poor and a spirit of great humility."
The name "Titanic" will forever live in our hearts and memories as a symbol of tragedy because of the dramatic sinking of the great liner and the enormous loss of life, but remember there is another legacy, as reported in the survivors' descriptions of the final hours of the great ship. It is the legacy of the men and women who stayed behind.
It is the stuff of Greek tragedies, of the classical myths, of heroes and villains, scoundrels and good Samaritans.
The hero element of the classical myths is very important because it is through the hero that the audience learned how to behave heroically. Or, if the hero made a mistake, as Odysseus did when he angered Poseidon, then he still overcame the punishment in heroic fashion. All of these stories were meant to teach people what was important in life.
The Titanic is just such a story.
In the survivors' accountings there are examples of humanity at its basest form as well as examples of deeds that we, as Christians and good people, hold up as exemplary; actions which declare that we are above the beasts because we are capable of moral decisions; behavior which dignified not only the man, but that man's whole race. It provided evidence of the dignity and honor of which we are capable.
Father Byles was part of that legacy, a hero in a hopeless situation.
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