Father Peyton's Impact on Three Generations

Meg Herriot shares how learning about the life and message of Venerable Patrick Peyton has affected her whole family.

Father Peyton was relatively unknown to my family up until this year. For all three generations, including my parents, who lived during his lifetime, this was a new introduction. We are blessed to have been exposed to his story, through the movie PRAY, going to a Rosary Rally at Notre Dame, and also by visiting his final resting place.

As one of the priests in the movie said, “Father Peyton found that the peace the world needed was the peace he found praying on the stone floor in Ireland.” Our Lady has traveled and journeyed with us during family prayer, just like Father Peyton promoted. We started with a decade a day and have increased to a Rosary a day. This was a recommendation of our priest, who I’m sure was affected by Father Peyton’s ministry.

We have realized, just like Father Peyton did, that the way to change the world is with the power of the Rosary. My mom also really appreciated in this time of polarization how Father Peyton said, “I’m not against anything, I’m for things.”

What We Learned from the Movie PRAY

A part of his story that struck my family, particularly my husband, is how supportive and willing to participate Hollywood and A-list celebrities were, and how effective their work was in bringing the message of family prayer to the general public. These days, we doubt many current celebrities or the general public are aware of this history and would likely be shocked and surprised to know how common and non-shocking it would be to see your favorite entertainer speaking publicly in support of family prayer. Sharing this historical footage more broadly now may give current celebrities more comfort to agree to participate, when they are asked or feel the call to do so.

I think all three generations appreciated that he wasn’t always a perfect youth behavior-wise (reminder of our youths and the current tween we engage with).

My son was appreciative that the movie was about a possible future saint, and that he was modern enough that there were many people in the movie who knew this holy man personally.

null

My son also thought it was cool to see that you could barely see the name on Father Peyton's grave as it was covered in rosaries, as that meant so many people remembered his legacy and loved the Rosary.

My mom shared, “The movie PRAY is what every parish should show their parishioners. Gen Z wants family, they want faith; this is what Father Peyton is about.”

Going to the Rosary Rally at Notre Dame made us feel a part of something bigger and ignited a desire in my son to someday attend University there, with the community that Father Peyton was a part of.

Father Peyton's pledge to pray the daily Rosary, his utilization of mass media to expand the faith, and the lesson that the family that prays together stays together reinforced the values we share but don’t always articulate.