Vincent Doyle paused at an overlook above the River Shannon in 2016. Doyle used to visit the same spot with the Rev. John J. Doyle, before Vincent Doyle knew the priest was his father.

Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

FATHER, MY FATHER

A priest’s son takes his case directly to the Pope

By Michael Rezendes | Photos by Suzanne Kreiter, Globe Staff August 17, 2017

One bright morning three years ago, Vincent Doyle joined the thousands of Catholic faithful jamming St. Peter’s Square for a chance to see Pope Francis make his weekly public appearance and bestow his blessing on the crowd.
Unlike most of those standing in the searing Roman sun, Doyle was headed to a front-row seat in a reserved section very close to where the pope would emerge, and he was already silently rehearsing an urgent message in the pontiff’s native language.
“I am the son of a Catholic priest in Ireland,” he repeated in Spanish, praying he would not become tongue-tied or overcome with emotion when he met the Holy Father.
Doyle learned at the age of 28 that the beloved godfather he grew up calling “J.J.” — a Catholic priest from a rural diocese in central Ireland — was, in fact, his biological father.
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