The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge

Father Mychal Judge became such a symbol of hope and sacrifice amidst the suffering of September 11, that he has been discussed as a future saint in the Roman Catholic Church. As New York Daily News columnist Michael Daly - who has just written a fascinating biography of Judge's life and death - has said: Judge would probably consider sainthood a demotion. The point, of course (as made clear in Daly's book), is that Judge lived the kind of life he did not because he some day wanted to be canonized, but because he believed good works to be their own reward.

Because Judge - the beloved chaplain of the New York City Fire Department - became so well known in the wake of 9/11, it is easy to forget that this was a man who had seen wondrous, horrible and amazing things many years before. He also faced numerous personal challenges, whether it was coming to terms with alcoholism, the more complicated aspects of Catholicism and politics, and his decision to join the priesthood.

The son of immigrants from Leitrim, Judge also struggled with his homosexuality, a controversial topic which Daly does not shy away from, and upon which he, in fact, sheds interesting light. "The Book of Mychal: The Surprising Life and Heroic Death of Father Mychal Judge" ultimately reveals Judge to be quintessential New York Irish-American, whose life, just as much as his death, should serve as an inspiration for generations.

Price: $27.95

Pages: 388

Publisher: Thomas Dunne