Titanic priest a saint? Admin Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Fr. Thomas Byles, who famously prayed with Catholics aboard the sinking ship, is now the subject of a campaign for canonization undertaken by his successor at the church in Essex, England where Byles served until his death on April 15, 1912. © 2023 The Catholic Thing. All rights reserved. For reprint rights, write to: [email protected] The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own.