Father Francis Patrick Duffy was a Canadian-American Catholic priest and military chaplain, recognized for his service during World War I on the Western Front in France.
Duffy served on the battlefield as part of the Rainbow Division, helping to recover many injured soldiers, and became the most decorated cleric in the US Army. He was later pastor of Manhattan’s Holy Cross Church on 42nd Street near Times Square, until his death in 1932.
In 1937, a bronze statue of Duffy standing before a Celtic cross, by sculptor Charles Keck, was dedicated in the northern triangle of Times Square between 45th and 47th Streets, which was renamed Father Duffy Square in his honor in 1939.
