author
B. J. (Benedict Joseph) Murdoch
1886–1973
A Canadian priest and novelist whose writing grew out of faith, war, and life in New Brunswick, he is best remembered for The Red Vineyard, a vivid account of his First World War service as a military chaplain. His work carries a reflective, humane voice shaped by both pastoral care and firsthand experience.
1 Audiobook
The Red Vineyard
by B. J. (Benedict Joseph) Murdoch
About the author
Born in Chatham, New Brunswick, in 1886, Benedict Joseph Murdoch became a Roman Catholic priest and later gained a reputation as a writer, often published as Reverend B. J. Murdoch. He studied for the priesthood before his ordination in 1911, and his religious life remained central to both his public work and his books.
During the First World War, he served as a military chaplain with Canadian forces in Europe. That experience became the basis for his best-known book, The Red Vineyard, a memoir-like work remembered for its direct picture of wartime life and its spiritual and emotional depth.
Murdoch also wrote fiction and devotional works, and in New Brunswick literary history he is remembered as both priest and author. Later in life he was associated with a quiet, secluded way of living that helped shape his lasting image as the “Shepherd of the Woods.” He died in 1973.