Hugh Charles Boyle
The Most Reverend Hugh Charles Boyle | |
---|---|
Bishop of Pittsburgh | |
See | Pittsburgh |
Installed | June 29, 1921 |
Term ended | December 22, 1950 |
Orders | |
Ordination | July 2, 1898 |
Consecration | June 29, 1921 |
Personal details | |
Born | Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | October 8, 1873
Died | December 22, 1950 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 77)
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Styles of Hugh Boyle | |
---|---|
Reference style | The Most Reverend |
Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Religious style | Monsignor |
Hugh Charles Boyle (October 8, 1873 – December 22, 1950) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Pittsburgh from 1921 until his death in 1950.
Biography[]
Hugh Boyle was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, one of nine children of Charles and Anna (née Keelan) Boyle.[1] His father was an Irish immigrant who worked as a coal miner.[2] He received his early education at local parochial schools, and enrolled at St. Vincent College in Latrobe at age 14.[3] During the 1889 Johnstown Flood, his father and most of his siblings drowned; only his mother and one brother survived.[4] He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Vincent Seminary, also in Latrobe, in 1891.[1]
Boyle was ordained a priest by Bishop Richard Phelan on July 2, 1898.[5] His first assignment was as a curate at St. Aloysius Church in Wilmerding, where he remained for five years.[1] He then served at the Cathedral of St. Paul and secretary to Bishop Regis Canevin until 1909, when he became superintendent of diocesan schools.[2] From 1916 to 1921, he served as pastor of St. Mary Magdalene Church in Homestead.[1]
On June 16, 1921, Boyle was appointed the sixth Bishop of Pittsburgh by Pope Benedict XV.[5] He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 29 from Bishop Canevin, with Bishops Philip R. McDevitt and John Joseph McCort serving as co-consecrators.[5] During his 29-year tenure, he earned a reputation as one of the leading Catholic educators in the nation, and sponsored a comprehensive school-building program in the diocese,[2] most notably asking the Brothers of the Christian Schools to establish Central Catholic High School. He was a strong supporter of social justice movements, such as the Catholic Radical Alliance.[6] In 1941, he established the Catholic Workers' School in Pittsburgh.[2]
During World War II, Boyle served as chairman of the National Catholic Welfare Council's Committee for Polish Relief.[2] He defended the Allied bombing of Rome as a wartime necessity and praised the care that was taken in the air raids to protect the city's religious and cultural treasures.[2] Boyle also played a prominent role in the activities of the Legion of Decency and was a member of the Episcopal Committee on Motion Pictures.[2]
Boyle died at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, at age 77.[2] He is buried in St. Mary Cemetery in the city's Lawrenceville neighborhood.[7]
References[]
- ^ a b c d Curtis, Georgina Pell (1947). The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. VII. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "BISHOP H.C. BOYLE OF PITTSBURGH, 77; Diocesan Head 29 Years Dies—Noted Educator Had Long Aided Cause of Labor". The New York Times. 1950-12-23.
- ^ O'Donnell, John Hugh (1922). The Catholic Hierarchy of the United States, 1790-1922. Washington, D.C.
- ^ "The Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Flood 31 May 1889". Donegal Genealogy Resources. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ^ a b c "Bishop Hugh Charles Boyle". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
- ^ "Radical Alliance' Priests Strike With Pickets". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 42.
We contend that the relationship between Catholicism and capitalism is one of fundamental opposition
- ^ "Former Diocesan Bishops". Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 2009-12-31.
- 1873 births
- 1950 deaths
- Saint Vincent College alumni
- Roman Catholic bishops of Pittsburgh
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent