The front porch of Fr. Coyle's rectory
Fr. James Coyle, a College Alumnus who “Gave Till It Hurt” REV. KEVIN BAZZEL ‘01, C‘06 AND DANIEL SESSIONS ‘23, DIOCESE OF BIRMINGHAM IN ALABAMA
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his year marks the 125th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Father James Edwin Coyle, a seminarian of the College’s class of 1896. Born in Ireland on March 23, 1873, he began his preparation for the priesthood at Mungret College near Limerick and later transferred to the College to complete his priestly formation. On May 30, 1896, Fr. Coyle was ordained to the priesthood in Rome at the age of twenty-three and soon was off to what was then the Diocese of Mobile in Alabama to begin his priestly ministry.
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The Pontifical North American College
In 1904, Fr. Coyle was appointed pastor of Saint Paul’s parish in Birmingham, Alabama. Fr. Coyle was the most ardent defender of the Catholic faith in Birmingham. His homilies often extolled the virtue of receiving Holy Communion frequently and of fostering a devotion to the Blessed Mother. He wrote many columns for the Birmingham newspaper in attempts to dispel false understandings of the teachings of the Church. Courthouse, old church, rectory, new church construction, circa 1891
