Our Division is named after Father James E. Coyle, Pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama during the early 1900's and a native of Ireland. Below is a letter I submitted to the Birmingham News on the 87th anniversary of his death.
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Dear Editor,
On August 11, 1921, Father James Coyle, rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown Birmingham, was murdered by a local minister and member of the KKK. The minister shot the Irish priest in the head while he was swinging on the porch of the parish rectory as retribution for performing the marriage of the minister’s daughter to a Catholic Puerto Rican.
Although an eyewitness observed the murder, and the shooter did not dispute that he had killed Father Coyle, the minister was found not guilty of the murder after a trial presided over by a judge who was a Klansmen. The KKK funded the minister’s legal defense, which was conducted by a team of attorneys including future Supreme Court Justice and civil rights champion Hugo Black.
Birmingham’s civil rights history is rightly well-documented. Less well known, however, is the past persecution suffered by the city’s Catholics, particularly in the early 1900’s. As the Magic City rose out of the red clay mountains to become a national industrial power, thousands of immigrants flooded into the city to meet an insatiable demand for labor. Many of these immigrants were Catholics from Ireland and other European countries.
The influx of largely Catholic immigrants created a widespread anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment, which translated into active terrorism by groups such as the KKK, the Know-Nothing party, and the True Americans.
Father Coyle was an outspoken defender of the Catholic community at a time when such advocacy could result in physical attack or death. On this 87th anniversary of Father Coyle’s assassination, we remember his heroism and life of courageous ministry. A memorial Mass will be held for Father Coyle on August 11 at 12:10 p.m. at St. Paul’s Cathedral. All are welcome to attend.
On August 11, 1921, Father James Coyle, rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown Birmingham, was murdered by a local minister and member of the KKK. The minister shot the Irish priest in the head while he was swinging on the porch of the parish rectory as retribution for performing the marriage of the minister’s daughter to a Catholic Puerto Rican.
Although an eyewitness observed the murder, and the shooter did not dispute that he had killed Father Coyle, the minister was found not guilty of the murder after a trial presided over by a judge who was a Klansmen. The KKK funded the minister’s legal defense, which was conducted by a team of attorneys including future Supreme Court Justice and civil rights champion Hugo Black.
Birmingham’s civil rights history is rightly well-documented. Less well known, however, is the past persecution suffered by the city’s Catholics, particularly in the early 1900’s. As the Magic City rose out of the red clay mountains to become a national industrial power, thousands of immigrants flooded into the city to meet an insatiable demand for labor. Many of these immigrants were Catholics from Ireland and other European countries.
The influx of largely Catholic immigrants created a widespread anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment, which translated into active terrorism by groups such as the KKK, the Know-Nothing party, and the True Americans.
Father Coyle was an outspoken defender of the Catholic community at a time when such advocacy could result in physical attack or death. On this 87th anniversary of Father Coyle’s assassination, we remember his heroism and life of courageous ministry. A memorial Mass will be held for Father Coyle on August 11 at 12:10 p.m. at St. Paul’s Cathedral. All are welcome to attend.
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