Hugh Charles Boyle was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
Background
Hugh Boyle was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, one of nine children of Charles and Anna (née Keelan) Boyle. His father was an Irish immigrant who worked as a coal miner. During the 1889 Johnstown Flood, his father and most of his siblings drowned.
Only his mother and one brother survived.
Education
Educated Saint Vincent’s preparatory school, college and seminary, Beatty, Pennsylvania, 1888-1898.
Career
He served as Bishop of Pittsburgh from 1921 until his death in 1950. He received his early education at local parochial schools, and enrolled at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe at age 14. He began his studies for the priesthood at Saint Vincent Seminary, also in Latrobe, in 1891.
Boyle was ordained a priest by Bishop Richard Phelan on July 2, 1898.
His first assignment was as a curate at Saint Aloysius Church in Wilmerding, where he remained for five years. He then served at the Cathedral of Saint Paul and secretary to Bishop Regis Canevin until 1909, when he became superintendent of diocesan schools.
From 1916 to 1921, he served as pastor of Saint Mary Magdalene Church in Homestead. On June 16, 1921, Boyle was appointed the sixth Bishop of Pittsburgh by Pope Benedict XV. 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.
He was a strong supporter of social justice movements, such as the Catholic Radical Alliance.
In 1941, he established the Catholic Workers" School in Pittsburgh. During World World War II, Boyle served as chairman of the National Catholic Welfare Council"s Committee for Polish Relief. Boyle died at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, at age 77.
He is buried in Saint Mary Cemetery in the city"s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Views
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.
Membership
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.