CAMDEN – To those who knew him personally – and even those who didn’t – Msgr. Michael J. Doyle’s legacy will be one of compassion and justice.
“I never stopped learning from him, how to stand up for what I believe, be honest and treat people with respect,” Teresa Reader, longtime business and office manager at Sacred Heart Parish, said of the former pastor.
Msgr. Doyle, known around the world as an advocate for life and pillar of faith and hope to South Camden’s community for nearly 50 years, died Nov. 4. He was 88.
“The news of the death of Msgr. Michael Doyle, Pastor Emeritus of Sacred Heart Parish, Camden, brings me great sadness,” Bishop Dennis Sullivan said. “May he rest from his priestly labors in a well-deserved eternal peace.”
“His legacy in the City of Camden will live on long past his death,” the Bishop continued. “What made him truly remarkable was his dedication to people and his advocacy to improve the lives of the poor through affordable housing, crime-free neighborhoods, clean streets and education. Msgr. Doyle’s priestly ministry was that of a Good Shepherd. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his parishioners and everyone who knew and loved him.”
Father Vincent Guest, current pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, said Msgr. Doyle will always be remembered as a peace advocate and community organizer.
“Our entire parish family mourns the death of Father Michael, but we also thank God for the gift of his life and the gift of his priesthood that enriched so many,” Father Guest said. “In his heart, he was always a parish priest. He was a priest of mercy, as Pope Francis calls us to be, he walked among his flock, had the ‘smell of his sheep entrusted to his care’ and lived the joy of the Gospel.”
He also reflected on first meeting Msgr. Doyle. “I was not a priest; I was a lawyer and director of the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice in North Camden. I still vividly remember him walking up the stairs of our third-floor office with a member of his community. With the Irish brogue he never lost he said, ‘Vince, a member of our parish is in a bit of a jam, can you help?’ As many know, it was hard to say no to Father Michael. The example of his dedicated priesthood as he advocated for the poor helped me in my discernment to leave the practice of law and enter the priesthood. It is still hard for me to believe that 20 years after that encounter in my law office, that I would be a priest and succeed him as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish.”
Calling Msgr. Doyle a “generational gift,” J. Scott Thomson, Camden’s former police chief, said, “Few will ever be missed as much as Msgr. Doyle.”
His relationship with Msgr. Doyle traces back to his time as a kindergartener at Sacred Heart School in 1979, and continued with his role as police chief, from 2008-2019, and into the priest’s final hours.
“He fought hard for Camden, creating a tight-knit community,” especially in the Waterfront South community, Thomson said. “He was the embodiment of the Word of the Lord [in action] – able to bring out the best in everyone. No matter who you were, he looked at everyone the same, giving you 100% of his love and attention.”
As both worked to aid and guide the City of Camden, Thomson frequently leaned on Msgr. Doyle for wisdom, often asking himself, “What would Father Mike do?”
“He was the stone in the pond, and [now] we are the ripples, affecting the mission and vision that he started,” Thomson said.
Life of Action
Msgr. Doyle was born in rural Longford, Ireland, to Rose and John Doyle on Nov. 3, 1934. After studies at Saint Peter’s Seminary in Wexford, Ireland, he was ordained May 31, 1959. His first assignment in the Diocese of Camden was as parochial vicar at Saint Raymond in the Villas.
His early years were also spent teaching at Cherry Hill’s Camden Catholic High School and Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, before moving to Camden and serving as parochial vicar at Saint Joseph beginning in 1968.
Three years later, in 1971, he made national news as one of the “Camden 28,” those opposed to the Vietnam War and jailed after a raid on the Camden draft board.
“Truth is action and it must consistently oppose the forces of death. It must support life and somehow that, to my mind, is truth. … And it cannot be fitted within the prescriptions of law because law is too small for it. That struggle to support life and care for it and to oppose death is very strong and sometimes desperate,” Msgr. Doyle, who served as his own attorney during the trial, said in closing arguments.
All were acquitted by a jury.
Returning to his parish work, he served as parochial vicar at Saint George (1972-1973), and Saint Joan of Arc (1973-1974), before beginning what would become his defining role: pastor of Sacred Heart Parish.
Here, he was instrumental in the revival of the residents and community of the parish and its school, bringing hope and healing through initiatives such as the Heart of Camden, a nonprofit established in 1984 that continues to create affordable housing and community facilities for families; the Nick Virgilio Writers House, which supports literacy and writing; the Waterfront South Theatre, and the Msgr. Doyle Fieldhouse, a youth athletics facility.
A tireless shepherd, he would often cut firewood to heat the church; promote programs to feed the poorest and youngest, and ease anxious hearts with his calm manner.
In 1976, he convinced a future saint to grace his faith community: Mother Teresa of Kolkata. Msgr. Doyle later described the time seeing her outside a Philadelphia church.
“When I approached Mother Teresa, God helped me to think of myself as a little nobody,” Msgr. Doyle said in a 2016 interview with the Catholic Star Herald. He ran after her and said, “I am Michael Doyle from Sacred Heart Church in Camden, a very poor city near Philadelphia. I’d like you to come and pray for the women of Camden.”
And she did, on Aug. 4, 1976.
“Hearing the miraculous words, ‘I will come,’ filled me with gratitude to God,” Msgr. Doyle said, calling Saint Mother Teresa “the holiest person I ever met.”
‘A Devotion to Camden’
In 2017, Camden’s Jasper Street, from Broadway to 4th Street, just outside Sacred Heart Church and elementary school, was renamed Michael Doyle Lane in a ceremony that include the parish community, local dignitaries and Bishop Sullivan.
“He was a mighty man of peace and justice – a priest, friend, mentor and spiritual adviser to me, my family and so many others,” recalled Barbara Dever, Sacred Heart’s music and liturgy director for almost 40 years, who first got to know Msgr. Doyle when she was a freshman at Camden Catholic High School in 1965.
A noted international opera singer, Dever said Msgr. Doyle was always encouraging her passion for music, attending her performances at the New York Metropolitan Opera. The two frequently “discussed how both liturgy and music could move and heal people.”
As well, she remembered a priest who “had a great devotion to Camden, in bringing hope and beauty to its families, to heal the brokenness in the streets.”
Dever saw this compassion firsthand when she suddenly lost her 27-year old son, Christopher, in 2003. In the family’s time of grief, Msgr. Doyle “wrapped us up in spiritual assurance of the Resurrection. We found such strength in his presence.”
Susan Cedrone, a longtime Sacred Heart parishioner who was one of the caregivers for Msgr. Doyle in his final days, called the monsignor a priest who “challenged all to do their bit” to affect change in the face of injustice, be that feeding Camden’s poor or rehabilitating its houses.
“He always said, ‘The liturgy should lead us to justice,’” she said. “He got us to live our faith in action.”
Through his cancer diagnosis six years ago, and a recent COVID diagnosis and stroke, she saw a priest “brave and accepting” of everything that happened to him. The only time he would show sadness, Cedrone said, was when his illness prevented him from imparting the sacraments to his beloved Sacred Heart faithful, such as marriage or baptism.
Over the years, Msgr. Doyle’s life and witness has been the focus of local and national stories, including “60 Minutes” and the documentary “The Heart of Camden – The Story of Father Michael Doyle,” which was narrated by actor and activist Martin Sheen. A prolific poet and writer, Msgr. Doyle published a collection of his letters, “It’s a Terrible Day … Thanks Be to God,” in 2003.
Retiring from active priest ministry in 2020, he nevertheless continued his longtime practice of writing a monthly letter to thousands across the country, asking for donations to Sacred Heart. His words and manner created strong support for the school and parish community in Camden’s neighboring suburbs and beyond.
“I miss him dearly,” Reader, the office manager, said days after his death.
Msgr. Doyle was Reader’s freshman religion teacher at Camden Catholic High School in 1964, and 40 years later, she joined him at Sacred Heart.
“He was a man of peace who was all about love,” she said. “He made Sacred Heart welcoming, no matter who you were. People gravitated to him; he gave them hope.”
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 11 by Bishop Sullivan at Sacred Heart Church, 1739 Ferry Ave., Camden. Following the Mass, there will be an extended viewing at the church until 10 p.m. On Nov. 12, a viewing will be held from 7-10 a.m., followed by a parish Mass at 10:30 a.m. to celebrate his life. Father Doyle’s Committal Service and Final Interment will take place at Harleigh Cemetery, 1640 Haddon Ave., Camden, immediately afterward.
In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Sacred Heart School Sponsorship, 1739 Ferry Ave., Camden, NJ 08104.
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