Thursday, November 29, 2007

Fr. Ed Boyle, S.J. "Rest In Peace"

From Cardinal Seán’s blog
St. Andrew’s Dinner On Friday evening, we had a St. Andrew’s Dinner at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. Young men from several parishes came for the holy hour and the vespers with the seminarians.Afterward, we had dinner with them, and three seminarians gave witness talks about their vocations. Then, I addressed the young men, talked about vocations and answered some of their questions.As we were leaving the seminary, we ran into a Portuguese group, a “rancho folclorico,” from St. Anthony Parish in Cambridge. They were at the seminary for an ethnic party, and all the young children were dressed up in their costumes and had castanets. They sang a couple of songs for us, which was very enjoyable.
Pay respects to Father Ed Boyle On Sunday I attended the wake for Father Ed
Boyle in the chapel at Campion Hall, the Jesuit retirement home in Weston.Many
hundreds of people went there to pay their respects. It was a very moving
experience to see how beloved Father Boyle was to so many people whose lives
were touched by his ministry in working in the labor movement.
The crowd extended from the coffin, through the church, down this very long hallway out to the street. It was incredible how many people went there. His funeral was the following day at St. Angela Parish. He had helped out for many years at St. Angela’s, so he asked to be buried there.I had seen Father Boyle recently at Campion. He was dying, but he was still able to talk, and we had a nice visit. I will always cherish my memories of this outstanding priest and Jesuit.I also know that he has prepared a farewell statement that will be read at the Labor Guild Dinner on Nov. 30.

Link to original blog post (here)

1 comment:

Colleen Little said...

'Papa Ed' Boyle was my friend and mentor for 40 years. I still miss him terribly even now, four years after his death in November 2007.

We first met when I was 13 years old at a parish variety show in Boston, and remained fast friends ever after. He wrote my letter of recomendation to college, saw me married and divorced, and baptized my children and grandchildren.

When people talk to me about the clergy abuse scandals, I remind them that this man befriended a 13 year old girl, and never once in the following 40 years ever once even uttered a curse word in her direction. He was one of the good guys, a gentleman and a down-to-earth spirtual healer. There will never be another like him.

Rest in peace, dear Papa Ed, the Catholic church would do well to have more men of your kind.