James Coyle
Encyclopedia
James Edwin Coyle was a Roman Catholic priest
who was murdered in Birmingham
, Alabama
.
to Owen Coyle and his wife Margaret Durney. He attended Mungret College
in Limerick
and the Pontifical North American College
in Rome. He was ordained a priest at age 23 in Rome on May 30, 1896.
Later that year, he sailed with another priest, Father Michael Henry, to Mobile
, Alabama
and served under Bishop Edward Patrick Allen
. He became an instructor, and later rector, of the McGill Institute for Boys
. In 1904 Bishop Allen appointed Coyle to succeed Patrick O'Reilly as pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Birmingham
, where he was well-received and loved by the congregation. Father Coyle was the Knights of Columbus
chaplain of Birmingham, Alabama Council 666.
, a Southern Methodist Episcopal
minister and a member of the Ku Klux Klan
. There were many witnesses. The murder occurred just hours after Coyle had performed a secret wedding between Stephenson's daughter, Ruth, and Pedro Gussman, a Puerto Rican
she had met while he was working on Stephenson's house five years earlier. Gussman had also been a customer of Stephenson's barber shop. Several months before the wedding, Ruth had converted to Roman Catholicism.
Father Coyle was buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery
.
paid for the defense, of the five lawyers, four were Klan members. The case was assigned to the Alabama courtroom of Judge William E. Fort, a Klansman. Hugo Black
, a future Justice of the Supreme Court
defended Stephenson.
The defense team took the unusual step of entering a dual plea of "not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity", essentially arguing both that the shooting was in self defense, and that at the time of the shooting Stephenson had been suffering from "temporary insanity". Stephenson was acquitted by one vote of the jury. One of Stephenson's attorneys responded to the prosecution's assertion that Gussman was of "proud Castilian descent" by saying "he has descended a long way".
The outcome of the murder trial for Father Coyle's assassin had a chilling impact on Catholics, who found themselves the target of Klan violence for many years to come. Nevertheless, by 1941 a Catholic writer in Birmingham would write that "the death of Father Coyle was the climax of the anti-Catholic feeling in Alabama. After the trial there followed such revulsion of feeling among the right-minded who before had been bogged down in blindness and indifference that slowly and almost unnoticeably the Ku Klux Klan and their ilk began to lose favor among the people".
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
who was murdered in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Early life
James Coyle was born in Drum, County RoscommonDrum, County Roscommon
Drum is a village in south County Roscommon about 5 km west of Athlone. In the area north of the village there is located the Meehambee Dolmen, a portal tomb estimated to be 5,500 years old. In the village there are a number of historical and religious sites, including Drum Cemetery, St....
to Owen Coyle and his wife Margaret Durney. He attended Mungret College
Mungret College
Mungret College, situated west of Limerick, Ireland, near the village of Mungret, was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school for the last time. The college produced over 1000 priests in that period...
in Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
and the Pontifical North American College
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...
in Rome. He was ordained a priest at age 23 in Rome on May 30, 1896.
Later that year, he sailed with another priest, Father Michael Henry, to Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and served under Bishop Edward Patrick Allen
Edward Patrick Allen
Edward Patrick Allen was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile from 1897 until his death in 1926.-Biography:...
. He became an instructor, and later rector, of the McGill Institute for Boys
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School
McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.-History:...
. In 1904 Bishop Allen appointed Coyle to succeed Patrick O'Reilly as pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Birmingham
Cathedral of Saint Paul in Birmingham
The Cathedral of Saint Paul — informally known as Saint Paul's Cathedral — is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. Father James Coyle's remains will be relocated from Elmwood Cemetery to this church where he was its...
, where he was well-received and loved by the congregation. Father Coyle was the Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
chaplain of Birmingham, Alabama Council 666.
Murder
On August 11, 1921, Father Coyle was shot in the head on the porch of St. Paul's Rectory by E. R. StephensonE. R. Stephenson
Reverend Edwin R. Stephenson was a minister of the now extinct Methodist Episcopal Church, South and a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He shot and killed Catholic priest James Coyle in 1921 in Alabama, but was acquitted of the murder. His main lawyer was Hugo Black.Rev. Stephenson was a son of W. F....
, a Southern Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
minister and a member of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. There were many witnesses. The murder occurred just hours after Coyle had performed a secret wedding between Stephenson's daughter, Ruth, and Pedro Gussman, a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
she had met while he was working on Stephenson's house five years earlier. Gussman had also been a customer of Stephenson's barber shop. Several months before the wedding, Ruth had converted to Roman Catholicism.
Father Coyle was buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery
Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)
Elmwood Cemetery is a cemetery established in 1900 in Birmingham, Alabama northwest of Homewood by a group of fraternal organizations. It was renamed in 1906 and gradually eclipsed Oak Hill Cemetery as the most prominent burial place in the city...
.
Trial and aftermath
Stephenson was charged with Father Coyle's murder. The Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
paid for the defense, of the five lawyers, four were Klan members. The case was assigned to the Alabama courtroom of Judge William E. Fort, a Klansman. Hugo Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
, a future Justice of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
defended Stephenson.
The defense team took the unusual step of entering a dual plea of "not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity", essentially arguing both that the shooting was in self defense, and that at the time of the shooting Stephenson had been suffering from "temporary insanity". Stephenson was acquitted by one vote of the jury. One of Stephenson's attorneys responded to the prosecution's assertion that Gussman was of "proud Castilian descent" by saying "he has descended a long way".
The outcome of the murder trial for Father Coyle's assassin had a chilling impact on Catholics, who found themselves the target of Klan violence for many years to come. Nevertheless, by 1941 a Catholic writer in Birmingham would write that "the death of Father Coyle was the climax of the anti-Catholic feeling in Alabama. After the trial there followed such revulsion of feeling among the right-minded who before had been bogged down in blindness and indifference that slowly and almost unnoticeably the Ku Klux Klan and their ilk began to lose favor among the people".