It’s easy to write about the despondency of Camden. A deindustrialized city of 72,000 with poverty and violent crime rates far above the national average, public officials have found it increasingly convenient over the last several decades to turn their backs on the city, leaving it to a steady population and economic decline, comparable to that of Detroit. So why did one priest from Ireland stick around for nearly 50 years in this same city, in the same parish?
Born in 1934 in County Longford, Ireland, Fr. Michael Doyle was ordained a priest in 1959 and soon assigned to the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey. Appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Church in 1974, he wasted no time in beginning his ministry, starting with home ownership. Doyle realized that “If you want to have a neighborhood, you’ve got to have owners,” and he began with one man facing foreclosure. He solicited the owner of the property, bought the deed and within three years, had the man repay him back and secure full ownership of his home, thus beginning the so-called Heart of Camden program, which has led to the creation of over 270 first-time homeowners in this microcosm of South Jersey. Doyle couldn’t stop there. He worked with developers to build green spaces, renovate movie theaters into gyms and rec centers, rehabbed public spaces and utterly transformed what South Camden looked like to the outside world.
He did more than alter the landscape, however. He ensured liturgy was at the forefront of all that he did, from the scores of memorials for the still very present deadly violence in the city to his packed Sunday Masses. Every venture, connection and transformation had that same teleological orientation, and in the end, was how he was able to do more in his tenure than any other multimillion-dollar government-ordained “redevelopment project.” The people of South Camden treasured Doyle not only for what he had brought in terms of physical development, but also for how he approached each and every person. Everyone is a gift to God, and Doyle held this belief to the fullest, continuously reaching out to those most in need, filling the void where municipal agencies didn’t dare venture.
Doyle was more than the ultra-sympathetic and diligent parish priest, however. He was a fierce pacifist, so much so that he was a part of the 1971 raid on a draft board office in Camden, when a group of 28 Catholic activists broke in and destroyed extensive documents on draft registrants. Arrested, charged, but ultimately acquitted, being part of the “Camden 28” was a formative part of Doyle‘s time in Camden, and reflected not only his pacifistic nature, but also his resolve to fight for his community, something that he certainly carried throughout the entirety of his life.
Doyle‘s only publication in circulation is a collection of letters to the world, functioning as a release of information and a call to action. Entitled, “It’s a Terrible Day: Thanks Be to God,” this book is a testament to perseverance, prayer and gratitude. The intriguing title is inspired by Doyle’s own father, who, after coming back to his family home after a long, rainy day out in the fields on their farmstead, would proudly proclaim the titular phrase. Imagine that. You’re the only provider for your family in destitute central Ireland, and after a cold and wet day of manual labor, your first instinct is gratitude.
Among the myriad traits I hope we all seek after that were found within Doyle, gratitude is perhaps the most subtle, one that can be integrated into so many little aspects of our lives. Certainly, we will experience this on Thanksgiving Day, when so many of us congregate together specifically to offer up our gratitude, religiously or otherwise. Yet what about the Sunday or Monday we return from break and immediately go back to grumbling about that imminent project or the final exams that will be a mere two weeks away? Even still, it is here where our gratitude should shine forth, in the fact that we are given so many chances each new day to learn and grow in God’s image. Remember each new day, rain or shine, is a gift. It may be a terrible day, but that day is a gift, and thanks be to God for it.
Michael Doyle is a freshman from Haddonfield, New Jersey living in Knott Hall studying computer engineering. When he's not rehearsing his violin for the campus orchestra, he's spending his paycheck at a farmer's market or playing golf. He eagerly awaits any discussion you want to bring forth at mdoyle25@nd.edu.
