On Aug. 11, the Diocese of Birmingham will mark the 105th anniversary of the slaying of Father James E. Coyle. The Life & Legacy Mass will be held at the Cathedral of St. Paul at 10 a.m., and Bishop Raica will be the celebrant. Following the Mass, a reception will be held in the Cathedral Life Center. EWTN will also live broadcast the Mass. 

On Aug. 11, 1921, Father Coyle was sitting on the porch of St. Paul’s Church in downtown Birmingham when Rev. Edwin R. Stephenson, a Methodist minister and Klansman, confronted Father Coyle with a loaded gun. Stephenson then shot the priest for presiding over the wedding ceremony of Stephenson’s daughter, Ruth, to a Catholic migrant from Puerto Rico, Pedro Gussman. Father Coyle died 40 minutes later in the operating room of St. Vincent’s Hospital. His funeral was one of the largest ever held in the history of Birmingham. Due to the anti-Catholic sentiment of the time, Stephenson was found not guilty. 

All are invited to honor the life and legacy of Father Coyle. The Cathedral is located at 2120 3rd Avenue, North. For more information, please call 205.447.8796 or visit fathercoyle.org.