Remembering the remarkable life of Michael Doyle, priest, pacifist and Camden advocate

Monsignor Michael Doyle, a Catholic priest who advocated for peace and social and environmental justice and helped turn an industrial South Camden neighborhood into an arts and cultural enclave, died Friday at 88 after a long illness.

Church bells rang out at his longtime parish, Sacred Heart, in Camden's Waterfront South neighborhood in mourning, residents said.

From Ireland to South Jersey

A native of County Longford, Ireland, Doyle came to the United States in 1959, shortly after his ordination. He served at churches in Villas and Absecon and taught at Camden Catholic High School from 1962 until 1966 and at Holy Spirit High School in 1967.

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But it was in the City of Camden where Doyle found a home, a place that fueled his fire for social justice.

In 1971, Doyle was part of a group of anti-Vietnam War activists who planned to raid a Camden draft board office. A co-conspirator revealed the plot to authorities and FBI agents soon charged the so-called Camden 28, including Doyle, in connection with the scheme.

All of the 28, four of whom (including Doyle) were Catholic priests, were eventually acquitted.

He was installed at St. Joseph's in East Camden in 1968, and served at St. George in Centerville and St. Joan of Arc in Fairview before moving to Sacred Heart in 1974. It was at Sacred Heart in the city's Waterfront South section where he cemented his legacy as an advocate for the poor, a voice for a neighborhood struggling with blight, industrial pollution, crime, violence and environmental degradation.

Doyle was the founder of Heart of Camden, a housing nonprofit, and a driving force behind Camden Churches Organized for People. He worked to establish a writer's house in honor of the late haiku poet Nick Virgilio, who lived near Sacred Heart and was a friend of Doyle's. Doyle worked with playwright Joe Paprzycki, Heart of Camden and the nonprofit Domenica Foundation to transform a derelict building that had once been a bar run by Paprzycki's grandparents into the South Camden Theatre Company.

In 1983, Doyle was profiled by CBS's "60 Minutes." He met with Saint Teresa of Kolkata, who visited Philadelphia in 1976 in Camden and was the subject of multiple documentaries for his work in South Camden, where he drew more affluent suburbanites into Sacred Heart with his literary-inspired sermons, poetry and focus on social justice to help improve the lives of neighborhood residents. In 2017, Jasper Street, which runs alongside Sacred Heart, was renamed Michael Doyle Lane from Broadway to 4th Street.

'His legacy in the City of Camden will live on'

Doyle retired from active ministry in 2020, but remained in Waterfront South, writing letters to Sacred Heart parishioners to raise money for the K-8 school there.

Bishop Dennis Sullivan of the Diocese of Camden said word of Doyle's passing "brings me great sadness."

"May he rest from his priestly labors in a well-deserved eternal peace," the bishop said in a statement. "His legacy in the City of Camden will live on long past his death. 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."

"Monsignor Michael Doyle’s contribution to the Camden community over the past 50 years has be immeasurable and will be enduring,” said Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen. “Monsignor Doyle came from humble beginnings and regardless of his lifetime of incredible achievements, he remained modest, unwavering in his faith and dedicated to his principals.

"The entire City of Camden is saddened by the loss of Monsignor Michael Doyle."

Camden County Commissioner Jeff Nash called Doyle "my hero and inspiration." He worked with Doyle on projects including efforts to reduce odors at the county's wastewater treatment plant, opening access to the Delaware River to more Camden residents, and demolishing Riverfront State Prison in North Camden. Doyle, Nash said, "devoted his entire existence to helping those in Camden City achieve the best quality of life that they possibly could."

"I am Jewish but have attended Midnight Mass at Sacred Heart for many years," Nash said, solely to hear Doyle's "uplifting, inspirational and joyful" services.

"His impact on Camden City has been remarkable and I’m confident that without him, this community would not be where it is today. His complete sense of selflessness and undying love for the residents has improved this city in so many ways. His spirit will live on for generations to come and we will never let his legacy be forgotten."

Scott Thomson, formerly Camden County Police Department Chief, visited Doyle on Friday and said he "wanted to assure him that there are plenty of us who will continue his legacy."

An iconic figure for Camden

"You'd be hard pressed to find a more iconic figure in Camden, someone who championed and fought for the city when it was at its darkest and most challenged times," he said.

Doyle "took his last breath right there on Jasper Street," Thomson said, surrounded by friends from Camden and family from Ireland.

Dana Redd has been a state senator, Camden mayor and now CEO of Camden Community Partnership, but in 1976 she was a young child dealing with an unimaginable loss: Both of her parents died violently.

She recalled "the first Christmas my brother and I had without our parents, and how (Doyle and Sacred Heart, where she was in third grade) adopted our family and visited our home with this huge outpouring of love and clothing and food, just coming to support us during a dark time."

Doyle, she said, was "always a stabilizing force in my life, even when I went into politics." As she mulled a run for mayor in 2009, she consulted with Doyle and "as he listened to me, the smile on his face told me he thought it was a good idea. That affirmation from him helped me know I was doing the right thing."

"There were countless lives he impacted," she said. "He was more than just a priest in a parish; he was a loving father to many, including me."

She visited Doyle last week as he was on hospice care, and sharing Scripture readings. She's hopeful his legacy will continue through all those he mentored and ministered to: "I hope all of those who were attracted to his ministry will continue to do his work — to ensure our youth have a good education, to make sure there's adequate housing for our people, to live to serve the poor as he did."

Phaedra Trethan has been a reporter and editor in South Jersey since 2007 and has covered Camden and surrounding areas since 2015, concentrating on issues relating to quality of life and social justice for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. She's called South Jersey home since 1971. Contact her with feedback, news tips or questions at ptrethan@gannettnj.com, on Twitter @By_Phaedra, or by phone at 856.486-2417.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Michael Doyle, priest, poet and activist, dies in Camden at 88