SENECA — A Mass of Christian Burial was to be offered at St. Patrick’s Church here on Thursday, Jan. 5, for Msgr. Raymond J. Boyle, PA, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish since 1996 and the former pastor of parishes in Ottawa, Rock Island, Silvis, and Hoopeston.

Msgr. Boyle died Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011, at Kindred Hospital in Peoria. He was 82.

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, was to be principal celebrant of the funeral liturgy. The scheduled homilist was Bishop Carl F. Mengeling, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Lansing.

Burial was in St. Columba Cemetery in Ottawa.

Born Aug. 31, 1929, in Chicago to William P. and Anna (McHugh) Boyle, Msgr. Boyle attended Catholic grade schools and Quigley Preparatory in Chicago, with his senior year spent at St. Louis Preparatory in St. Louis, Mo. He completed his seminary studies at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, and was ordained a priest in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Peoria, on May 27, 1956.

After brief periods as assistant at St. Cecilia’s Parish in Peoria and the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Galesburg, he served as assistant pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Streator, from 1958 to 1967. He was named pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish, Hoopeston, in 1967, and became vicar of the Danville vicariate in 1974.

While in Hoopeston, he learned Spanish so he could better serve the 400 seasonal migrant worker families who came to the area each year.

From 1975 to 1983, Msgr. Boyle served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Silvis, leading building projects for a parish hall and CCD building.

His next assignments were as pastor of two of the largest parishes in the diocese. He guided St. Columba’s Parish, Ottawa, from 1983 to 1990, where he oversaw a school addition, and St. Pius X Parish in Rock Island from 1990 to 1996, where he helped retire a substantial debt and began the practice of perpetual adoration of the Eucharist.

Following colon and heart surgeries, he was assigned to St. Patrick’s Parish in Seneca in 1996. From 1997 to 2011, he served as vicar of the Ottawa vicariate.

Msgr. Boyle was named a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 1993, and in 2006 Pope Benedict XVI elevated him to the rank of protonotary apostolic, the highest level of monsignor.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his ordination in 2006, Msgr.
Boyle told The Catholic Post he had “a happy priesthood, which is not to say it’s always easy,” adding that “a happy priest is a priest who prays.”
He told of his joy working with the people of God in all his assignments, and said he was especially impressed “with the dedication of young, married couples raising children and sacrificing, with all the economic pressures they have.”

He is survived by a sister, Norine (Terrance) McGovern of Chicago; a brother, James (Marjorie) Boyle of Chicago; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, William; and two sisters, Marion Carlson and Sister Nancy Boyle, LCM.

Memorials may be directed to Little Company of Mary, 2800 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park, IL 60805; Marquette Academy in Ottawa; St. Patrick’s Parish in Seneca; or St. Columba’s Parish, Ottawa.