A biography of Bishop Boyle, emeritus bishop of Dunedin, has just been launched, with the title “The Good Shepherd”. Before he began training for the priesthood Leonard Boyle was a farmer and shearer.
Bishop Boyle says that it is too flattering and it included all the good but not the bad.
The bishop was interviewed in Invercargill where he was attending a family reunion to mark the 150th anniversary of his Irish ancestor John Boyle. He said he knows Invercargill well. “There is a real community spirit in this city, it’s a nice size that encourages involvement,” he said.
Bishop Boyle was born at Nightcaps, a coal-mining town in Southland on November 16, 1930. His parents owned hotels in Nightcaps and Winton. He was the sixth child to be born among seven boys and two girls.
Bishop Boyle decided to become a priest at the age of about 22 or 23. Up until then he was farming and shearing sheep in the Winton area. From the age of about six or seven he wanted to be a farmer. As an adult he actually owned a farm because he thought it was to be his life.
From 1961 until 1983 Father Len Boyle worked in various parishes in Otago and Southland including Georgetown, South Dunedin and Invercargill. He was ordained bishop on May 3, 1983. Two years later, on August 19 1985, following the death of Bishop John Kavanagh, Bishop Boyle was installed as Bishop of Dunedin. On May 24, 2004 Bishop Boyle resigned after Father Campbell was appointed Bishop of Dunedin by the Holy See.
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