RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Father Michael Doyle, O.S.M., celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the Catholic priesthood on April 19, 2015; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has been advised of this landmark event by the Honorable Robert W. Fioretti, Alderman of the 2nd Ward; and
WHEREAS, Father Doyle is blessed with a wealth of talents and abilities, all of which he has devoted to the service of others; and
WHEREAS, born in Chicago on May 24, 1938, Father Doyle attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through his postgraduate education; and
WHEREAS, he entered the pre-novitiate program of the Order of Servants of Mary (also known as the Servite Fathers) in 1956 and was accepted in the novitiate the following year; and
WHEREAS, after pronouncing his first vows in the order in 1958, he was sent to Our Lady of Benburb Priory in Ireland to study philosophy. In 1960 he returned to Chicago and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy by Loyola University; and
WHEREAS, an outstanding student, Father Doyle was selected to study theology at the Servite Fathers International Theological Faculty, the Marianum, in Rome. There he earned bachelor and licentiate degrees in theology and a diploma in Mariology. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on April 19, 1965, and returned to the United States, later earning a Master of Education degree from Loyola University, with a specialization in Educational Administration and Supervision; and
WHEREAS, in his varied ministry since his ordination, Father Doyle has served as a teacher of religion and Latin; as a professor of theology, philosophy and education; as acting college president at Mount Senario College; as Servite Regent of Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; as a member of the Hillside Volunteer Fire Department; chaplain, first with rank of captain, in the U.S. Air Force Reserve; and as an instructor in Fire Department Administration and Management for the City Colleges of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, having entered active duty in the Air Force in 1987, Father Doyle was pastor of military base parishes at Columbus AFB in Mississippi; Kirkland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Soesterberg AB in the Netherlands. From 1993 to 1998 he was Chaplain Personnel Officer at the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, and retired with rank of colonel; and
WHEREAS, his parish duties have included service as associate pastor at St. Domitilla Parish in Hillside, Illinois; as pastor of Annunciata Parish at 111th and Avenue G in Chicago; associate pastor of and then pastor of Seven Holy Founders parish in Afton, Missouri; and as pastor of Assumption Parish (Illinois Street) in Chicago from 2006 to 2009; and
WHEREAS, within the Servite Order, Father Doyle was Prior of Our Lady of Sorrows Monastery in Chicago, and responsible for the monastery's restoration and renovation. Although nominally "retired," Father Doyle has never stopped being a servant: he has served for many years on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and is currently a member of Servite Fathers Provincial Finance Council; and
WHEREAS, this native Chicagoan is a model of faith expressed through service to others, and a model for others; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this 6th day of May, 2015, do hereby congratulate Father Michael Doyle, O.S.M., on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we also thank Father Doyle for his years of dedicated service, and for the blessings he has brought, to so many people in Chicago; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Resolution be presented to Father Doyle as a sign of our gratitude and best wishes.