Rev. John L. Boyle

Rev. John L. (Jack) Boyle, S.J. Rev. John Louis Boyle, 77, died on September 18, 2007 at Los Gatos Community Hospital. He recently celebrated his 60th anniversary as a Jesuit, 47 of those years as a priest. Jack was born in Los Angeles on November 16, 1929, the fifth of nine children born to Bernard and Agnes Boyle. He graduated from Loyola High School and entered the Jesuit novitiate at Los Gatos on August 14, 1947. Following studies at Gonzaga University, Spokane, he taught Greek and Latin at Loyola High, 1954-57. Theological studies were made at Alma College, Los Gatos, and he was ordained to the priesthood at Blessed Sacrament Church, Hollywood, on June 16, 1960. He pursued graduate studies in Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and Theology at the Gregorian University, Rome. His dissertation, on the relation between faith and baptism in Colossians and Ephesians, showed his grasp of both disciplines. He then embarked on a long career as professor of Scripture, first at Alma College, Los Gatos, and then at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, 1966-93, where he impressed his students with his knowledge and profound love of the Scriptures. He was the author of Scripture today: guidelines for contemporary Catholics (1990). He was named Visiting Professor of Theology at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, in 1993 and remained on the faculty as teacher and campus minister until 2001. Retiring from the classroom, Jack served briefly as associate pastor at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Sacramento, before failing health brought him to retirement at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center. Jack had a life long interest in Jesuit spiritual formation and served as assistant director of novices at Santa Barbara, 1975-77. From 1978 to 1993 he spent his summers as a director in the tertianship, a spiritual formation program for Jesuits completing their studies. He had a special talent as a retreat director and was also a perceptive spiritual guide for dozens of Religious. For many years he participated in province-sponsored theological and spiritual renewal programs. Jack was a fine teacher. Administrators praised him for his excellent abilities in the classroom, his desire to contribute to the total formation of his students, his attitude toward the Church's Magisterium and tradition, and his constant efforts to make Scripture speak to today's world. On the occasion of his golden jubilee as a Jesuit, Jack remarked that "I have come to recognize God's promise of faithfulness in a more personal way. I am especially grateful for the companionship and support of my Jesuit companions." In his retirement years, he focused his personal prayer in union with the younger men of the province, "begging for a sense of gratitude for our vocation to the Society and a prayer for perseverance to the end." Jack was preceded in death by his brothers, Hugh and Bernard, and a sister, Agnes (Dolly) Trombley. He is survived by his sisters Peggy Nader of Gardena and Patricia Kamphius of Oceanside, brothers, James of Newport Beach, Joseph of Corona del Mar, Robert of Simi Valley, and numerous nieces and nephews. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. at the Sisters of the Holy Names Chapel, 200 Prospect Avenue, Los Gatos. Committal will be held Tuesday, September 25, 10:30 a.m., Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara. A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, October 6, 12:30 p.m., at Sacred Heart Chapel, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles. Donations in memory of Father Boyle may be made to the California Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031 or to Homeboy Industries, 1916 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033.rd nephews. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, September 24, 7:30 p.m. at the Sisters of the Holy Names Chapel, 200 Prospect Avenue, Los Gatos. Committal will be held Tuesday, September 25, 10:30 a.m., Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara. A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, October 6, 12:30 p.m., at Sacred Heart Chapel, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles.