Leonard Boyle

{{Infobox person

|name = Leonard Eugene Boyle

|image =

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|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1923|11|13}}

|birth_place = Ballintra, County Donegal, Ireland

|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1999|10|25|1923|11|13}}

|death_place =

|other_names =

|known_for =

|occupation = scholar in medieval studies and palaeography

|nationality =

}}

Leonard Eugene Boyle, OP {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC}} (13 November 1923 - 25 October 1999){{Cite journal |last=English |first=Edward D. |date=2001 |title=Leonard E. Boyle, OP (1923-99) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24413249 |journal=Renaissance Studies |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=367–374 |jstor=24413249 |issn=0269-1213}} was an Irish and Canadian scholar in medieval studies and palaeography.

He was the first Irish and North American Prefect of the Vatican Library in Rome from 1984 to 1997.{{Cite web |last=Doyle |first=Jim |date=2018-11-13 |title=Birth of Father Leonard Eugene Boyle |url=https://seamusdubhghaill.com/2018/11/13/birth-of-father-leonard-eugene-boyle/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=seamus dubhghaill |language=en}}

Early life

Boyle was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He entered the Dominican Order in 1943 and was ordained a priest in 1949. He received his doctorate at Oxford University.

Career

Boyle served as Professor of Latin Paleography and History of Medieval Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome from 1956 to 1961.

He taught at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies and the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto from 1961 to 1984.{{cite web |url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/o/d/o/John-Sean-Odonnell-Kerry/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0043.html |title=Rev. Fr. Father Leonard Eugene Boyle (b. 13/Nov/1923, d. 25/Oct/1999) |publisher=Genealogy.com |accessdate=27 Dec 2016}}

In 1984 he was appointed Prefect of the Vatican Library by Pope John Paul II. Boyle set about the digitization of the library's many manuscripts. Boyle employed women for the first time as part of the library's staff.{{Cite news |last=Honan |first=William H. |date=1999-10-28 |title=Leonard E. Boyle Dies at 75; Modernized Vatican Library |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/28/arts/leonard-e-boyle-dies-at-75-modernized-vatican-library.html |access-date=2023-01-05 |issn=0362-4331}} In 1987, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Father Leonard E. Boyle |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-15046 |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=The Governor General of Canada}}

In 1997, he was involved in a lawsuit regarding the legality of reproductions of Vatican manuscripts. Boyle was exonerated, but the case took its toll on his health.{{cite magazine |author=Mendelsohn, Daniel |title=God's Librarians: The Vatican Library Enters the 21st Century |magazine=The New Yorker |date=2 Jan 2011 |page=27}}{{Cite web |date=1999-11-02 |title=Obituary: The Rev Leonard Boyle |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-the-rev-leonard-boyle-1121904.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

Boyle was living with emphysema and cancer and died on October 19, 1999. He is buried at the San Clemente al Laterano.

Leonard Boyle

Early life

Career

References

Further reading