Born to Bartley and Mary [nee Roche] Boyle on May 28, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan, Paul Boyle joined the Congregation of the Passion in 1945. He professed his vows on July 9, 1946 and was ordained a Passionist Priest on May 30, 1953. He received a licentiate in Sacred Theology from St. Thomas University in 1955 and a licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University in 1957. He also attended Northwestern University in Evansville, Illinois, St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, St. Regis College in Toronto, and St. Paul College in Detroit. Fr. Boyle taught canon law and homiletics at both Sacred Heart Seminary in Louisville and at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana.
In 1964-1965 Paul Boyle served as President of the Canon Law Society of America, and from 1965 to 1968 as its Executive Coordinator. In 1968, he was elected Provincial of the Holy Cross Province of the Passionists in Chicago, IL; from 1976 until 1988 he served as Superior General of the Congregation. In 1969 he became president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, a position he held until 1974.
In 1991 Pope John Paul II named him Titular Bishop of Canapium, and to lead the newly formed Apostolic Vicariate of Mandeville, Jamaica, in the West Indies. When it was promoted to diocesan status in 1997 he became its first Diocesan Bishop. He retired as Bishop of Mandeville in 2004, living since then with the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky. Even in retirement he remained active with preaching appeals for Food for the Poor, sacramental ministry, and other preaching engagements.