Gussman was of "proud Castilian descent" by stating that "he has descended a long way". The outcome of the murder trial of Father Coyle's assassin had a chilling impact on Catholics, who were the targets of Klan violence for many years to come. Nevertheless, by 1941, a Catholic writer in Birmingham would write that "the death of Father Coyle was the climax of the anti-Catholic feeling in Alabama. After the trial, there followed such a strong feeling of revulsion among the right-minded who before had been bogged down in blindness and indifference that slowly and almost unnoticeably the Ku Klux Klan and their ilk began to lose favor among the people". Legacy On February 22, 2012, Bishop William H. Willimon of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church presided over a service of reconciliation and forgiveness at Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham. On August 11, 2021, the 100th anniversary of the murder of Coyle, a centennial memorial Mass was held in Coyle's honor at St Paul's Cathedral. In popular media In 2010, Coyle's great-nephew, Pat Shine, produced a documentary about the murder, A Cross in Alabama. In 2021, Coyle's grand-niece, Sheila Killian, wrote and published Something Bigger, telling the story of his sister, Marcella Coyle, and her relationship with her brother as well as their interactions with the world around them. References References Works cited Further reading External links Father Coyle's Memorial Project website Incidents of anti-Catholic violence 1873 births 1921 deaths American Roman Catholic priests Religious leaders from Birmingham, Alabama People from County Roscommon Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) People murdered in Alabama 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Victims of religiously motivated violence in the United States American murder victims Deaths by firearm in Alabama Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama) 1921 murders in the United States