1891-1979
Priest and Radio Figure

Early Career.

Father Charles E. Coughlin was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to an American father and Canadian mother, which raised questions about his constitutional eligibility when his more zealous followers urged him to run for president in the 1930s. In 1926 the bishop of Detroit appointed the newly ordained priest to the new parish of the Little Flower, named in honor of the recently consecrated Saint Therese of Lisieux, in suburban Royal Oak, Michigan. In an effort to attract people, Father Coughlin began a series of Sunday-evening broadcasts of his sermons on a Detroit radio station in a program called the Radio League of the Little Flower.

From Religion to Politics.

Father Coughlin's engaging voice, speaking skills, and message attracted a large audience, and his parish grew quickly. In the early days of his radio ministry he focused on religious...