My Time with 'The Providential Man': Observations on John McElroy, S.J., Founder of Boston College
Seth Meehan
Associate Director, Academic Programming and Special Projects, Boston College Libraries
Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Time: 12 - 1:00pm听
Location: 24 Quincy Road, Room 101
听In the final years of founding a Jesuit college in Boston -- a 16-year endeavor he completed at the age of 81 -- John McElroy received orders from his religious superior in Rome to settle a dispute between Jesuits in New York and their local bishop. The superior knew the old priest was otherwise occupied, but he saw no one else capable of resolving the situation, writing that McElroy was "l'homme providentiel." McElroy would have agreed. This luncheon colloquium will consider some moments in his long life that BC's founder would have recognized as evidence of providence's designs, a recognition that helps us understand what he did and how he did it and why one Jesuit observed that, though 鈥淔r. McElroy may be respected more than any clergyman in Boston, he is听not loved.鈥� This听colloquium is based on a forthcoming biography of BC's founder.
Seth Meehan听is the associate director of academic programming and special projects at Boston College Libraries.听He received a bachelor's degree in theology from Georgetown University and master's and doctorate degrees in history from Boston College. His work has appeared in publications such as听The New York Times,听Catholic Historical Review,听Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu,听Journal of Jesuit Studies,听Theological Studies, and听Boston College Magazine, where he was a contributing editor. His scholarship has been recognized with awards from the American Catholic Historical Association, the Catholic Library Association, and other organizations. Currently, he is writing a biography of one nineteenth-century Jesuit, John McElroy, and editing a volume on a second, Salvatore Brandi.
Albert, Peter. 鈥淓xtracts from the Journal of Fr. John McElroy, S.J.鈥� Cura Virtualis. February 24,听2021. https://www.curavirtualis.org/post/extracts-from-the-journal-of-fr-john-mcelroy-s-j
Boston College, 1863-1938: A Pictorial and Historical Review Commemorating the听Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Founding of the College. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College, 1938.
Connolly, John. 鈥淔ather John McElroy SJ: 鈥楩irst鈥� Catholic Chaplain of the United States Army.鈥澨�Clogher Record 20, no. 3 (2011): 535鈥�40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41412265.听
Curran, Emmett. "McElroy, John (1782-1877), Roman Catholic priest." American National听Biography. 2000. https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0800951.听
O鈥橞rien, Michael. 鈥淏oston College High School Renames Building as Part of Its Commitment to听Antiracism.鈥� America Magazine. October 12, 2023.听https://www.americamagazine.org/magazine/2023/10/12/bchigh-jesuit-schools-antiracism-mcelroy-246240.听听
O'Connor, Thomas H. Ascending the Heights: A Brief History of Boston College from Its听Founding to 2008. Chestnut Hill, MA: Linden Lane Press, 2008.
As many Jesuit schools have begun to reckon with their ties to slavery, Boston College High School renamed an academic building originally named after its founder, John McElroy, who is also the founder of Boston College. of BC High and other Jesuit high schools and universities to rename buildings to acknowledge ties to slavery, as well as the decision of Boston College not to change the name of McElroy Commons. It offers a glimpse into McElroy's complicated legacy, which Meehan begins to unpack in his luncheon colloquium.
Seth Meehan discusses Fr. John McElroy, founder of Boston College.
Photo Credit: Christopher Soldt, MTS
On Wednesday, November 1, 2023, the Boisi Center hosted a luncheon titled 鈥淢y Time with 鈥楾he Providential Man鈥�: Observations on John McElroy, S.J., Founder of Boston College.鈥� Seth Meehan, the associate director of academic programming and special projects at Boston College Libraries, led the event. It was a timely conversation, as Boston College High School recently announced that it would change its main building鈥檚 name from McElroy Hall to St. Ignatius Hall due to McElroy鈥檚 involvement with slavery. The luncheon explored the life of McElroy and evaluated his contributions to Boston College as well as the United States鈥� Catholic community at large.
Meehan began the luncheon by providing background on McElroy. In 1782, McElroy was born in Northern Ireland, but he moved to Baltimore when he was 21. Meehan commented on the luck of this timing, as McElroy traveled to Baltimore just one day before a new maritime law was enacted that would have prevented people in McElroy鈥檚 social class from being able to afford the trip. After living in Baltimore and then D.C., McElroy was sent to Frederick, Maryland, a rural town with a small Catholic population. Meehan described McElroy鈥檚 extraordinary impact on the community, as he built a free school for girls, an orphanage for girls, a school for boys, and a beautiful church. At age 65, McElroy moved to Boston, where he was tasked by the Bishop with building a college. Meehan discussed how significant it was for McElroy to be able to establish a Catholic school in Boston during the 1850s and 1860s, a time when anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiments existed throughout the city.
The luncheon then transitioned to an enriching question and answer session. One individual asked about McElroy鈥檚 initial vision of Boston College. Meehan described how McElroy prioritized creating a school and church that mutually enriched one another. He also mentioned that although only men could attend BC, the school鈥檚 initial charter did not limit BC to only educating Catholics. Another interesting topic discussed during this portion of the luncheon was how the greater community of Boston and other local universities perceived BC. Meehan highlighted Harvard Law School鈥檚 declaration that BC graduates could not be admitted to their institution in the late nineteenth century. After BC鈥檚 advocacy about the high quality of its education, this policy was changed in the early twentieth century. The luncheon鈥檚 rich discussion about the life of McElroy allowed us to better understand the founder of BC and the school鈥檚 Jesuit tradition while simultaneously encouraging us to reflect on how the school has changed since its conception.
听