Downtown in Frederick in Frederick County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

John McElroy, S.J.

b. May 14, 1782 • d. September 12, 1877

— R.I.P. —

John McElroy, S.J. Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., April 30, 2017

1. John McElroy, S.J. Memorial

Inscription. Born in Enniskillen, Ireland, John McElroy came to this country in 1803 and was ordained a priest at the age of thirty-five. While pastor of St. John's from 1822 to 1845, Father McElroy built the present church on Second Street and established St. John's Literary Institution. He retired in later years to the old Jesuit Novitiate in Frederick. At his death in 1877, he was the oldest Jesuit in the United States. He, more than any other single person, shaped the parish of St. John's

St. John the Evangelist Church

At age sixty-five, Father John McElroy of the Society of Jesus accepted the challenge of establishing a Jesuit college in Boston. Between 1847 and 1859, with only the heroic contributions of Irish immigrants to support him, he obtained property for a campus in the South End of Boston and erected a college building, a Jesuit residence, and the stately Church of the Immaculate Conception. In 1863, at age eighty-one, he obtained from the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a charter for the new Jesuit college. Boston College is proud to have had as its founder one of the giants in the history of the Society of Jesus in the United States.

Erected 1990 by Boston College.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites

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• Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1803.

Location. 39° 25.077′ N, 77° 24.326′ W. Marker is in Frederick, Maryland, in Frederick County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from East 3rd Street. Cemetery is located along East Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: St John's Catholic Cemetery, Frederick MD 21701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Central Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Veterans Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Roger Brooke Taney (within shouting distance of this marker); Shab Row (approx. 0.2 miles away); Rediscovered Past (approx. 0.2 miles away); Enoch Louis Lowe (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Everedy Company (approx. 0.2 miles away); Laboring Sons Memorial Ground (approx. 0.2 miles away); They Lie Here, Beneath Our Feet (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Frederick.

Also see . . . "The old man." (Article by James O'Toole, 2007). (Submitted on May 5, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., April 30, 2017

2. John McElroy, S.J. Memorial

John McElroy, S.J. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Unknown

3. John McElroy, S.J.

Wikipedia File:Johnmcelroy.jpg - assumed public domain

Credits. This page was last revised on December 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 5, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 539 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 5, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.