American Jesuit priest (1811?1866)
Samuel A. Mulledy
SJ
(
muh-
LAY
-dee
;
[1]
March 27, 1811 ? January 8, 1866) was an American
Catholic
priest and
Jesuit
who served as president of
Georgetown College
in 1845. Born in
Virginia
, he was the brother of
Thomas F. Mulledy
, who was a prominent 19th-century Jesuit in the United States and a president of Georgetown. As a student at Georgetown, Samuel was one of the founding members of the
Philodemic Society
, and proved to be a distinguished student, which resulted in his being sent to
Rome
to complete his higher education and be ordained to the
priesthood
. Upon his return to the United States, he became the
master of novices
at the Jesuit
novitiate
in
Maryland
, before being named
president of Georgetown
. He sought to be relieved of the position after only a few months, and returned to teaching and ministry.
Mulledy was expelled from the Society of Jesus over charges of
alcoholism
in 1850. He took up ministerial work at congregations throughout the
northeastern United States
, remaining at each for no more than a few years. He eventually became
chaplain
to Archbishop
John Hughes
and was assigned as an assistant at the
Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole
in
New York City
(later known as St. Ignatius Loyola), where he became
pastor
in 1863 and lived out the remainder of his life. On his deathbed, he petitioned the Jesuit
provincial superior
to allow him to be readmitted to the Society; four days before his death, his request was granted and he professed his
vows
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Samuel A. Mulledy was born on March 27, 1811, in
Romney, Virginia
(today located in
West Virginia
).
[a]
[3]
His father, Thomas Mulledy, was a farmer and a Catholic of
Irish descent
.
[4]
[5]
His mother, Sarah Cochrane, was from Virginia and was not Catholic. So the two could marry, they obtained a
canonical dispensation
, and agreed that their sons would be raised Catholic, while their daughters would be raised
Protestant
.
[6]
Samuel's brother,
Thomas F. Mulledy
, was 17 years older than him,
[7]
and also became a Jesuit and the president of
Georgetown College
.
[5]
Education
[
edit
]
At a young age, Samuel became a teacher with his brother at the
Romney Academy
.
[8]
He then began his studies at Georgetown College in 1829,
[9]
paying his own way like his brother. He paid some of his tuition
in kind
, in the form of two horses.
[4]
At Georgetown, he became a co-founder and the first vice president of the
Philodemic Society
,
[10]
which held its first meeting on September 25, 1830, and he signed its
constitution
.
[11]
At the
commencement
of 1831, he received the class medal for
rhetoric
and
mathematics
, and an honorable mention in
French
;
[12]
he also delivered an address in French.
[13]
His brother was president of the college throughout Samuel's studies.
[14]
[15]
Completing his secular education, Samuel sought admission to the
Society of Jesus
. His application was approved and, on August 29, 1831, he entered the Jesuit
novitiate
in
White Marsh Manor
in
Maryland
, where he completed his probationary period and took his
simple vows
.
[3]
He was then sent to the novitiate at
Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
in
Rome
, being chaperoned across the
Atlantic Ocean
by
William McSherry
.
[16]
Mulledy was sent to Rome for his higher studies because of his academic talent, so that he would be well educated and return to the United States to teach.
[17]
In total, he studied in Rome for seven years, including at the
Roman College
,
[18]
where he garnered a reputation as a distinguished student, and was selected to give a public defense of
theology
.
[18]
Mulledy was then
ordained
a
priest
in Rome in 1840, and made his "grade"
[b]
in the Society of Jesus.
[18]
Academic career
[
edit
]
Mulledy then returned from Europe and on November 1, 1841, he was appointed the
master of novices
of the
Jesuits' Maryland Province
.
[18]
[20]
[21]
He succeeded
Francis Dzierozynski
, and on January 15, 1844, he was succeeded by Dzierozynski.
[22]
In 1844, he was made minister of Georgetown College.
[18]
Georgetown College
[
edit
]
Mulledy became the
president of Georgetown College
on January 10, 1845,
[16]
when
James A. Ryder
was recalled to Rome.
[23]
He was young for a holder of the position, but was known as a talented scholar.
[24]
He assumed the office reluctantly,
[16]
and his short-lived tenure was generally uneventful. The entire college attended
the inauguration
of President
James K. Polk
in 1845, and upon the request of the
Mayor of Georgetown
, the college students marched in the parade commemorating President
Andrew Jackson
on July 1 of that year. Soon after taking office, he requested to be relieved,
[16]
and he was succeeded by his brother, Thomas Mulledy, on September 6, 1845.
[25]
Later life
[
edit
]
Drifting years
[
edit
]
Following the end of his presidency, Mulledy returned to
missionary
work, being stationed at
St. Joseph's Church
in
Philadelphia
.
[26]
However, he continued to remain involved at Georgetown as a member of
its board of directors
from 1846 to 1848.
[27]
From 1847 to 1848, he was a professor of
dogmatic theology
at Georgetown,
[18]
and subsequently taught rhetoric there.
[28]
Eventually, Mulledy became an
alcoholic
, which resulted in his dismissal from the Society of Jesus in 1850.
[29]
[28]
Following his expulsion, he was transferred from city to city, staying only briefly in each.
[29]
He first was stationed at the
original Cathedral of the Holy Cross
in
Boston
for two years, then worked in the
Diocese of Albany
from 1852 to 1853. The following year, he was sent to the
Cathedral of St. James
in
Brooklyn
, where he remained until 1855.
[28]
He was a professor of rhetoric and mathematics at the
College of the Holy Cross
in
Worcester, Massachusetts
, during the 1856?57 academic year.
[30]
He then was assigned to the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in
South Boston
and
St. Mary's Church
in
Yonkers, New York
, in 1859 and 1860, respectively.
[28]
Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole
[
edit
]
In July 1861,
[31]
Mulledy was assigned by Archbishop
John Hughes
as an assistant to Walter J. Quarter, who was
pastor
of the
Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole
in
New York City
(later known as the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola). Mulledy was also the
chaplain
to Archbishop Hughes.
[6]
Shortly before his death, Quarter sent a letter to the
vicar general
for the
Archdiocese of New York
requesting that Mulledy be appointed as his successor.
[32]
Following Quarter's death, Mulledy, who was still recovering from his alcoholism,
[29]
became the pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole in 1863.
[33]
During his first year, he had as an
assistant priest
W. Coyle, and James Hassan assisted him during his later years.
[34]
Mulledy was well-liked by the congregation there,
[35]
and he founded a chapter of the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
,
[36]
to increase the charitable work of the parish. He was known for traveling around the parish with his large, black
Newfoundland dog
, which was both his pet and protection against
stray dogs
.
[34]
Traveling for his ministry became difficult because of
asthma
, as well as an enlarged
aorta
in 1865. He ceased his ministry on
Christmas Day
of that year.
[37]
He was the last
secular pastor
of the church.
[38]
On his deathbed, he was attended by several
Sisters of Charity
,
[39]
and
John Early
, the president of Georgetown, frequently inquired about his health.
[37]
He supplicated the
provincial superior
, Angelo M. Paresce, to allow him to be re-admitted to the Jesuit order. When he received word that his request was granted on January 4, 1866,
[40]
Mulledy leapt out of bed and pronounced the
Jesuit formula
on his knees,
[41]
renewing his
religious vows
.
[29]
Mulledy died in New York on January 8, 1866.
[26]
His body was escorted by a large crowd from the
Harlem Bridge
up to
St. John's College
(later Fordham University) in
the Bronx
, where he was buried in the
College Cemetery
.
[40]
Since Mulledy was once again a Jesuit at the time he died in office,
[29]
Archbishop
John McCloskey
decided to transfer administration of the parish to the Jesuits,
[33]
at Mulledy's request. His successor was the Jesuit priest Victor Beaudevin.
[42]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
At the time, Romney was located in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
, as the
State of West Virginia
had not yet been created.
[2]
- ^
The culmination of a Jesuit scholastic's philosophical and theological studies was the
examen ad gradum
, which tested knowledge of doctrine.
[19]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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b
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- ^
a
b
Curran 1993
, p. 107
- ^
a
b
Maxwell & Swisher 1897
, p. 719
- ^
a
b
Boyle 1909
, p. 151
- ^
Shea 1891
, pp. 153, 162
- ^
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, p. 298
- ^
Shea 1891
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- ^
Shea 1891
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- ^
Easby-Smith 1907
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
a
b
c
d
Shea 1891
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- ^
Dooley 1917
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- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Dooley 1917
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- ^
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- ^
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1841
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- ^
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- ^
Devitt 1934
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- ^
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Alexandria Gazette
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a
b
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- ^
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- ^
a
b
c
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a
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Modrys 2016
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- ^
Catalogue of the Officers and Students of the College of Holy Cross
1857
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- ^
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- ^
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, p. 43
- ^
a
b
The Catholic Church in the United States of America
1914
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- ^
a
b
Dooley 1917
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- ^
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- ^
Dooley 1917
, p. 290
- ^
a
b
Dooley 1917
, p. 49
- ^
Obituary: Father Joseph Havens Richards, S. J.
1924
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- ^
Dooley 1917
, p. 50
- ^
a
b
Dooley 1917
, p. 51
- ^
Reily 1885
, p. 186
- ^
Conway 1899
, p. 36
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)
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