Cornelius Gillespie (September 12, 1851 – January 28, 1912) was an American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest and

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who served as the president of

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and twice as president of Saint Joseph's College in

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. He was the first head of Saint Joseph's College to have been an alumnus of the school.

Early life

Cornelius Gillespie was born on September 12, 1851, in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, located in what was then the

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. He immigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen, and was accepted to Saint Joseph's College in

; the school was officially closed while a new campus was being constructed, however, and he studied under one of the school's Jesuit professors. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, proceeding to its

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

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, in 1873. He then spent time as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

throughout the

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, and was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1887. He then served for two years as the vice president of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Ministry and leadership

Gonzaga College

Gillespie was appointed the seventeenth president of

and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Aloysius Church in Washington, D.C., succeeding Edward A. McGurk. He took office on November 18, 1890. As president, he announced on January 29, 1893, that a new building for the college would be built; three years later, the new hall was complete. A second building was erected, with the cornerstone being laid on May 24, 1896. The building was complete by October 1896. That year being the school's

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, Gillespie created the school's first alumni society. The first school musical band was organized that year as well. Gillespie's term as president and pastor came to an end in 1898, and he was succeeded by John F. Galligan.

Saint Joseph's College

Gillespie twice served as president of Saint Joseph's College in Philadelphia. He became the eighth president of the college on August 20, 1900, succeeding William F. Clark. He was the college's first president to have been an alumnus of the school, and served until September 1907, when he was replaced by Denis T. O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan died soon thereafter, and Gillespie again became the tenth president on June 16, 1908, serving until his health deteriorated.

Charles W. Lyons Charles William Lyons (January 31, 1868 – January 31, 1939) was an American Catholic priest who became the only Jesuit and likely the only educator in the United States to have served as the president of four colleges. Born in Boston, Mass ...

was succeeded him on July 9, 1909, following year. In his two terms, Gillespie separated St. Joseph's Preparatory School from the rest of the university in 1904, and the first varsity athletics programs were begun in 1909. Gillespie died on January 28, 1912, in St. Agnes Hospital in

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. He was distantly related to Saint Joseph's University's future president, Kevin Gillespie.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Cornelius 1851 births 1912 deaths Christian clergy from County Donegal Irish emigrants to the United States 19th-century American Jesuits 20th-century American Jesuits St. Stanislaus Novitiate (Frederick, Maryland) alumni Saint Joseph's University alumni Presidents of Gonzaga College High School Presidents of Saint Joseph's University Pastors of St. Aloysius Church (Washington, D.C.)