Joseph B. O'Hagan (August 15, 1826 – December 15, 1878) was an Irish-American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

priest and Jesuit who was the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the olde ...

from 1873 to 1878. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

, Canada, at a young age and entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

. While in Boston, Massachusetts, he decided to enter the

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

. He studied at

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 ...

and the

Catholic University of Louvain 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 ...

before returning to the United States and becoming a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

. After the end of the war, he engaged in pastoral work in Boston before becoming president of the College of the Holy Cross. He fell ill in 1878 and sailed for

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

to recuperate. While at sea, he died off the

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coast of

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Early life

Joseph B. O'Hagan was born on August 15, 1826, in

Clogher Clogher () is a village and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, Northern Ireland, River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retain ...

, Ireland. In his youth, he emigrated to

, Canada, to join his brother. He completed his schooling there before entering the

in the Diocese of Halifax, where he befriended Archbishop William Walsh. In the summer of 1847, he was in Boston, Massachusetts, where he met John McElroy and decided to enter the

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

. He entered the Jesuit

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 ...

in December of that year, and studied

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...

and philosophy at Saint John's College in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. In 1852, O'Hagan became a teacher at the Washington Seminary in

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, ...

After three years, he left the seminary to teach at

. In 1857, he began his

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

studies at Georgetown and two years later, was sent to continue his higher studies in Belgium. He continued his theological education at the

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 ...

there in 1861.

Civil War chaplaincy

O'Hagan returned to the United States just before the outbreak of the

. The provincial superior of the

Jesuit Maryland Province The Jesuits in the United States constitute the American branch of the Society of Jesus and are organized into four geographic provinces East, Central and Southern, Midwest and West each of which is headed by a provincial superior. The order ...

, Angelo M. Paresce, appointed him as a

in the

. He was assigned to the

Excelsior Brigade The Excelsior Brigade was a military unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Mainly composed of infantry regiments raised in the state of New York primarily by former U.S. Representative Daniel Sickles, the brigade served in several ...

, under the command of Major General

Daniel Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat. Born to a wealthy family in New York City, Sickles was involved in a number of scandals, most notably the 1859 homicide of his wife's lover, U ...

, just after the unit arrived in Washington, D.C., in July 1861. While at first O'Hagan viewed the soldiers as lacking moral character, as some had joined the army as a condition of their release from prison on

Blackwell's Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. Running from the equivalent of East 46th to 8 ...

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, his opinion of them changed by the end of his first year as chaplain. He had a small

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common typ ...

built and prepared many of the men for their

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

and

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

. When the Excelsior Brigade became a part of Major General

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

's command in the fall of 1861, O'Hagan was made chaplain to the

73rd New York Infantry Regiment The 73rd New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of Union Army in the American Civil War. The regiment was organized in New York City in May 1861, originally under the designation the Fourth Excelsior Regiment, as a Zouave regiment, kn ...

. During this time, he became good friends with the unit's

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

chaplain,

Joseph Twichell Reverend Joseph Hopkins Twichell (November 30, 1838 – December 20, 1918) was a writer and Congregational minister from Hartford, Connecticut. He was a close friend of writer Mark Twain for over forty years and is believed to be the model for t ...

. He was briefly captured by the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

during the Peninsula campaign but was soon released and returned to his regiment. O'Hagan remained as an army chaplain until September 1863, when he was directed to finish his

Jesuit formation Jesuit formation, or the training of Jesuits, is the process by which candidates are prepared for ordained or brotherly service in the Society of Jesus, the world's largest male Catholic religious order. The process is based on the Constitution o ...

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the inter ...

. He was then at Georgetown when he was sent back to the Union Army during the academic year of 1864–1865 for the final year of the war. He marched with the army during its capture of

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and during the

Battle of Appomattox Court House The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought in Appomattox County, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War (1861–1865). It was the final engagement of Confederate General in Chief, Robe ...

Pastoral work

For the next 8 years, O'Hagan worked at various churches in Boston, primarily St. Mary's and the Immaculate Conception Churches. In July 1872, he was named to succeed

Anthony F. Ciampi Anthony Francis Ciampi (born Antonio Francesco Ciampi; January 29, 1816 – November 24, 1893) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church and member of the Society of Jesus. Early life Antonio F. Ciampi was born on January 29, 1816, t ...

as the

of the

, and assumed office in 1873. In the spring of 1878, O'Hagan's health began to decline and his physicians recommended that he recuperate by spending the winter months in the warm weather of

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Accordingly, he resigned the presidency and was succeeded by

Edward D. Boone Edward D. Boone (February 27, 1833 – January 16, 1916) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was the president of the College of the Holy Cross from 1878 to 1883. Born in Washington, D.C., he graduated from Holy Cross in 1851 an ...

. He traveled to New York City and on November 30 of that year, he set sail for California. He was accompanied by the president of Georgetown University,

Patrick Francis Healy Patrick Francis Healy (February 27, 1834January 10, 1910) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was an influential president of Georgetown University, becoming known as its "second founder". The university's flagship building, Healy ...

. After passing over the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

, he boarded the steamer ''Granada''. His condition quickly worsened and he began showing signs of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleed ...

. On December 15, 1878, he died off the

coast of

, at approximately . O'Hagan was initially buried on December 19 in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...

, Mexico. At the request of the Maryland provincial superior, his body was eventually disinterred in 1879 and taken to San Francisco and then overland to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

, where it was reinterred in the Holy Cross college cemetery.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Hagan, Joseph B. 1826 births 1878 deaths People from Clogher 19th-century American Jesuits Saint John's Catholic Prep (Maryland) alumni St. Stanislaus Novitiate (Frederick, Maryland) alumni Georgetown University alumni Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Georgetown University faculty Union Army chaplains Catholic chaplains Presidents of the College of the Holy Cross People who died at sea People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Christian clergy from County Tyrone Burials at the College of the Holy Cross Cemetery