John Mc Elroy (Jesuit) - Frederick

Frederick

One of McElroy’s first known interactions with the catholic community in Frederick, Maryland was around 1804, when he gifted money to Father John Dubois, the pastor in Frederick, Maryland, to be applied to St. John the Evangelist Church.

In 1822, Father John Dubois’ successor Father Maleve fell ill. Father McElroy travelled to Frederick to minister to him in illness and was with him when he died on October 3. A letter was sent by a number of prominent gentlemen from Frederick, Maryland to the superior of the Jesuits at Whitemarsh, Maryland requesting the services Father McElroy in Frederick. In 1822 Father McElroy was appointed to the pastorate in Frederick, Maryland.

Father McElroy set to work immediately to expand the congregation. In 1823 he began negotiations with the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland for the establishment of a school for girls in Frederick, Maryland. In 1824, the St. John’s Benevolent Female Free School was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph at 200 East Second Street, Frederick. In 1825, Father McElroy set to work replacing the structure that housed the school, a pre-American Revolution log cabin, with a modern building large enough to also house an orphanage. The money raised for construction was primarily accomplished due to support of the orphanage.

McElroy’s next task was to found an educational institution for boys in Frederick, Maryland. On August 7, 1828, the construction of St John’s Literary Institute began. The following year the construction was completed and the school was opened, a school which is currently operating under the name of Saint John's Catholic Prep (Maryland).

In 1833 McElroy worked with John Tehan, a well-known local architect, to create a plan for a new church. St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church was consecrated on April 26, 1837. When the Church was completed it was the largest parish Church in the United States of America.