Georgetown
In 1806 McElroy entered Georgetown College in Washington D.C. the same year he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus as a lay brother. McElroy eventually managed the finances of Georgetown College and in 1808 erected the tower building. McElroy managed the schools finances so well, that through the period of economic hardship following the War of 1812, he was able to send several Jesuits to Rome to study.
McElroy was ordained in May, 1817, after less than two years of preparation. As a new priest, McElroy was assigned to the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, Washington D.C., as an assistant pastor. In his short time at Trinity, he was most responsible for the growth of the congregation and the enlargement of the Church itself. This was achieved by increasing the monthly subscription for congregation members from 12½ cents to $12.50 on July 3, 1819. The following day he travelled to most of the congregation members homes and collected $2000 in pledges. He immediately set to work having the Church modified to include 2 lateral wing chapels, which were first used on October 3, 1819.
On January 11, 1819, John McElroy was granted United States citizenship.
In 1819, McElroy started a Sunday School for black children who were taught prayers and catechisms simultaneously with spelling and reading, by volunteer members of the congregation. McElroy spent his remaining years in Georgetown teaching the lower grades.
Read more about this topic: John Mc Elroy (Jesuit)