John Mc Elroy (Jesuit) - Retirement & Death

Retirement & Death

In 1868 McElroy retired to the Jesuit novitiate in Frederick, Maryland. In 1872 he visited Georgetown for his final time in order to celebrate his golden jubilee. Father McElroy’s eyesight was failing and while moving through his home he fell, fracturing his femur, which would eventually lead to his death. Father John McElroy died September 12, 1877 at the Jesuit Novitiate in Frederick, Maryland. For some years leading up to his death, McElroy was regarded the oldest priest in the United States and the oldest Jesuit in the world. He was buried in the Novitate Cemetery. In 1903 the Jesuits withdrew from Frederick and the graves were moved from the Frederick Jesuit Novitiate Cemetery (1805-1904) to St. John’s Cemetery.