John McEleney was born in
Woburn,
Massachusetts, the only son among seven children of Charles H. and Bridget (née Gaffigan) McEleney. He attended local public schools, graduating from
Woburn High School in 1914. He studied at
Boston College, where he earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1918 and later a
Master of Arts degree in 1924. In 1918, McEleney entered the
Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits, at the novitiate in
Yonkers,
New York. He then served as assistant
master of novices at the
Shadowbrook novitiate in
Lenox until 1934, when he was sent to study
ascetical theology at
North Wales in the
United Kingdom. He retired as archbishop on September 1, 1970; he was named Titular Archbishop of
Lorium by
Pope Paul VI on the same date, resigning on the following December 23. McEleney spent his final three years at the Campion Center for Retired Jesuits in Weston. He died at Glover Memorial Hospital in
Needham, at age 90. ==References==