WORCESTER-Rev. Paul James Nelligan, S.J., the son of James and Ellen (Sheehan) Nelligan, was born in Cambridge on September 5, 1924, and died at St. Vincent Hospital, on the afternoon of July 24, 2007. He was an Archivist of the College of the Holy Cross from 1988 until becoming ill.
Father Nelligan graduated from Boston College High School in 1941 and entered the Society of Jesus at Shadowbrook in Lenox, MA, on June 30, 1941. Having taken his religious vows there on December 8, 1943, he earned a bachelor’s degree in classical studies in 1947 and a master’s degree in philosophy in 1948 from Boston College. With that academic background, he was sent to Boston College High School where he taught classical studies, English, and religion from 1948 to 1951.
Moving on to Weston College in Weston, MA, he undertook his studies for the priesthood for four years from 1951 to 1955 and earned a licentiate in theology in 1955. He was ordained a priest on June 19, 1954, by the then Archbishop of Boston (and later Cardinal) Richard J. Cushing. He said his first Mass, on June 27th of that year at St. Agnes Church in Arlington, MA. Returning to teach at Boston College High School for the 1955-56 academic year, he later completed the last year of his Jesuit training (1956-57) at St. Robert’s Hall in Pomfret, CT, and pronounced his final religious vows on August 15, 1958, at Boston College High School. Here he spent a generation, from 1957 to 1981, teaching English, Greek, Latin, and Religion to many students and, in his quiet way, encouraged a number of them to move on to successful careers in various professional fields.
In the later years of his life, in addition to being the Archivist at the College of the Holy Cross, Father Nelligan served in other offices. He was an assistant secretary of the Society of Jesus at the Jesuit Headquarters in Rome from 1981 to 1982, and the Assistant Archivist at Boston College from 1982 to 1988. During his retirement, he served as the Assistant Archivist of the College of the Holy Cross from 1996 and the Archivist of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus from 1997 to 2005 when he stepped down to serve as its Assistant Archivist until the time of his death.
Father Nelligan was easily recognized on campus by administrators, faculty, and students in addition to the other personnel who are vital to the operation of the campus. A gentle and gracious person, he was generous and outgoing to whomever crossed his path as he made his way across campus, especially in his declining year, imparting to them a word of encouragement or lending a sympathetic ear. Gifted with a vast storehouse of stories, he was proud that his father had been a student in the secondary school at Holy Cross and that Father Joseph F. Hanselman, S.J., fourteenth President of the College (1901-1906) was a close family friend. His sudden death, despite his age, has left many at Holy Cross in a state of sadness at his passing.
Visitation will take place at 10:00 AM in the gathering space of the Mary Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Friday, July 27, 2007. The Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00 AM and burial will take place in the Holy Cross Cemetery. Memorial Contributions in memory of Father Nelligan can be made to Campion Center, 319 Concord Road, Weston, MA 02494, to assist the infirmed members of the New England province of the Society of Jesus. Arrangements are under the care of CALLAHAN & FAY BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 61 Myrtle St., Worcester.