Robert Brady

Robert Wasson Brady (October 6, 1825 – March 26, 1891) was an American Catholic priest who led several Jesuit institutions in the United States. He served twice as the president of the College of the Holy Cross from 1867 to 1869 and from 1883 to 1887. He was also the second president of Boston College from 1869 to 1870 and the provincial superior of the Jesuits' Maryland Province from 1877 to 1882.

Early life

Robert Wasson Brady was born on October 6, 1825, in Hancock, Maryland. In his youth, Brady's father died and his mother moved the family to Frederick, Maryland, so that Brady could study at Saint John's College. He then decided to enter religious life, and proceeded to the Jesuit novitiate in Frederick, where he entered the Society of Jesus on August 31, 1843.

In 1845, Brady became a professor of rudiments at Georgetown College. However, he began experiencing health problems and his superiors transferred him in 1847 to the newly founded College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where they thought the climate would be more advantageous to his health. Brady's health did improve, and he was made the prefect of the school as well as a professor of grammar and poetry.

Formative years in Maryland

While continuing in his roles as prefect and professor, Brady began his next stage of Jesuit formation, the study of philosophy and theology, in September 1853. Four years later, he completed his studies and was ordained a priest by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick of St. Louis on July 25, 1857, in the students' chapel at Holy Cross. Brady was then promoted to vice president and first prefect of discipline of the school.