Born: 09 April 1747, Cornmarket, Dublin, County Dublin
Entered: 11 December 1764, San Andrea, Rome, Italy - Romanae Province (ROM)
Ordained: c 1778
Died c 1808, Leghorn (Livorno), Italy
Left Society of Jesus: 1773 Suppression of Society
In Chronological Catalogue Sheet as Ent c 1762
In Chronological Catalogue Sheet as Ent 11/12/1764
◆ Old/15 (1) has Ent 1762
Old/15 (1) has 2 names later “James Connell” Ent 11/12/1764 RIP after 1772
◆ Old/16 has : “James O’Connell”; Ent c 1762; RIP prob 1808
◆ Old/17 has “Conell” Ent 11/12/1764 St Andrea
◆ CATSJ A-H has “Conell”; An Irishman; Ent 11 /12/1764 St Andrea;
1772 was in Rome 16/11/1772 (Irish College Rome Archives)
and
◆ CATSJ I-Y has has “O’Connell”; DOB 09/04/1747 Dublin; Ent 10/12/1764;
Studied 2 years Rehtoric and 2 Philosophy
1770 In Roman College
1773 In Roman College teaching Grammar. 1st year as Master. Was a Catechist in the Church and “Prieses Sodalert Primo”
◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
Three Entries
O’Connell or Connell
DOB 09/04/1747; Ent c 1762 or 10/12/1764 Rome;
In Italy from c 1765. In a list of Professors at the Roman College he appears to be Professor there 1771-1773, wth the name given as O’Conell. Taught Grammar and was a Catechist. (ROM CAT 1772)
Father Thorpe, who knew him well says “Father Connell of the Roman College possesses excellent talents. He was Master of Humanities. He is now (1785) Secretary to Rinnuccini (later Cardinal), who duing several years has treated him with singular courtesy. He has serious thoughts of offering himself to the English Mission among his brethern”. This he did not do, being in Rome at the time of Father Thorpe’s death. (Oliver, Stonyhurst MSS)
1792 In Rome
1803 At Leghorn with his confrère Peter Plunket (cf Foley’s Collectanea)
In 1806 Father Strickland writes that Father O’Connell is perhaps dead.
◆ MacErlean Cat Miss HIB SJ 1670-1770
1767 ROM Cat
Novitiate Rome
“Jacobus Oconnell”
Born 09/04/1747 Dublin
Entered 10/12/1764
Novice
1770 ROM Cat
Collegiuium Romanum
“Jacobus Oconnell”
Born 09/04/1747 Dublin
Entered 10/12/1764
Studied Rhetoric 2, Philosophy 3
◆ Calendar of MacErlean Transcipts Addenda Irishmen who entered Rome and Spain 1561-1772 (Finegan)
James Conell
11 December 1764 Entered St Andrea Rome
◆ George Oliver Towards Illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English and Irish Members SJ
CONNELL, JAMES. From his own letter of the 22nd of May, 1792, I collect that this Irish Father “had for the last 27 years been in Italy”. F. Thorpe, who knew him well at Rome, and was fully competent to judge, says “F. Council, of the Roman Province, possesses excellent talents. He was Master of Humanities in the Roman College; and is now (1785) Chaplain and Secretary to the Prelate Rinuccini (afterwards Cardinal), who, during several years, has treated him with singular courtesy : he has serious thoughts of offering himself to the English Mission amongst our Brethren”. These thoughts however were abandoned : he was at Rome at the death of his friend, F. Thorpe, on the 12th of April, 1792. Eleven years later I find him at Leghorn.
◆ Henry Foley - Records of the English province of The Society of Jesus Vol VII
CONNELL, JAMES, Father (Irish), was of the Roman Province. He appears there as early as 1765. Father John Thorpe, the English agent at the Gesù, says (1785): "Father Connell, of the Roman Province, possesses excellent talents. He was teacher of humanities in the Roman College, and is now chaplain and secretary to the Prelate Rinnucini (afterwards Cardinal), who during several years has treated himn with singular courtesy. He has serious thoughts of offering himself to the English Mission among his brethren." This he did not do, being still in Rome, April 12, 1792, the date of Father Thorpe's death, and in 1803 he appears at Leghorn. (Oliver, from Stonyhurst Papers.)
◆ Henry Foley - Records of the English province of The Society of Jesus Vol VII - Appendix
CONNELL, JAMES, O', Father (Collectanea, p. 157), was born April 9, 1747 ; entered the Society in Rome, December 1o, 1764 ; in 1772 he was teaching the third class of grammar. He was also Catechist and Prefect of the Sodality in the Roman College. (Catalogue of Roman Province, 1772.)
◆ Francis Finegan SJ Biographical Dictionary 1598-1773
He was son of William Connell, At the Sign of the White Cross, Cornmarket, was born April 9, 1747, and he entered the Society at Rome, December 10, 1764.
On the completion of his Noviceship, he studied Philosophy at the Roman College, 1768-1771, and for the next two years, until the Suppression of the Society, taught Humanities at the same College.
He was secularised at the Suppression, but continued his studies for the priesthood, and was eventually ordained Priest.
In 1785 he was Chaplain and Secretary to the future Cardinal Rinuccini, and remained in Rome until the following decade. he was living at Leghorn in 1803, with Father Peter Plunket, also an ex-Jesuit.
There is no record of the date or place of his death, but he was presumed to be dead in 1808.
An interesting letter of his of January 25, 1766 is in the archives at George’s Hill Convent, Dublin. In it the young O’Connell recommends to his father the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and recount the miraculous cure of a fellow-Novice at Sant Andrea.
He spelt his father’s surname “Connell”, although his own surname in the Roman Catalogi is given as Oconnell.
◆ Interfuse No 34 : September 1984
PORTRAIT FROM THE PAST : RICHARD O’CALLAGHAN
Roland Burke Savage
A finely-researched article on Father Richard Callaghan (1728 1807), a man described as one of the langely forgotten links between the original & the restored Society of Jesus in Ireland
In an earlier undated letter Concannon expressed amazement at the obstinacy of the old ex-Jesuit Callaghan. Dr Carpenter was too indulgent. Callaghan will now be pleased that the Society survives in the persons of the Abbé O'Connell and the Abbé Plunkett, both ex-Jesuits.
The next move is a letter from Propaganda to Archbishop Troy, dated 23 January 1808, stating that a letter is being sent to Stone about all the ex-Jesuit funds: the Arcbbishop is to forward to Rome all documents relevant to the same. Under the date 5 May 1808. We have a draft reply in which Plowden (the English Master of novices) makes two points succinotly: (1) three former Irish Jesuits are still alive: Fr. Betagh (Dublin), Peter Plunkett (Leghorn) and James Connell (Rome); (2) does the Archbishop wish “to invoke the spiritual power to invalidate the will of a British subject?” This last point is a reference to the statute of Praenunire. There is no evidence in the Dublin diocesan archives of a letter based on Plowden's draft. There is a letter from Concannon, dated 8 October 1808, upbraiding Troy for giving up the Callaghan affair and urging him to take the matter up again with Di Pietro.
