Presidents of the College of the Holy Cross:
Rev. Joseph B. O'Hagan, S.J.
Tenth President of Holy Cross
1873 - 1878
Joseph B. O'Hagan was born in Ireland on August 15, 1826. The family emigrated to Nova Scotia and after his secondary education he entered a local seminary in 1844. In 1847 he met Rev. John McElroy, S.J. in Boston and as a result he decided to enter the Jesuits in December of that year. He finished his theological studies at the University of Louvain, Belgium and was ordained a priest in 1861. Returning to the United States at the outbreak of the Civil War he became a chaplain in the Northern Army. After the war, Rev. O'Hagan served many churches in Boston and in 1873 was appointed President of Holy Cross. At the end of his presidency he fell sick and for reasons of health sailed on a ship bound for California. Off the coast of Nicaragua he was stricken with apoplexy and died on board on December 15, 1878. His body was transferred to Worcester where he rests in the College cemetery.