Third Provincial of Region, 1937-1944
Vice Provincial of Region, Feb-Oct, 1950
James H. Dolan was born to James B. and Ellen T. (Mulry) Dolan on June 4, 1885 in Roxbury, MA. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1905 at St. Andrew-on-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY. He served his juniorate from 1907 until 1909 at St. Andrew-on-Hudson, having attended Boston College for a year prior to his entrance into the Society. From 1909 until 1912 he studied philosophy at Woodstock College in Woodstock, MD. From 1912-1917, during his regency, he taught Latin to third and fourth year high school students and freshman and sophomores at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. From 1917 until 1921 he studied theology at Woodstock College and was ordained a priest at the Dahlgren Chapel of Georgetown University on June 28, 1920 by James Cardinal Gibbons. His tertianship was served at St. Andrew-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY from 1921-1922 and following that he went to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA to teach philosophy.
On August 23, 1925 he was appointed president and rector of Boston College, serving until January 1, 1932 when he was named Socius to the Rev. Provincial James T. McCormick, SJ. From 1932 until 1934 he served as the New England Province prefect of studies. On May 6, 1937, he was named Provincial of New England Province and served until December 8, 1944.
From December 18, 1944 until October 18, 1951, he was the rector of Fairfield University and Preparatory School in Fairfield, CT. During this period in 1950, the current New England Provincial, Rev. John J. McEleney, SJ, was named the Vicar Apostolic of Jamaica and Rev. Dolan, SJ served as the New England Vice-Provincial until a new provincial could be named.
From October 1951 until January 1972, he lived at Boston College, serving as director of construction and new building in the Province and as revisor of the Province finances. He also taught classes while at Boston College: from 1951 until 1956 he taught natural theology and psychology and from 1956 until 1965 he served as confessor of students at the college. In 1972, due to ill health, he moved to the Campion Center, Weston, MA where he died August 1, 1977.