James A. Ward

James A. Ward was born on September 1, 1813, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At a young age, he moved to Washington, D.C. to live with his uncle, near the Capitol building.[1] His uncle enrolled him in Washington Seminary (later known as Gonzaga College High School)[2] and he enrolled in Georgetown College in 1829. While there, he entered the Society of Jesus on August 6, 1832, and proceeded to the Jesuit novitiate in White Marsh, Maryland.[3] He became the second to last surviving Jesuit educated at the novitiate in White Marsh, which had moved to Frederick, Maryland in 1834.[4]

In 1833, he returned to Georgetown, where he taught and remained for the rest of his scholasticate.[4] At Georgetown, Ward was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church by Archbishop Samuel Eccleston on July 4, 1843.[5] As a professor, he taught higher mathematics and classics.[6] Around this time, he developed health problems that left him temporarily unable to speak and later with impaired speech, which prevented him from preaching.[7] Ward completed his theological studies and continued teaching at Georgetown for another six years. From 1845 to 1846, he taught rhetoric, before becoming minister and prefect of schools. In 1850, while still prefect, he was appointed vice president of Georgetown.[8] On one occasion, while the President of Georgetown College, James A. Ryder, was away from the school, a student rebellion broke out, which Ward was able to quell.[9]

In September 1850, he returned to the novitiate in Frederick, where he taught mathematics. The following year, he was put in charge of classes at the Washington Seminary. Ward played a key role in the early years of Loyola College in Maryland, which was founded in 1852.[10] For a time, he served as its prefect of studies.[11] In 1857, he became President of Saint Joseph's College in Philadelphia, succeeding James A. Ryder. His term ended in 1860, when he was succeeded by Felix-Joseph Barbelin.[12] He is depicted as a gargoyle on Barbelin Hall at Saint Joseph's University.[13]

With the start of the American Civil War, Ward made publicly known his fervent support of the Confederacy.[14] Following the war, he returned to Georgetown in 1865 as vice president, prefect of studies, and professor of rhetoric, where he remained until 1869 when he was made rector of the novitiate in Frederick, replacing Joseph O'Callaghan, who died at sea on his return from the Jesuit general congregation in Rome. He also taught as a professor at the novitiate until 1873, when he ceased teaching to become the master of novices, while still remaining rector.[15] For many years, Ward was also the socius (assistant) to the provincial superior, which required him to live near St. Francis Xavier College in New York City.[16]

For ten years, Ward was the prefect of studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and at Loyola College in Maryland, and then again served as rector of the novitiate in Frederick from 1890 to 1891. Finally, he returned to Georgetown, where he served as spiritual father.[17] Ward died at Georgetown University on April 29, 1891.[18]