Francis W. Sweeney
virtual exhibit fall 2004 - burns library
Introduction | Background | Predecessor | Friends | Guests | Related | Conclusion
Life and Background
Francis Sweeney was born in Milford, Massachusetts on February 19, 1916, to Patrick and Ellen Sweeney, the youngest of their six children. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in Milford and received his undergraduate education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Sweeney entered the Shadowbrook Novitiate on September 7, 1939. After earning his Masters of Arts in Philosophy and English in 1944, Sweeney taught Latin and English classes at Cranwell Preparatory School in Lenox, Massachusetts, during the 1944-1945 school term. He was a seminarian at Weston College from 1945-1949 and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Richard Cushing. The Jesuit Provincial assigned Father Sweeney to Boston College in Fall 1951 and he began his half-century of service to the university at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. At Boston College, Sweeney taught writing and literature courses beginning in 1951, served as moderator and faculty advisor to the Stylus beginning in 1951, and directed the Humanities Series beginning in 1957. He continued these activities until his retirement in May 1998 at the age of eighty-two.
Photo credit: Francis W. Sweeney Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Photograph of Francis Sweeney studying on the campus of the College of the Holy Cross. The positive experience with the Jesuits at Holy Cross was a key factor that influenced Sweeney's decision to enter the Jesuits.
Photo credit: Francis W. Sweeney Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Photograph of Sweeney at Shadowbrook. He found the first six months at the Jesuit Novitiate a challenging experience, particularly the prohibition of reading newspapers and the intense education in Latin. Sweeney remained at Shadowbrook until 1942.
Photo credit: Francis W. Sweeney Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Sweeney was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Richard Cushing on June 19, 1948. The event is pictured here.
Photo credit: Buildings Photographs Collection, University Archives, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Photograph of Boston College circa 1951. Alumni Stadium had yet to be built and the Reservoir remained unfilled.
Photo credit: Francis W. Sweeney Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Sweeney is pictured with his students in a class room probably in the late 1950s. While this exhibit, emphasizes Sweeney's service as the director of the Humanities Series, it is important to recall that he was a mentor to many aspiring student writers, as he was both a poet and an essayist. Students such as Frank Bergon, George V. Higgins, David Plante and John Wieners all encountered Father Sweeney either in classes or in their work on the Stylus .
Photo credit: Photograph courtesy of the Office of Marketing Communications, Boston College. |
Sweeney is pictured here with the Rev. Dom Philip Jebb, OSB (middle) and Special Projects Curator George Fuir, S.J. (right) examining an item from the Hilaire Belloc Papers acquired by the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections in 1981. Jebb is the grandson of Belloc. Sweeney was also a longtime friend and proponent of the Special Collections at Boston College. He was instrumental in the acquisition of several manuscript collections including: the papers of Hilaire Belloc, Philip Caraman, S.J., Frederick Copleston, S.J., Peter Hebblethwaite, and Peter Levi.
Photo credit: Francis W. Sweeney Papers, Burns Library, Boston College. |
Sweeney received a honorary degree in 1987, a Doctor of Humane Letters, as an acknowledgement of many years of devoted service to Boston College. Photograph of Sweeney receiving his honorary degree from President J. Donald Monan, S.J.
Introduction | Background | Predecessor | Friends | Guests | Related | Conclusion