Connolly, Arthur T. (Arthur Theodore), 1853-1933

Born December 2, 1853 in Waltham, Massachusetts, Connolly was the son of Irish immigrants. He was a product of public schools and later attended Boston College then St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland. From there, he would go on to study theology at the Grand Seminar in Montreal, Quebec. On December 21, 1876, Bishop Édouard-Charles Fabre ordained Connolly to the Catholic priesthood. (He would be given the title Monsignor in 1926.)

Relocating back to his native Boston, Connolly would remain a lifelong parish priest. His longest tenure was as the inaugural rector for the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Jamaica Plain neighborhood in Boston, serving from 1892 until his retirement in 1931. But beyond serving his parish community, Connolly was an avid collector and traveler. On multiple trips to Europe and South America, he acquired numerous books and art objects. Of particular note was his collecting of ivory artwork, religious manuscripts and incunabula, and Irish history and early American publications.

Arthur T. Connolly was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on December 2, 1853. He attended Boston College then transferred to St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland. He entered the Grand Seminary in Montreal, Quebec to study theology and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1876. Relocating back to Boston, Connolly would remain a lifelong parish priest. His longest tenure was as the inaugural rector for the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Boston, serving from 1892 until his retirement in 1931. From 1916-1932, Connolly also served as a Trustee of the Boston Public Library, acting as the Library’s Board President from 1923-24 and 1927-28. Connolly was also an avid collector and traveler. He acquired numerous books and art objects which he later donated to Catholic institutions of higher learning. Connolly died on November 10, 1933.