William J. Kenealy was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 30, 1904, to William Edward and Mary Agnes (Faye) Kenealy. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1922 and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1934.
Kenealy began his post-secondary education at Boston College, where he earned a B.A and M.A. He was initially a member of the inaugural class at Boston College Law School but completed his law studies at the Gregorian University in Rome, receiving a PhD there in 1932. He also received a licentiate in sacred theology from Western College in 1935 and a bachelor of law from Georgetown University in 1939. After completing his education, Kenealy became dean and professor of law at Boston College Law School from 1939 to 1956. Between 1956 and 1963, he was a visiting professor of law at Loyola University of New Orleans, and Loyola University of Chicago. In 1963, Kenealy returned to Boston College Law School.
In 1968, Kenealy left teaching to head the new Jesuit Social Apostolate National Office in Washington, DC. Over the next few years he joined the New England Province Forum of the Society of Jesus, and became an inaugural member of the National Committee for Human Development, which oversaw distribution of grants from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Campaign for Human Development (CHD), an anti-poverty effort funded by an annual parish collection. Kenealy also began serving on the Board of Trustees at both Boston College (a position he also held from 1946-1956) and Wheeling College starting in 1970. Kenealy had cancer for the last few years of his life, and he died on February 3, 1974.
