John O’Brien was born on April 2, 1838 in County Cork, Ireland. O’Brien and his parents, James and Margaret (Foley) O’Brien, emigrated to the United States in 1850. He first worked on his uncle’s farm in West Springfield, Massachusetts, before securing employment in the mule-room of the nearby cotton factory, which had only begun hiring Catholics a few years earlier. O’Brien was outspoken in his defense of the Catholic faith, ultimately organizing a Sunday school for the children and young people of the town. When a family friend, Reverend Maurice Power of Killeagh, Ireland, visited the United States to raise funds for his church, he suggested that O’Brien should study for the priesthood. O’Brien agreed.
O’Brien studied at St. Charles College, Maryland and St. Joseph’s Seminary in Troy, New York. He was ordained on June 6, 1868. O’Brien was assistant to the Reverend Father Hamilton of St. Mary’s Church, Charlestown. In 1871, he was sent to Concord, Massachusetts, as pastor of Concord and Lexington. In 1873, O’Brien was sent to East Cambridge, tasked with building a church. The dedication of the church took place on January 28, 1883.
O’Brien endeavored to create a Catholic newspaper for his parish. On December 1, 1888, the first issue of The Sacred Heart Review was published. A corporation was organized, consisting of one hundred of New England’s leading Catholic priests that formed the Review Publishing Company, beginning the new series of The Sacred Heart Review, with O’Brien in charge. O’Brien died on July 19, 1917, having continued working until the last week of his life.
