John E. Blox

John E. Blox (June 17, 1810 – April 27, 1860) was an American Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus. Blox was born on June 17, 1810, in Belgium and immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-two. Upon his arrival, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at White Marsh Manor in Maryland on November 5, 1832. Following his probationary period, he was sent to study at Georgetown College. On July 4, 1843, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Samuel Eccleston of Baltimore at Holy Trinity Church in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. He was made the pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Baltimore in 1845, where he remained until 1846.[1] Following his pastorate, Blox was appointed the superior of St. Xavier College in Cincinnati (now Xavier University), a position he held for one year.[2]

The Reverend

John E. Blox
Orders
OrdinationJuly 14, 1843
by Samuel Eccleston
Personal details
Born(1810-06-17)June 17, 1810
Belgium
DiedApril 27, 1860(1860-04-27) (aged 49)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DenominationCatholic Church

On October 2, 1848, Washington Seminary (later known as Gonzaga College High School) in Washington, D.C., resumed official operations after having been suppressed by the Catholic hierarchy. Blox was appointed its fourth president, and the first following its reopening, succeeding William Matthews. Immediately upon its reopening, the school saw a resurgence in the number of students seeking to enroll. On May 14, 1851, Blox delivered the eulogy of Archbishop Eccleston at the requiem mass at St. Patrick's Church. His term as president came to an end on August 15, 1851, when he was succeeded by Fr. Samuel Barber, S.J.[2]

In 1854, Blox was appointed the pastor of St. Mary's Church in Alexandria, Virginia.[2] In 1856, he directed the expansion of the church by adding a new altar, tabernacle, organ, and stained glass windows, and a large bell. He also oversaw the addition of the tallest belfry in Alexandria and the extension of the church by twenty feet.[3][4] During his pastorate, Blox was responsible for a number of conversions to Catholicism, including George William Brent and fourteen others.[2]

Blox was transferred to Philadelphia in 1857.[2] There, he was made the spiritual director of the sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. John the Evangelist Church.[5] Blox died in Philadelphia on April 27, 1860.[2]

References
  1. "Pastors of St. Xavier Church" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  2. Hill, Owen Aloysius (1922). "Chapter IV: Rev. John E. Blox, S.J. (1848–1851)". Gonzaga College, an Historical Sketch: From Its Foundation in 1821, to the Solemn Celebration of Its First Centenary in 1921. Washington, D.C.: Gonzaga College. pp. 40–48. OCLC 1266588. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. "Historical Timeline". The Basilica of Saint Mary. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  4. Dubuisson, Stephen L. (July 1, 1885). "St. Mary's Church and Residence, Alexandria, Virginia". Woodstock Letters. XIV (2). Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018 – via Jesuit Online Library.
  5. Griffin, Martin I. J. (September 1910). "History of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Philadelphia, from 1845 to 1853". Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia. 21 (3): 138. JSTOR 44208084.
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