John Fitzpatrick was the third Roman Catholic bishop of Boston. A Boston native and the son of Irish immigrants, he attended public schools, including the prestigious Boston Latin School. He enjoyed acceptance by the best of Boston society but seemed to fear causing offense to the Yankees while serving his struggling Irish immigrant flock, many of whom came to America in the wake of the Potato Famine. Although he privately supported efforts by others in the diocese, such as Father McElroy and the Sisters of Notre Dame, to open parochial schools, he took no action himself to establish a system of parochial schools as an alternative to the Protestant-run public schools. As such, the development of Catholic schooling was neglected in Boston during these years.
