Nicholas Russo | |
|---|---|
 Russo c. 1888 | |
| 7th President of Boston College | |
| In office 1887–1888 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas H. Stack |
| Succeeded by | Robert J. Fulton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 24, 1845 Ascoli Piceno, Marche, United Provinces of Central Italy |
| Died | April 1, 1902 (aged 56) New York City, US |
| Alma mater | Woodstock College |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1877 |
Philosophy career | |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| School | |
Nicholas Russo SJ (April 24, 1845 – April 1, 1902) was an Italian Catholic priest, Jesuit, philosopher, and missionary. Born in Italy, he ran away from his family and joined the Society of Jesus in France in 1862, where he was educated and began teaching. In 1875, Russo was sent to the United States to study at Woodstock College. For ten years, he was a professor and the chair of philosophy at Boston College and became its first faculty member to publish a book. Specializing in Thomism, he was regarded as a successful professor. He served as president of the college from 1887 to 1888.
In the 1890s, Russo left a successful career in academia to minister for more than ten years to the Italian immigrants in New York City's Lower East Side, who faced poverty and discrimination by local priests. He founded the Church of Our Lady of Loreto in 1891, which grew to 3,000 weekly parishioners, as well as schools for boys and girls and parochial clubs and sodalities.