John Farrelly was born on March 15, 1856, in Memphis, Tennessee to John and Martha (née Clay) Farrelly.[1] His father was a member of the Tennessee General Assembly, and his grandfather was one of the authors of the original Arkansas Constitution.[2]
He and his parents moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and later to Kentucky (1868), where the younger Farrelly attended St. Mary's College.[1] After studying at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he entered Notre-Dame de la Paix University at Namur, Belgium, in 1873. He completed his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, obtaining a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree.[2]
Farrelly was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Nashville in Rome by Cardinal Raffaele La Valletta on May 22, 1880.[3] After touring Egypt and Palestine, Farrelly returned to Tennessee in 1882
Back in Nashville, Farrelly was appointed a curate at the Cathedral of the Incarnation; he was later named as its pastor[1] He was named chancellor of the diocese in 1883. Farrelly returned to Rome in 1887, becoming secretary of the American bishops there in September 1887.[2] While in Rome, he served as spiritual director of the North American College from 1893 until 1909.[1]
On March 18, 1909, Farrelly was appointed the fourth bishop of Cleveland by Pope Pius X.[3] He received his episcopal consecration in Rome on May 1, 1909, from Cardinal Girolamo Gotti, with Bishops John Morris and Thomas Kennedy serving as co-consecrators.[3] He was installed at St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland on June 13, 1909.[3]
During his 12-year-long tenure as bishop, Farrelly improved the parochial school system; organized Catholic Charities; and erected 47 churches and schools, including Cathedral Latin High School on 107th Street between Euclid and Carnegie Avenues.[4] During World War I, he was appointed by Cleveland Mayor Harry L. Davis to the Cleveland War Commission.[2] Farrelly also ordered English to be spoken at all German churches and schools in the diocese.[5]
John Farrelly died on February 12, 1921, from pneumonia in Knoxville, Tennessee,[1] at age 64. He is buried in the crypt beneath the main altar of St. John's Cathedral in Cleveland.[2]
