Inducted in 2009
Prep Teacher (1944-1946)
Educator & Administrator, Various Jesuit Institutions
Founding Bishop, Carolines-Marshalls Diocese, Micronesia

Induction Video

Long before he was a bishop, His Excellency the Most Reverend Martin Neylon, SJ spent a relatively brief period on the faculty of Fordham Preparatory School. During his short time at Rose Hill as a young scholastic, however, he left an indelible mark on the school and lasting impression on his students.

Martin Neylon was born on February 20, 1920. He was the eldest of the three children of Irish immigrants Martin Francis Neylon and Delia Teresa Breen Neylon, who had arrived in America during the first decade of the 20th century. The elder Martin was a supervisor for the municipal streetcar line, and Delia was a homemaker. Young Martin, his brother Thomas, and their sister Ellen spent their early years on Hayden Street in their native city of Buffalo. 

Marty began his schooling at St. Teresa's in South Buffalo before attending Canisius High School. A gifted athlete and a standout catcher for his high school team, Neylon was considering a professional baseball career when he answered the call to enter the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson in 1937 — a fact that earned the admiration and respect of many a Prepster who learned of Neylon’s skills behind the plate from his brother Jesuits.
 
From 1944 to 1946, Mr. Neylon, SJ was assigned to Rose Hill to teach at the Prep and to moderate the Bellarmine Debate Society, a freshman team. In fact, it was under Neylon’s moderatorship that August “Gus” Stellwag, Class of 1949, four-year Prep debater and fellow Hall of Honor inductee, would compete during his first year at Hughes Hall.
 
In the 1940s, it was not unusual to have ten or more scholastics on the Faculty teaching a variety of subjects, coaching a mix of athletic teams, and moderating a host of extra-curricular activities and clubs. Even among this battalion of young blackrobes, Neylon stood out. In the words of William O’Connell, Prep class of 1948: “He was always so special. He made you want to move up to his level, to where the really big guys played. He had such an aura of dignity, yet was so approachable. Just when you thought he looked reserved, he would break out in the warmest of smiles.”
 
After his ordination in 1950, he taught at Regis High School and served as novice master at St. Andrews-on-Hudson. Then in 1966, Fr. Neylon was assigned to the Jesuit missions in Micronesia, not knowing that he would serve the Church in that area of the world until his retirement.
 
On February 2, 1970, Father Neylon was ordained a bishop by Terence Cardinal Cooke at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. He returned to the Caroline and Marshall Islands of Micronesia, then part of a United Nations trusteeship, as an auxiliary bishop to the Most Rev. Vincent Ignatius Kennally, SJ, Apostolic Vicar of the territories. After Kennally’s retirement the following year, Neylon was named his successor. In 1980, the vicariate was elevated to a full diocese, and Neylon became its first bishop. Though his official residence was on the Island of Chuuk, during his episcopacy he would often spend weeks travelling from island to island in his vast diocese which covered many thousands of square miles of water.
 
As recounted by Rev. Ronald Sams, SJ, Neylon’s secretary in Micronesia for over a decade:

Bishop Neylon was a mild-mannered man who enjoyed the company of everyone around him. He did not look for unneeded pomp and circumstance in the liturgies, but adapted well to the native cultures and expectations. He always had a soft-spoken and warm greeting for everyone. Even when not understanding the several native languages in his diocese, he was always patient and rarely showed any displeasure. He adapted well to local circumstances and felt comfortable with language translators.  He never complained about inconveniences; he had a sense of humor that was contagious.  His demeanor with the local, native people — and especially with the children — was always gentle and friendly.  He was a man of the people in a real sense in the many cultures and situations he found himself in during his years as their bishop. He was well loved by all.

Under Neylon’s leadership, the diocese grew and flourished. When he became bishop of the diocese, there were only two Micronesian priests. During his years in the Pacific, that number would grow exponentially. Scores of permanent deacons were ordained, and the number of local young men and women entering religious life increased dramatically. Echoing Isiah 42:4, Neylon’s episcopal motto read, “The islands put their hope in the Lord.”
 
Retiring in 1995, Bishop Neylon was succeeded as head of the diocese by Bishop Amando Samo, a native of Moch Island in Micronesia whom Neylon himself had ordained in 1977.
 
Early in 2003, alum William O’Connell and his classmate, Jack Sheehan, learned that Bishop Neylon was ill and residing in Murray-Weigel Hall, the Jesuit infirmary at Fordham, and decided to visit.  On the way there, they wrestled with the problem of how to address him — surely not “Mr. Neylon” from their Prep days. Perhaps “Your Excellency”?— he was, after all, a bishop. The only thing to do was to ask.  Neylon’s response, with a wave of his hand: “Call me Marty.”

It was obvious that the unassuming qualities that they had known in the young scholastic were still present some 57 years later.
 
Bishop Martin J. Neylon, SJ died at Rose Hill the following year.  He was 84 years old. His remains were returned to Micronesia for burial at the Ihmwenipin Nenukan Maria Mei Pin, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Chuuk.