William Joseph Leonard, SJ was born on April 10, 1908 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, to William J. and Catherine V. (Smith) Leonard. Leonard was the oldest of five children, including Catherine, Eleanor, Francis, and Robert.

Leonard attended elementary and grammar school in Dorchester followed byBoston College High School (class of 1925). He joined the Society of Jesus immediately after high school, and took first vows in 1927, followed by a two-year Juniorate at Shadowbrook. Leonard's education continued with courses in philosophy at Weston College. Leonard earned his AB Degree from Boston College (1931), followed by his Master's Degree (1932). The Jesuit provincial assigned Leonard to his first teaching position with the English Department at the College of Holy Cross (1932). At Holy Cross, Leonard served as instructor in English and prefect of student Masses. On June 20, 1937, Leonard was ordained a priest, and a year later he earned his Licentiate in Sacred Theology. Leonard completed his final period of Jesuit formation at St. Robert's Hall in Pomfret, Connecticut. Leonard took his final vows in 1942.

Leonard joined the Boston College Jesuit Community in 1939, serving as instructor in English literature and faculty moderator to The Stylus (a student literary journal). After a hiatus from teaching, due to his military chaplaincy, Leonard returned to the English Department at Boston College and continued to teach until 1952. In 1953, Leonard was transferred to the Theology Department and taught there until his retirement in 1973. During his tenure with the Theology Department, he served as chair (1965-1969) and presided over curriculum changes. From 1969 to 1973, Leonard also taught theology at the Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. Leonard returned to the classroom to teach a Capstone Seminars for Boston College seniors (1997-1998).

Leonard's served as a military chaplain (1944-1946). Although he registered for the draft in 1940, the Provincial only it when student enrollment declined due to the War. Leonard's military career began with six weeks of training in military organization and customs at Harvard University. Upon graduating from chaplaincy school, Leonard transferred to Camp Livingston, Louisiana, for three more months of training. Leonard was transferred to Camp Beale in California for three weeks, followed by a three week boat journey to New Guinea. In New Guinea, Leonard joined the 9th Ordnance Battalion, which was in charge of the procurement, maintenance, and issuance of weapons. Leonard spent six months in New Guinea, the highlight of which was the construction of the Finschhafen Chapel. He was sent to Manila in April, 1945. At the conclusion of the war, the Government discharged Leonard, and he returned to teaching.

Leonard was active in the United States liturgical movement in both official and unofficial capacities. He was with the National Liturgical Conference and participated in the Conference-sponsored Liturgical Weeks (1940s-1960s). He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Liturgical Conference (1952-1958), as Secretary (1958-1963), and on the Advisory Council (1963-1969). At Boston College, Leonard founded and directed the Social Worship Program, which ran from 1947-1952. Within the Archdiocese of Boston, he served on committees and conducted programs in the theology of public worship, including Mass demonstrations and talks on the dialogue mass. Leonard's activity with the liturgical movement also extended across the Atlantic, where he served as a delegate to the First International Congress on Pastoral Liturgy in Assisi-Rome (1956) and as a Liturgical Advisor to the Second Vatican Council (1963 and 1964).

With the liturgical changes that resulted from the Second Vatican Council, Leonard worked to preserve and remember the changes within the Catholic liturgy over the course of the twentieth century. Encouraged by friend and Boston Public Library Director Philip McNiff, Leonard initiated a project to collect and preserve the objects of the Catholic experience between 1925 and 1975. Leonard served as curator of the Liturgy and Life Collection at the John J. Burns Library (1978-2000). He also planned and directioned the Liturgical Consultation at Boston College (1983) that brought together both liturgical movement pioneers and younger people involved in the continued exploration of liturgy in the Catholic experience.

Leonard's religious activities extended beyond his involvement in the liturgical movement. At the Archdiocesan level, Leonard was highly involved in spiritual development, conducting retreats, assuming summer-months parish responsibilities, directing discussion groups including the Needham Bible Groups and the Holy Spirit Guild, and preaching at parishes and events. Additionally, he served as Religious Superior of the Jesuit weekly America in New York (1977-1980) focusing on the spiritual lives, health, and material needs of the community.

Leonard was always a prolific writer, publishing book reviews, articles, and books, largely focused on liturgical reform and lay involvement in the liturgy. He authored The New Instruction for American Pastors on Sacred Music and Liturgy (1959), and edited a collection of essays in honor of Gerald Ellard, SJ (1963). He co-authored, with Leon A. McNeill, New Horizons in Catholic Worship: Liturgical Renewal in the Light of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1964) and New Horizons in Christian Living: The Overflow of the Liturgy into Personal, Domestic, and Social Life (1965). Leonard published two autobiographical works: The Letter Carrier: The Autobiography of William J. Leonard, S.J. (1993) and Where Thousands Fell (1995).

Leonard desired to remain active and contributing religiously or academically; he disagreed about mandatory retirement for religious faculty members at the age of sixty-five. In 1973, Leonard questioned "Who said I was finished?" His life was one of continued activity, and a challenge to avoid "restlessness, the pernicious demon." Leonard died on February 12, 2000, in Weston, Massachusetts.

Sources:

Leonard, William J., The Letter Carrier, Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1993.

“Obituaries for Leonard, 2000 February”, Box 40, folder 25, William J. Leonard, SJ papers, BC.2000.023, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. http://hdl.handle.net/2345.2/BC2000-023

Sullivan, Mark, “Author and Curator Fr. Leonard Dies,” Boston College Chronicle, February 17, 2000. https://newspapers.bc.edu/?a=d&d=bcchronicle20000217-01.2.10&srpos=1&e=------200-en-20--1--txt-txIN-william+j+leonard------.