Cornelius Reardon was born and raised in Abingdon, Massachusetts, where he attended public grade and high schools. He graduated from Boston College in 1911, and then attended Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, and was ordained a Catholic Priest on June 2, 1916. His first assignment was to Saint Edward’s Church in Boston, where he was serving as junior curate when he entered military service in 1918. He was commissioned a U.S. Army chaplain, serving in France where he was decorated for gallantry in action. Following his war service he was Assistant at Saint Michael’s Church in Hudson, and then at Sacred Heart Parish in Belmont-Waverly. He also served at Saint Ann’s Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts.



