James Michael Reardon (August 31, 1872 – December 12, 1963) was a Canadian-American Catholic priest and professor of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul.

A prominent churchman in the first half of the 20th century, he was rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary from 1921 until his death and wrote the definitive history of the diocese.

[2][1] A teacher by trade, Reardon taught science at the seminary after his ordination until 1910, when he was appointed to St. John the Baptist parish in Excelsior, Minnesota.

[4] Reardon initially resisted the appointment, stating that he had no training in journalism, but created a paid subscribership of 25,000 by the end of his editorship in 1922.

[8] Reardon erected a statue in honor of Belgian priest Louis Hennepin, an early explorer of Minnesota, in front of the basilica.

[2] His will stipulated a plain wooden coffin and no sermon at his funeral, which was celebrated December 16 by Archbishop Leo Binz and followed by burial at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.