Upon his arrival, he enrolled at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland and entered the Society of Jesus, completing his education at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Early became president of the College of the Holy Cross in 1848, where he unsuccessfully petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to charter the school.

During the Civil War, instruction continued uninterrupted, despite intermittent occupation by the Union Army and dwindling enrollment.

Early then returned to Loyola College in 1866 as president for four years, where he resumed the annual conferral of degrees.

[2] As a result of his failure to gain admission to the seminary, Early emigrated to the United States in July 1833.

[3] Seeking to become a priest,[4] Early enrolled at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the following September to study rhetoric.

[9] In March 1849, Early petitioned the Massachusetts General Court to charter the college,[7] and appeared before the legislature alongside Orestes Brownson.

[10] In accordance with Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick's insistence, the petition for a charter included a provision that the college would be exclusively for the "benefit of one [Roman Catholic] denomination only, and, therefore, having no claims whatever upon the Commonwealth."

This was met with opposition in the House of Representatives,[9] which was motivated by a mix of both anti-Catholicism and concerns about the separation of church and state.

[18] Two years after its founding, the college purchased a plot of land on the corner of North Calvert and Madison Streets.

[16] Being called to Georgetown University, Early's tenure as president came to an end in the autumn of 1858,[19] and he was succeeded by William Francis Clarke.

[21] Soon thereafter, he received notice from the College of William & Mary that its library had been destroyed by fire; Early donated a case of 100 books to aid it in rebuilding.

[24] Though it looked doubtful that the college would be able to continue operating,[24] Georgetown endured as an active school, carrying on with classes throughout the Civil War for the few remaining students.

[25] The college was occupied for a third time on August 29, 1862, as a hospital for the soldiers of Major General John Pope's army wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

[35] The university's Law Department had been established at the end of Maguire's presidency, and it began its first classes in October 1870.