Born in New York City, he spent many of his early years in Europe, where he was educated at Stonyhurst College in England.

He left St. Andrew-on-Hudson in 1933, and was made rector of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola and president of Regis High School in Manhattan.

[2] Devlin began his education at the De La Salle Institute in New York City, during which time he also served as the personal altar boy to Archbishop Michael Corrigan in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

[2] He was then sent to be educated at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, England, and did not return to the United States for many years, spending his summer vacations traveling throughout Europe or visiting family in Ireland.

At the end of his sophomore year, while on a return voyage to the United States in the summer of 1893, he learned that his father had died.

[6] Devlin's presidency was characterized by a substantial building campaign, which resulted in his nickname of the "builder of the super-structures".

[2] To fund the construction of the science building, he initiated a fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 (equivalent to $9.1 million in 2023).

[8] That campaign grew into an effort to raise money generally for construction on campus, including for a chapel, gymnasium, and the library.

[7] This involved assembling a large team of volunteers to solicit donations from the Catholics of Greater Boston; this was aided by public statements of support from Vice President Calvin Coolidge; the Secretary of War, John W. Weeks; Senators David I. Walsh and Henry Cabot Lodge; and Governor Channing H.

[11] Around 1922, he established the Summer School for Catholic Sisterhoods, which educated religious sisters, and paid visits to a nearby orphanage.

When his health improved, he went to Saint Isaac Jogues Novitiate in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1936,[13] which he previously had a role in founding in 1930.

[2] His funeral and requiem mass, held at the novitiate on July 23, were attended by many Jesuit dignitaries, including Bishop Thomas Addis Emmet.