text: Farrell obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Salamanca in Spain.  He then entered the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a Master of Philosophy degree and Licentiate in Theology. He also attended the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, receiving a Master of Theology degree in dogmatic theology (1976) and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in pastoral theology (1977). He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame also granted Farrell an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2017.
  Priesthood
  Farrell was ordained to the priesthood for the Legionaries of Christ by Cardinal Eduardo Pironio in Rome at Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica on December 24, 1978. After his ordination, Farrell served as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, where he also conducted seminars in bioethics and social ethics.
  In the early 1980s, Farrell left the Legionaries to be incardinated in the Archdiocese of Washington. In 1984, Farrell was assigned as an associate pastor at St. Peter's Parish in Olney, Maryland. He also served at St. Bartholomew Parish in Bethesda, Maryland, and at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Washington, D.C. In 1985, Farrell was appointed director of the archdiocesan Spanish Catholic Center.