Belvedere College is the backdrop for much of James Joyce's novel "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man". It is a semi-autobiographical piece of work and the teacher, Mr Tate, was based on Joyce's own English teacher, George Dempsey. In the book Joyce mentions his involvement in the College Opera which continues today. In 1884, Fr. James Aloysius Cullen S.J. was appointed spiritual father at Belvedere, a position he retained for twenty years while also engaged in other ministry. Cullen was founder and director of the Sodality of Our Lady at the college, which duties included counseling students. In 1896, James Joyce was elected Student Prefect of the Society. According to Neil R. Davison, the sermons in Chapter III of "A Portrait of the Artist" are modeled on those given by Cullen during a retreat held in 1897.