Rev. Monsignor George W. Shea was born into a family of five on 27 December 1910 in Newark, New Jersey with two siblings; a brother named Francis and a sister named Irene. He died on 8 July 1990 in Orange, New Jersey at the Hospital Center at Orange after fighting several years with illnesses. Monsignor Shea was ordained on 29 March 1936 into the priesthood at University of Innsbruck in Austria. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Seton Hall University and his Doctorate degree in Sacred Theology at a university in Switzerland. Shea retired as Pastor Emeritus of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange, NJ at age 70.

He was the President of the Catholic Theological Society and a chaplain in the United States Navy from 1942-1945. Shea worked at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington from 1946-1960 as a seminary professor and held the position as rector from 1961-1968. On the weekends when he was not teaching, Shea served as an assistant at St Paul's Parish in Ramsey, NJ, St Mary's Parish on Nutley, NJ and St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Jersey City, NJ. He also worked at The Advocate newspaper, where he wrote a column for eight years entitled "Faith in the Focus".

Shea became a Peritus (expert) of the Second Vatican Council attending all four sessions. He held this title for three years; 1963, 1964, and 1965. He also served on the press panel for the third and fourth session. Most of Shea's research years were spent focusing on the Second Vatican Council and the subtopics of focus under each session. He published several small books and wrote countless essays during his years; all stemming from some subject area surrounding Vatican II and his theological studies.

Monsignor George Shea has published articles and books on theology, written inserts for the Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Catholic Encyclopedia, and Sheed and Ward's The Handbook of Catholic Theology. He was a board member for both the Catholic Society and the Mariological Society of America; he also served as the acting president for some time while being an active member of these societies