Assignment Record– Rev. Donald J. Keenan, c.p.
Summary of Case: A Passionate Missionaries priest ordained in Baltimore MD in 1943, Keenan's career was focused on parish missions and renewals. From Baltimore Keenan went on to assignments in Scranton PA, Dunkirk NY, Toronto Canada, Union City NJ, North Palm Beach FL, Farmington CT, back to Baltimore and, finally, to his native Boston MA area, where he retired. He died in 1995. In 1998 Keenan was accused of having sexually abused a 13-year- old boy in 1977, along with another boy who was mentally challenged. The abuse is said to have occurred at Keenan's family home in Malden MA.
Ordained: 1943
Died: Aug. 23, 1995
| Start | Stop | Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
1943 Baltimore archbishop was Michael Joseph Curley (1921-1947). |
1944 | St. Joseph's Passionist Monastery | Baltimore | MD | ||
1944 Scranton bishop was William Joseph Hafey (1938-1954). |
1947 | St. Ann's | Scranton | PA | Parish had a grade school with 294-282 students and a high school with 100-111 students. Keenan is indexed but not listed in the Scranton diocesan pages of the Directories as at St. Ann's. |
|
1947 Buffalo bishop was John Francis O'Hara (1945-1951). |
1951 | St. Mary's / St. Mary's Passionist Monastery | Dunkirk | NY | Parish had a grade school with 352-400 students, and a high school with 137-150 students. Keenan is indexed but not listed in the Buffalo diocesan pages of the Directories as at this parish. |
|
| 1951 | 1953 | Passionist Fathers Sacred Heart Retreat | Toronto | Canada | Director of Passionist Purgatorial Society | |
| 1953 | 1961 | Toronto | Canada | Keenan's address is listed in the 1954-1961 Directories as Sta K Box 53, Toronto Canada | ||
1961 Newark archbishop was Thomas Aloysius Boland (1952-1974). |
1966 | St. Michael's Passionist Monastery | Union City | NJ | Seminary Faculty; Mission Band | |
1966 Miami archbishop was Coleman Francis Carroll (1958-1977). |
1967 | Our Lady of Florida Monastery | North Palm Beach | FL | ||
1967 Hartford bishop was Henry Joseph O'Brien (1945-1968), followed by John Francis Whealon (1968- 1991). |
1974? | Holy Family Monastery | Farmington | CT | Mission Band | The 1970-1974 Directories index Keenan as at this Monastery, but he is not listed as there in the Hartford diocesan pages. |
1970? Baltimore archbishop was Lawrence Joseph Shehan (1961-1974), followed by William Donald Borders (1974-1989). |
1975 | St. Joseph's Passionist Monastery | Baltimore | MD | The 1970-1972 Directories index Keenan as at this Monastery, but do not list him in the Baltimore diocesan pages as there. | |
1975 Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1978 | St. Gabriel's Passionist Monastery and Retreat House | Boston (Brighton) | MA | Indexed in the 1976-1987 Directories as here, but listed in the Boston diocesan pages at 5 Russell Park, Malden MA. | |
| St. Anthony's | Revere | MA | Keenan worked at this parish sometime after 1977. | |||
1975 Madeiros was succeeded by Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002). |
1995 | Retired | Malden • Keenan was accused in 1998 of having sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in 1977, along with another boy who was mentally challenged. The abuse is said to have occurred at Keenan's family home in Malden. The 13-year-old reportedly was one of 12 children whose parents thought the priest was trying to help. His accuser said Keenan would ply him with alcohol and give him money. |
MA | Keenan is listed in the Boston diocesan pages of the Directories as Passionist in residence in the archdiocese, 5 Russell Park, Malden MA. This was the Keenan family home, where his sister lived. Died Aug. 23, 1995 |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1944-1995)
• Boston Archdiocese Memo, March 23, 1998
• Father Donald Keenan, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1915-1995), Passionist Historical Archives 1995, August 23, 1995
• The Missing Names from Cardinal O'Malley's List of Accused Clerics, Boston Globe, November 20, 2011
Priests in a Parish: We use the following
convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means
that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually
the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand
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page from the Directory.
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This assignment record was last updated on September 9, 2020.