Rev. Eugene J. O'Brien, SJ-Assignment

Rev. Eugene J. O'Brien, S.J.

Description of the Case: On January 30, 1997 the Jesuits, the NY Archdiocese, and Fordham Prep settled for $25K a suit alleging that O'Brien sexually abused a boy in the early 1970s. O'Brien was principal of Fordham Prep 1960-80 and of Fairfield Prep in the Bridgeport diocese 1983-85. He also worked at St. Peter's Prep in the Newark archdiocese 1959-60, and in 1995-2002 was president of the fundraising foundation for the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His name was included on the Northeast Jesuits list of credibly accused January 1, 2019. It notes that O'Brien admitted to allegations reported in 1993 of abuse of minors beginning in the 1960s. He was "impeded" in 2002. O'Brien died in 2019.

Ordained: 1956
Died: 2019

Close-up of Eugene O'Brien SJ in 1965-66 as headmaster of Fordham Prep

Eugene O'Brien SJ in 1965-66 as headmaster of Fordham Prep

Eugene O'Brien SJ in 1991, at the end of his assignment as Vice President for University Relations at Fordham University

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1950	1953	Fordham Preparatory School	Bronx	NY	Instructor	As per 1991 oral history.
1956	1957	College of the Sacred Heart	Woodstock	MD
1957	1958	St. Robert's Hall	Pomfret	CT		Tertianship of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus
1958	1959	Cardinal Spellman Hall at Fordham University	New York	NY	Graduate student
1959	1960	St. Peter's Preparatory School	Jersey City	NJ		St. Peter's was a Jesuit high school with 980 students, all male.
1960	1980	Fordham Preparatory School	Bronx • In 1997 the Jesuits settled a suit alleging that O'Brien sexually abused a boy here in the early 1970s. See the settlement and an article about it. See also this article, which dates the alleged abuse to 1964-1966. O'Brien is alleged to have abused the boy numerous times, including during a European trip with O'Brien and five other Prep students.	NY	Headmaster/President O'Brien was the superior of Fr Roy A Drake SJ and Mr Fernand Beck during this period.	Fordham Prep was a Jesuit high school with 746-882 students.
1980	1983	Leonard Neale House	Washington	DC
1983	1985	Fairfield College Preparatory School	Fairfield	CT	Principal	Fairfield Prep was a high school with 969-948 students, all male.
1985	1994	Jesuit Community at Fordham University	Bronx	NY
1987	1991	Fordham University	Bronx		Vice President for University Relations
1995	2002	The Gregorian University Foundation	New York	NY	President
1994	2008	America Magazine	New York	NY		Residence and publication office of the America Press.
		Jogues Retreat Center	Cornwall	NY		Reportedly residing here as of 2013 and died in 2019.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1957-2008).

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy & Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates O'Brien's career history with a publicly reported allegation. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.