Assignment Record – Rev. Patrick J. O'Reilly, s.j.

Summary of Case: Patrick J. O'Reilly was a priest of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, ordained in 1906. A native of Ireland, he had emigrated to the United States in 1890, at the age of 18. Most of O'Reilly's ministry was spent traveling around the U.S. and abroad as a missionary preacher. He also served as a parish pastor and as a college and hospital chaplain. After his tertianship year in Poughkeepsie NY, O'Reilly was based at various times in what are now the dioceses of Spokane and Portland OR, Fairbanks AK, Boston MA, Helena MT and Seattle WA. He died May 26, 1958 in Sheridan OR. O'Reilly's name was included in 2011 on the Oregon Province's list of its members who have been identified as perpetrators of sexual abuse.

Ordained: May 31, 1906
Died: May 26, 1958

 

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Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1906

Nesqually bishop was Edward John O'Dea (1896-1932).

1908 Gonzaga College Spokane WA professor; chaplain This was a college for boys and a house of studies for Jesuit scholastics. There were 206-215 boarders and 193-225 day scholars.

1908

1910

1909 Mission Band       Per Louis J. Renner, s.j.'s, Alaskana Catholica, O'Reilly "traveled far and wide to preach short missions and retreats" throughout most of his career. His travels included "Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands to preach to the lepers there, to England, and to many parts of the United States."

1909

New York archbishop was John Murphy Farley (1902-1918).

1910 St. Andrew-on-Hudson Poughkeepsie NY Jesuit tertianship Per Renner.

1908

Oregon City archbishop was Alexander Christie (1899-1925).

1924 St. Ignatius Portland OR

5/6, 7/7, 6/7,6/6,4/4, 3/3

missionary

St. Ignatius had a school with 95-211.

1924

Spokane bishop was Augustine Francis Schinner (1914-1925), followed by Charles Daniel White (1926-1955).

1926 Gonzaga University Spokane WA chaplain  

1926

Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska bishop was Joseph Raphael John Crimont, s.j. (1904-1945).

1928 Immaculate Conception Fairbanks AK 1/2  
1926 1928 St. John's Fairbanks AK   This was a chapel of Immaculate Conception.
1926 1928  

Chatankia; Fox; Ester; Dome; Fairbanks Creek

AK   These were stations of Immaculate Conception in Fairbanks.
1928 1929         The 1929 Directory indexes O'Reilly as in Fairbanks, but does not list him as there in the Alaska pages.

1929

Portland in Oregon archbishop was Edward Daniel Howard (1926-1966).

1930 St. Ignatius Portland OR   The 1930 Directory indexes but does not list O'Reilly in the Portland pages as at St. Ignatius.

1930

 

1931 St. Ignatius

Portland OR 3/3 St. Ignatius had a school with 330 students.

1931

Boston archbishop was William Henry O'Connell (1907-1944).

1932 St. Mary's Boston MA 14/16 Mission Band  

1932

Portland in Oregon archdiocese

1934 St. Ignatius Portland OR    

1934

Helena bishop was Ralph Leo Hayes (1933-1935), followed by Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935-1962).

1935 St. Francis Xavier's Missoula MT 2/4 St. Francis Xavier's had a school with grade 120 boys and 125 girls, and a high school (Sacred Heart Academy) with 108 girls.

1935

Seattle bishop was Gerald Shaughnessy, s.j. (1933-1950).

1936 St. Leo the Great Tacoma WA 3/3 St. Leo's had a school with 161 boys and 143 girls.
1936 1937 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA missionary  

1937

Spokane diocese

1939 St. Patrick's Spokane WA 1/2 St. Patrick's had a school with 202 students.

1939

Seattle diocese

1940   Seattle WA   Address is 916 E. Marion St.

1940

Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska

1941 St. Rose and St. John's Wrangell AK 1/1 Noted in the Directory to visit Government Institute, Shoemaker Bay.
Dec. 1941 Jan. 1947 St. Gregory of Nazianz Sitka AK 1/1  
Dec. 1941 Jan. 1947 Armed Forces Sitka   chaplain  
Dec. 1941 1945   Chichagof, Hoonah, Tenakee AK   These were stations of St. Gregory's in Sitka.

1945

Seattle diocese

1950 Mount St. Mary's Provincial House Bellingham WA chaplain 1945-1949 This was the provincial house of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark, Our Lady's Province. The 1950 Directory indexes O'Reilly as at this assignment, but does not list him as there in the Seattle pages.
1950 1954 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA missionary; chaplain (not in residence) 1953-1954  
1954 1958 St. Helen Hospital Chehalis WA chaplain The 1956-1958 Directories index but do not list O'Reilly in the Seattle pages as at St. Helen's Hospital.

1956

Portland in Oregon archbishop was Francis Doyle Gleeson, s.j. (1948-1968).

1958 St. Francis Xavier Novitiate Sheridan OR  

The Directories index O'Reilly as at St. Francis Xavier Novitiate but do not list him in the Portland pages as there.

Although O'Reilly is indexed through the 1962 Directory, per Louis Renner, s.j. he died May 26, 1958 in Sheridan, OR.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1907-1962)

Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, by Louis L. Renner, s.j.
Non-Monetary Commitments, The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus website, accessed Dec. 7, 2012

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 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

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 and 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'Reilly's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. 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.

This assignment record was last updated on Dec. 4, 2014.