Rev. Thomas E.O'Rourke, s.j.-Assignment Record

Assignment Record – Rev. Thomas E. O'Rourke, s.j.

Summary of Case: Thomas E. O'Rourke was a Jesuit of the California Province, ordained in 1943. He ministered in San Francisco and Los Angeles CA, as well as in Phoenix, AZ where he was a staff member at Brophy Prep. from 1975 until his death in 1993. O'Rourke was accused at some point of sexually abusing a minor in 1968 in Los Angeles, while assigned to Loyola High School.

Ordained: 1943
Died: Jan. 1, 1993

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State/Country	Position	Notes
1943 San Francisco archbishop was John Joseph Mitty (1935-1961).	1944	Alma College	Alma	CA
1944 Seattle bishop was Gerald Shaughnessy, s.m. (1933-1950).	1945	Manresa Hall	Port Townsend	WA	tertianship
1945 San Francisco archdiocese	1949	Sacred Heart Novitiate	Los Gatos	CA	minister
1949 Los Angeles archbishop was James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (1948-1970).	1956	Loyola University	Los Angeles	CA	sub-minister; minister
1956 San Francisco archdiocese	1961	St. Ignatius	San Francisco	CA
1961 Los Angeles archdiocese	1969	Loyola High School	Los Angeles • O'Rourke was accused in a lawsuit of molesting a minor in 1968.	CA	minister 1961-1964	Loyola had 900-1,123 students, all male.
1969 San Francisco archbishop was Joseph Thomas McGucken (1962-1977).	1970	Sacred Heart Novitiate	Los Gatos	CA
1970	1975	Jesuit Community at the University of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	minister
1975 Phoenix bishop was Edward Anthony McCarthy (1969-1976), followed by James Steven Rausch (1977-1981). Rausch was succeeded by Thomas Joseph O'Brien (1981-2003).	1993	Brophy College Preparatory School	Phoenix	AZ	campus minister 1985-1993	Brophy Prep. had 702-1.486 students, all male. O'Rourke died Jan. 1, 1993.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1944-1994)

• LA Archdiocesan Report Addendum, November 15, 2005
• LA Times Database, March 20, 2006

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'Rourke'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 June 29, 2014.