Rev. Thomas E. Connolly, S.J.

Assignment Record– Rev. Thomas E. Connolly, S.J.

Summary of Case: Thomas E. Connolly was ordained for the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus in 1963. After several years in the Madison and Green Bay dioceses in WI, he spent much of the 1970s among the Colville Indians in WA state. In 1977 he began a long career at Sacred Heart in Desmet ID, which is a Coeur d'Alene Indian Mission. Connolly was also affiliated with Gonzaga University. He retired to the Regis Jesuit Community in Spokane in 2010.

Connolly's name was included on the Jesuits' Oregon Province's list in 2011 of perpetrators of sexual abuse, which included "all members of the province who are identified as perpetrators of sexual abuse in proofs of claims filed in the bankruptcy case, and who have not denied the allegation."

Ordained: 1963
Retired: 2010

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1963 Seattle archdiocese Archbishop was Thomas Arthur Connolly (1950-1975).	1964	Manresa Hall	Port Townsend	WA	tertian father
1964 Madison diocese Bishop was William Patrick O'Connor (1946-1967).	1965	St. Paul's University Chapel	Madison	WI	8/8 In residence.
1965	1966					Connolly is not indexed in the 1966 Directory, nor is he listed in the diocesan pages as at his previous or next assignments.
1966 Green Bay diocese Bishop was Stanislaus Vincent Bona (1945-1967).	1967	Menominee Co Court House	Keshena	WI
1967 Spokane diocese Bishop was Bernard Joseph Topel (1955-1978).	1971	Gonzaga University	Spokane	WA
1971 Spokane diocese	1972	Gonzaga University/Colville Indians	Spokane	WA		Connolly is indexed in the 1972 Directory as "Jesuit Missions, Inc., Portland OR." He is listed in the in the Jesuit Missions section under Washington (Colville Indians). He is not, however listed in the diocesan pages as at any such assignment. He is listed as at Gonzaga University in the Spokane pages.
1972 Spokane diocese	1973	Gonzaga University	Spokane	WA		Connolly is also listed in the Jesuit Missions section of the 1973 Directory under Washington (Colville Indians).
1973 Spokane diocese	1976	St. Mary's Mission	Omak	WA	1/3, 1/2
1973	1976	St. Joseph's	East Omak	WA		This was a mission of St. Mary's Mission.
1976	1977					Connolly is not indexed in the 1977 Directory, nor is he listed in the diocesan pages as at his previous or next assignments.
1977 Boise City diocese Bishop was Sylvester William Treinen (1962-1988), followed by Tod David Brown (1988-1998).	1995	Sacred Heart	Desmet	ID	1/3, 1/2, 1/1	This was a Coeur d'Alene Indian Mission.
1977	1995	Our Lady of Perpetual Help	Plummer	ID		This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1977	1995	St. Michael's	Worley	ID		This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1995	1996					Connolly is not indexed in the 1996 Directory, nor is he listed in the diocesan pages as at Sacred Heart in Desmet ID.
1996 Boise City diocese Brown was succeeded as bishop by Michael Patrick Driscoll (1999-2014).	2010	Sacred Heart	Desmet	ID	1/2, 1/3, 1/1	Sacred Heart had a catechesis program with 60-102 students, as shown in the 2005-2010 Directories.
1996	2010	Our Lady of Perpetual Help	Plummer	ID		This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1996	2010	St. Michael's	Worley	ID		This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet. The 2004-2010 Directories show St. Michael's to be a station of Sacred Heart, rather than a mission.
2010 Spokane diocese Bishop was Blase Joseph Cupich (2010-2014)	2011	Gonzaga University	Spokane	WA
2011	2012					Connolly is not indexed in the 2012 Directory, nor is he listed as at his previous or next assignments.
2012 Spokane diocese Cupich was succeeded by Thomas Anthony Daly (2015-).	2015	Regis Jesuit Community	Spokane	WA	retired

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.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1964-2015).

• Father Tom Connolly retires, By Jack McNeel, Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com, September 16, 2010
• Jesuits Oregon Province website accessed, accessed December 7, 2012

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 Connolly's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations 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 October 6, 2016.