Assignment Record– Rev. Donald Joyce, O.M.I.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate order ordained in1958, Joyce worked in Washington DC, Buffalo NY, Grand Rapids MI, Monroe NC, Lowell MA and San Antonio TX. He was an educatior, librarian, parish assistant and pastor. Joyce's name was included on a list of accused priests posted by the Law Offices of Mitchell Garabedian on January 19, 2011. Joyce was accused of fondling and attempting to rape an altar boy at a Massachusetts parish from 1977 to 1979. His accuser received a settlement in 2006.

In December 2019 the Charlotte diocese revealed that it had received an allegation in 2002 that Joyce sexually abused a boy from 1973 to 1976 at Sacred Heart Catholic Mission in Wadesboro, NC.

Joyce was removed from ministry in 1997 and worked for many years at an Oblates library in San Antonio, TX. He died in 2013.

Ordained: 1958
Died: 2013

 

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
1958 1959       Joyce is not indexed in the 1958 Directory.

1959

Washington archbishop was Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle (1947-1973).

1960 Oblate College Washington DC    

1960

Buffalo bishop was Joseph Aloysius Burke (1952-1962), followed by James Aloysius McNulty (1963-1972).

1969 Bishop Fallon High School Buffalo NY   School had 535-449 students.

1969

Grand Rapids bishop was Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck (1969-1989).

 1973 Immaculate Heart of Mary Grand Rapids MI 3/3, 3/5, 3/3 Parish had a school with 446-359 students.

1973

Charlotte bishop was Michael Joseph Begley (1971-1984).

1976 Our Lady of Lourdes Monroe NC 1/1  
1973 1976 St. Joseph's Monroe NC   This was a chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes.
1973 1976 Sacred Heart Wadesboro

• Per the Charlotte diocese in December 2019, it received an allegation in 2002 that Jocye sexually abused a boy at Sacred Heart from 1973 to 1976.
NC   This was a mission of Our Lady of Lourdes.

1976

Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1982 Sacred Heart

Lowell

• Joyce was accused in a lawsuit settled in 2006 of sexually abusing a Sacred Heart altar boy 1977-1979, when the boy was 11-13 years-old. He is said to have given the boy alcohol and meals, and to have taken him alone on outings. Allegations include fondling and attempted rape.

 MA

1/9, 1/8, 1/6

Superior and Pastor

Parish had a school with 470-370 students.
1982 1983         Joyce is not indexed in the 1983 Directory, nor is he listed at his previous or subsequent assignments.

1983

Washington archbishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1980-2000).

1985 Oblate College Washington DC 11/24  

1985

Buffalo bishop was Edward Dennis Head (1973-2003).

1987 Nardin Academy High School Buffalo NY Chaplain School had 380 girls.
1987 1988         Joyce is not indexed in the 1988 Directory, nor is he listed at his previous or subsequent assignments.

1988

 

 1989 Oblate College Washington DC 17/20  
1989 1994 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Provincial Residence Washington DC Director 1989-1992, then 8/10, 7/10, 7/18  
1994 1998 Oblate College Washington DC 7/18, 5/15, 6/18, 7/16 The 1997 and 1998 Directories also note Joyce to be at the the Oblate Center for Mission Studies.

1998

San Antonio archbishop was Patrick Fernandez Flores (1979-2004), followed by Jose Horacio Gomez (2004-2010).

2011 Oblate School of Theology San Antonio TX Library Director  
2007 2008         Joyce in not indexed in the 2008 Directory.

2008

In May 2010 Oscar Cantu replaced Gomez as San Antonio archbishop. Cantu resigned in October 2010 and was succeeded by Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S. (October 2010-).

2011 Oblate Madonna Residence San Antonio TX  

This is listed in the Directories under "Homes for the Aged".

A January 2011 google search shows Joyce to be Director of Libraries at Oblate College in San Antonio. It also shows his academic degrees and work history. When confronted by SNAP after the news of the the settlement involving Joyce, the Oblates stated that Joyce had not been in active ministry for many years, was not functioning as a priest and did not have permission to do so.

Joyce died in 2013.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1959-2010)

• Mass. Clergy Abuse Lawyer Lists Names of Accused, Associated Press, January 19, 2011
• Boston Priests Not Previously Identified As Accused, January 19, 2011
• Church's Accused Abusers Named Online, Boston Channel, January 19, 2011
• Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Served in Fairhaven Church, By Jay Lindsay, Herald News, January 19, 2011
• Lawyer Reveals List of 19 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse, Metrowest Daily News, January 19, 2011
• Rev. Donald Joyce, OM, Director of Libraries, Oblate School of Theology, accessed January 22, 2011
• Lawsuit Triggers Demonstration at Oblate School of Theology, By James Munoz, KENS, January 26, 2011
• SA Priest Tied to Boston Sex Abuse Scandal, By Simon Gutierrez, KSAT, January 26, 2011
• Silence on Accused Priest Is Denounced, By Abe Levy, The Express-News, January 26, 2011
• The Missing Names from Cardinal O'Malley's List of Accused Clerics, Boston Globe, November 20, 201

 



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 Joyce'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 January 8, 2020.