Rev. Felix Charles Owino, a.j.

Summary of Case: From Nairobi, Kenya. Arrested July 8, 2010 in Fairfax, VA; charged with inappropriate touching of an 11-year-old girl. Diocese removed his faculties the day after his arrest and informed his Order. He had been serving as associate pastor at a Weirton parish. He had also taught at Wheeling Jesuit University for two years. Previously worked in NH and Reading, PA. Pled guilty September 29, 2010. Sentenced February 19, 2011 to Five years' prison with all but Nine months suspended. Already served over seven months awaiting trial. Owino's name was included on the Wheeling-Charleston diocese's list in late 2018. It notes there was also an allegation July 5, 2010 of inappropriate touching of an adult, and that he was deported back to Africa.


Ordained: 1992

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State/Country Position Notes
1992 1997 Apostles of Jesus Minor Seminary   Uganda Rector Sometime prior to arriving in the U.S., Owino held this position. (catholicculture.org, July 13, 2010)
    National Shrine of the Most Sacred Hear of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Nairobi Kenya Rector Sometime prior to arriving in the U.S., Owino held this position. (catholicculture.org, July 13, 2010) He is not indexed in the Directories until 1998.

1997

Pittsburgh bishop was Donald William Wuerl (1988-2006)

2001 St. Bede's Pittsburgh PA

3/3

In residence.

Parish had a school with 292-308 students.

Owino earned an MA., PhD in philosophy from Dusquene University. He was likely pursuing this degree while in residence at St. Bede's.

2001

Allentown bishop was Edward Peter Cullen (1997-2009)

2002 St. Peter's Reading PA

5/5

In residence.

 
2002 2003         Owino is not indexed in the 2003 Directory, nor is he listed at his previous or next assignments.
2003 2005 St. Bede's Pittsburgh PA

2/3

In residence.

Parish had a school with 350 students, and a religious education program with 90 students.

2005

Manchester bishop was John Brendan McCormack (1998- )

2007 Magdalen College Warner NH Chaplain School had 71-70 students.
2007 2008         Owino is not indexed in the 2007 Directory, nor is he listed at his previous or next assignments.

2008

Wheeling-Charleston bishop was Michael Joseph Bransfield (2004- )

2010 Wheeling Jesuit Wheeling WV faculty member Owino is not indexed in the 2009 Directory. This assignment is per news reports. He joined the Wheeling Jesuit faculty in the Fall of 2008. (Wheeling News-Register
July 13, 2010)
  2010 St. Paul's

Weirton

• Owino was accused in July 2010 of inappropriate touching an 11 year old girl in Fairfax, VA. He was said to have been a "longtime friend of the family". (WTOV
July 13, 2010)

WV associate pastor

Owino is not indexed in the 2009 Directory. This assignment is per news reports. (Wheeling News-Register
July 13, 2010)

Owino was arrested July 8, 2010 and held a the Adult Detention Center in Fairfax while awaiting a September trial.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1993-2009)

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 Owino'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 February 24. 2021.