Assignment Record– Msgr. William B. Shea

Summary of Case: Shea's name was included on a list of accused priests posted by the Law Offices of Mitchell Garabedian on January 19, 2011. Garabedian says he has settled at least one claim with the archdiocese pertaining to allegations against Shea.

Ordained
: 1946
Incardinated: Boston MA.
Retired: 1996
Died: February 17, 2005

   

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes

1946

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1949 St. Mary of the Assumption Hull MA   Boston archdiocese. No school.
1946 1949 St. Ann's Waveland MA   Boston archdiocese. Mission of St. Mary's.
1946 1949 St. Mary of the Bay Pemberton MA   Boston archdiocese. Mission of St. Mary's.
1949 1956 St. Sebastian's Country Day School for Boys Newton MA French and Spanish teacher.  
1949 1950 St. Joseph's Hyde Park MA 3/3 Boston archdiocese. No school.

1950

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1954 St. Paul's Wellesley MA 4/4 In residence.  
    St. Cecilia Boston MA    
1956 1971 Marian High School Framingham MA Chaplain  
1956 1971 St. Stephen's Framingham MA 5/5 Boston archdiocese. School had 235 boys and 227 girls.
1969   Named monsignor.        

1971

Bernard Francis Law follwed Medeiros as Boston archbishop (1984-2002).

1985 St. Charles Borromeo Waltham MA 1/4  
1985 1996 Awaiting assignment        

1996

Sean Patrick O'Malley O.F.M. Cap. replaced Law (2003-).

2005 Retired       No address given in 1997 Directory. No addresses provided for anyone in the 1998 OCD and later years.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1954-2008); Obituary, Arrowsmith, St. Sebastian Newsletter (Spring 2005).

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 Shea's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with a list on the website of the Law Offices of Mitchell Garabedian. 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 19, 2011.