Rev. Michael Joseph Kelleher- Assignment Record

Assignment Record– Rev. Michael Joseph aka M. Joseph aka Joseph M. Kelleher

Summary of Case: Kelleher, a native of Ireland, was a Trappist monk in Ireland and New Zealand for many years before arriving in North Carolina in 1966 to serve as a parish priest of the Raleigh diocese, and then the Charlotte diocese when it was established in 1971. In September 2009 a man reported to police that he was molested by Kelleher as a 14-year-old altar boy in 1977. Kelleher was put on administrative leave in July 2010 and, a few days later, turned himself in to police. He was charged with "indecent liberties with a child." He admitted to the abuse. A week later another man reported to police that Kelleher sexually abused him when he was a 13-year-old boy. No charges were filed in that case. In July 2014 a judge determined that Kelleher was unable to stand trial, due to dementia. Kelleher died in August 2014.

Ordained: 1953
Incardinated: Raleigh diocese, 1966. Charlotte diocese 1971.
Retired: 1999 (worked during retirement as a high school chaplain)
Died: August 20, 2014

Start	Stop	Parish	Town/Accusations	State/Country	Position	Notes
1953	1966			Ireland New Zealand	Trappist Monk until 1965	Kelleher spent this time as a Trappist monk in Ireland and New Zealand. He is not listed in the Irish Catholic Directories. He likely lived at one of Ireland’s four Trappist monasteries: 1) Mount Melleray Abbey, Cappoquin, Waterford, Diocese of Waterford; 2) Mt. St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea, Diocese of Killaloe; 3) Mellifont Abbey, Collon, Drogheda, County Louth, Archdiocese of Armagh; or Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenome, County Antrim, Diocese of Connor. During his time in New Zealand, he almost certainly would have lived at that country’s only Trappist monastery, Our Lady of the Southern Star in Hawkes Bay.
March 1966 Raleigh bishop was Vincent Stanislaus Waters (1945-1974).		St. Gabriel	Greenville	NC		This was a diocesan missionary apostolate.
Sept. 1966	April 1968	St. Patrick's Cathedral	Charlotte	NC	2/2 Revs. Francis J. Tait, M. Joseph Kelleher.	St. Patrick's had a school with 253 students.
1968	1969	Immaculate Heart of Mary	High Point	NC	2/2 Revs. Arthur L. Duncan, Joseph Kelleher.	IHM had a school with 220 students.
1969	1970	Our Lady of Lourdes	Raleigh	NC	2/2 Revs. Francis J. Tait, M. Joseph Kelleher.
1970	1971	Bishop McGuinnes Memorial High School	Kernersville	NC	chaplain	This high school had 256 students.
1971 The Charlotte diocese was established November 12, 1971. Its first bishop was Michael Joseph Begley (1971-1984).	1972	St. Joseph's	Asheboro	NC	1/1
1972	1973	St. John the Evangelist	Waynesville	NC	1/1	St. John's had a grammar school with 101 students.
1972	1973	Immaculate Conception	Canton	NC		This was a mission of St. John the Evangelist in Waynesville.
1972	1973	St. Margaret's	Maggie Valley	NC		This was a mission of St. John the Evangelist in Waynesville.
April 1973	August 1977	Our Lady of the Annunciation	Albermarle • In September 2009, a man reported to Aberlmarle Police that Kelleher repeatedly sexually abused him in the rectory of Our Lady of the Annunciation in 1977, when the man was a 14- year-old boy. Kelleher confessed to the abuse.	NC	1/1
Auust. 1977 Begley was succeeded by John Francis Donoghue (1984-1993).	July 1986	Our Lady of the Assumption	Charlotte • A second person reported to police, in July 2010, that Kelleher sexually abused him as a child in 1981 at Our Lady of the Assumption.	NC	1/2, 1/1 Kelleher was the only priest every year except 1981-1982, when he was assisted by Rev. Guy E. Morse.	Our Lady of the Assumption had a school with 255-201 students.
1986	1991	Immaculate Conception	Hendersonville	NC	1/2, 1/1 During 1986-1988 Kelleher was assisted by Rev. John J. Tuller. In 1990-1991 he was assisted by Rev. Richard Contiliano.	Immaculate Conception had a school with 125-163 students. Kelleher is referred to in the 1987-1991 Directories as "Joseph M. Kelleher".
1991 William George Curlin replaced Donoghue as Charlotte bishop (1994-2002).	1998	Our Lady of the Rosary	Lexington	NC	1/1 Deacon Edward Morovich assisted Kelleher.	The 1990 Directories on resume referring to Kelleher as "M. Joseph Kelleher" . Our Lady of the Rosary had a religious education program with 92-65 students.
1993	1998	Bishop McGuinness High School	Kernersville	NC	chaplain
July 1998	July 1999	St. Dorothy's	Lincolnton	NC	1/1 Kelleher was assisted by Deacon Carlos Medina.	St. Dorothy's had a religious education program with 86 students.
1975 1982	1978 1983	Senate of Priests	Charlotte	NC
1976	1977	Salsbury Vicar		NC
1983 1996	1993 1998	Diocesan Consultor	Charlotte	NC
1983 1994 1996	1988 1995 2000	Presbyteral Council	Charlotte	NC
1988	1991	Asheville Vicar		NC
1993 1996	1995 1998	Winston-Salem Vicar		NC		Listed as "Very Rev. Joseph M. Kelleher, V.F.".
July 1999	2010	Retired	Winston-Salem	NC
1999 Peter Joseph Jugis succeeded Curlin (2003-).	2010	Bishop McGuinness High School	Kernersville	NC	chaplain	Kelleher was removed from active ministry in July 2010 due to an allegation that he sexually abused a 14- year-old boy in 1977. The accuser had reported the alleged abuse to police in September 2009. Diocesan officials stated that they did not remove Kelleher right away because they wanted to know more facts about the case. Kelleher turned himself into police shortly after being put on administrative leave by the diocese. He was charged with indecent liberties with a child. A second man reported having been abused by Kelleher as a 13-year-old in 1981. No charges were filed in that case.
2010	2014	Administrative Leave		NC		The criminal case against Kelleher was dismissed in July 2014 after the judge determined Kelleher was unable to stand trial, due to his dementia. Kelleher died August 20, 2014.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1962-2010)

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.

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This assignment record collates Kelleher'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 May 9, 2016.