Rev. Felix H. Maguire-Assignment

Assignment Record– Rev. Felix H. Maguire

Summary of Case: Maguire is said to have targeted troubled and vulnerable youth, plying them with alcohol and pornography, and offering them money. He also allegedly videotaped encounters with boys, and threatened them. A police investigation of allegations against Maguire in 1984 was suddenly dropped, without explanation. In 1986 the parents of a learning-disabled boy, age 15, reported abuse of their son by Maguire to police. Prosecutors would not grant investigators an arrest warrant, so this case was also dropped. Maguire was arrested in 1993 after a young man alleged abuse. He got "accelerated rehabilitation" in a plea deal, 'medically retired' and later moved to Florida. In a 1995 jury trial that was sealed from the public, the learning disabled victim was awarded $262,803. Magire was also sued in January 2003 by a 21-year-old man who alleged assault when he was 15. Claims against Maguire were included in a massive settlement in October 2005 between the archdiocese and 45 people alleging abuse by 14 priests. Maguire died July 13, 2008.

Ordained: 1950
Died: July 13, 2008

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1950 Hartford bishop was Henry Joseph O'Brien (1945-1968)	1952	St. Augustine's	North Branford, New Haven	CT	2/2 Pastor was Rev. John J. McCarthy
1952	1960	St. Mary Magdalen	Oakville	CT	2/2 Maguire worked under Rev. Harry C. Struck 1952-1957, and Rev. John A. Carrig 1957-1960
1960	1967	St. Lawrence's	West Haven • A former St. Lawrence school student accused Maguire of molesting him and other boys when they in their teens. He reports that he told a priest about the abuse during confession at another West haven parish in 1966, but the priest's response was only, "Come back next week." (Hartford Courant [Connecticut] August 11, 2002)	CT	3/3, 3/4, 2/3 Pastor was Rev. John A. Heller. Rev. John F. Curran was second priest 1960-1962, replaced by Rev. Vincent J. Flynn 1962-1965. Rev. Harold M. Kearns is listed last, after Maguire, 1963-1967	St. Lawrence's had a school with 517-613 students.
1960	1967	St. John Vianney Chapel	Savin Rock	CT		This was a mission of St. Lawrence's.
1967 John Francis Whealon replaced O'Brien as bishop (1968-1991)	1972	St. Pius X	Wolcott	CT	2/3, 2/2, 2/4 Pastor was Rev. Raymond P. Shea. Rev. Peter S. Dargan is listed last 1967-1968, replaced 1968-1970 by Rev. John C. Gay. Rev. Gerald C. Mullins was last 1971-1972, after Rev. Edward M. La Rose, who is listed third that year. Shea and Maguire were the only two priests 1970-1971.
1971	1972	St. Maria Goretti	Wolcott	CT		St. Maria Goretti was a mission of St. Pius X.
1972	1974	St. Augustine's	South Glastonbury	CT
1972	1984	St. John Fisher	Marlborough • A police investigation of Maguire in 1984 was "dropped under questionable circumstances". (Hartford Courant [Connecticut] August 11, 2002) Maguire is said to have targeted troubled and vulnerable youth, plying them with alcohol and pornography, and offering them money. He is also said to have videotaped encounters with boys, and to threaten them. (Hartford Courant [Connecticut] August 11, 2002)	CT	1/1	St. John Fisher was a mission of St. Augustine's in South Glastonbury CT until 1974. Maguire was the founding pastor of St. John's.
1984	1987	St. Mary's	Derby • In 1986 the parents of a learning-disabled 15-year-old boy reported to Guilford police that Maguire molested their son. The case was dropped, due to the refusal of New Haven prosecutors to grant the investigators an arrest warrant. (Hartford Courant [Connecticut] August 11, 2002)	CT	1/3 Listed second 1984-1986 was Robert J. Lysz, replaced 1986-1987 by Rev. John F. Brinsmade. Listed last 1984-1987 was Rev. Albert J. Zanavich.	St. Mary's had a school with 232 students.
1987 Daniel Anthony Cronin replaced Whealon as Hartord bishop (1991-2003)	1992	St. Theresa's	North Haven	CT	1/2, 1/3 Second priest, who was in residence, 1987-1989 was Rev. Thomas F. A. O'Brien, replaced 1989-1991 by Rev. Patrick J. Berkery. Berkery is listed third 1991-1992, after Rev. Thomas P. A. O'Brien.
1992	1999	Retired	Guilford • Arrested in January 1993 in Guilford for the sexual assault of a young man. Maguire agreed to "accelerated rehabilitation", a plea deal.	CT		Per news reports, Maguire filled in periodically in the area, and worked at a St. George's in Guilford missionary, until Bishop Cronin removed him from ministry in 1994. The learning disabled victim's family who had reported Maguire to police in 1986 filed a civil suit against him in 1993, which they won in 1997. (Hartford Courant [Connecticut] August 11, 2002)
1999	2001	Retired	New Haven	CT
2001	2002	Retired	Stuart	FL		Maguire's name no longer appears in the Directories after 2002. Maguire died July 13, 2008.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1951-2002).

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 & 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.